Eustis mayor shows he's in tune
 
Sherry Boas
Sentinel Correspondent

May 31, 2001

A good city leader usually brings harmony to his community.

Eustis Mayor John Benton takes his responsibility literally. He picks out melodies and strums chords on his collection of stringed instruments, including the mandolin, often playing Celtic music.

"I've always enjoyed contributing to my community, and music is just another voice, another way to interact with people," said the 44-year old biologist who has been active in town politics since 1992.

Benton's wife, Cathy, a yoga instructor and former biologist, plays the tin whistle and bodhran drum, an Irish percussion instrument. The Bentons take their music on the road, performing at some regional concerts.

"Last year we played at the Black Bear Festival in Umatilla, for the Christmas Walk and Art Festival in Mount Dora and as part of the monthly concert series in the Eustis Women's Club sponsored by Lake County Folk," Benton said recently before another Lake County Folk concert he attended.

Although he doesn't come from a musical family, Benton began playing the guitar while attending Auburn University in Alabama. He picked up some chords, learned to play some songs and became exposed to a variety of musical styles, including Irish music.

After college, Benton joined the Peace Corps and worked in North Africa from 1980 to 1983 to develop fish culture programs. Upon returning to the United States, he went back to Auburn to obtain his master's degree in fisheries biology. A job with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission brought him to Lake County in 1986.

"I met Cathy here and we got married in 1990, the same year I served on the Eustis Planning and Zoning Board," said Benton, who went on to become a city commissioner in 1992 and is now serving his second term as the city's mayor.

Benton's musical path seemed to follow a parallel course with his political involvement. Beginning in the early part of the 1990s, the Bentons began attending intensive music study at various folk arts centers around the country, including the Augusta Heritage Center in West Virginia and a "zoukfest" in Kansas City.

Along the way, Benton put the guitar aside in favor of the banjo, mandolin and, most recently, the bouzouki -- a long-necked, pear-shaped instrument. The Greek mandolin-like instrument is popular now in Ireland.

Two trips to Ireland helped hone his acoustic skills and exposed the couple to "session" playing, a term used in Ireland to describe informal music played in a local pub. The primary players sit in a circle surrounded by an outer circle of listeners and "would-be" players.

Benton works 40 to 50 hours a week at his job as a state biologist and spends about another 5 to 10 hours each week at his mayoral duties, but he still finds time to practice his music daily with his wife.

"We try to set aside an hour or two each day, especially when we have a performance coming up, to practice and get ready," he said.

Pat McLaughlin, who used to book entertainment for the Mount Dora Art Festival, hired the Bentons for that venue a couple years back.

"They play Celtic music, and there are not too many people around here who do. Besides, they do it very well."

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