What makes a community feel like home?
It’s not just the neighborhoods, restaurants, businesses or places we gather. It’s the people who choose to get involved, build connections and give their time to make the place they live a little better.
For Horizon West, Elle Probst is one of those people.
A local real estate professional, longtime area resident, foodie, traveler, Horizon West Happenings ambassador and dedicated Rotarian, Elle has spent years finding ways to connect with the community around her. And for her, being part of Horizon West means much more than simply living here.
Watching a Community Grow
Originally from Virginia, Elle has called the 34787 ZIP code home for more than 20 years and has lived in several parts of the area along the way.
She’s had a front-row seat to the growth that has transformed this part of Central Florida, watching new neighborhoods, restaurants, businesses and gathering places become part of everyday life.
But what Elle loves most is that, despite all that growth, Horizon West has maintained a sense of community.
There’s a family-oriented feel, with restaurants, shops and things to do close to the neighborhoods they serve. Whether it’s dinner at a new local restaurant, a trip to PopStroke or a movie at Cinépolis, there are more and more opportunities to enjoy where you live.
Her involvement with Horizon West Happenings has only strengthened that connection.
As an ambassador, Elle has gotten to know more of the neighborhoods, businesses and people that make up Horizon West. She even remembers being recognized by a neighbor while out in the community, one of those small moments that reminds you just how connected Horizon West can feel.
And as a self-proclaimed foodie, Elle is always willing to take on the important task of discovering new restaurants before everyone else does.
Service Above Self
One of the biggest ways Elle has given back to the community is through the Rotary Club of Horizon West.
Elle was one of the club’s founding members and remembers nearly 90 people showing up for its very first meeting.
About a year later, she jokes that she was “voluntold” to become secretary. She went on to serve two terms, transitioned into a committee role and eventually stepped into the role of President-Elect.
Throughout it all, Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self,” has remained at the center of why she stays involved.
For Elle, service starts with finding out what the community needs, whether that means supporting local children, adults, families or organizations, and then figuring out how to help.
As a leader, she hopes to continue the traditions that have made the club special while helping it grow, bringing more diverse perspectives to the table and encouraging even greater engagement from the Horizon West community.
She often hears people ask, “How can I help?”
Her advice is simple: come join them.
The Rotary Club of Horizon West hosts lunch meetings on the first and third Wednesday of each month, giving residents and local business owners an opportunity to meet people who are invested in the community and discover ways to get involved.
One of Elle’s favorite Rotary traditions happens around the holidays. The club collects toys for students and then brings volunteers and families together for a gift-wrapping event before the toys go home with children for winter break.
Anyone can help, whether that means donating toys, contributing through Rotary or simply connecting with a member and asking where there is a need.
A Career Built Around People
That focus on relationships extends into Elle’s professional life, too.
Before focusing full-time on real estate, Elle spent more than 30 years in healthcare, including over 13 years as an Adult Nurse Practitioner specializing in heart failure and cardiac care. She also became an entrepreneur, owning a Painting with a Twist franchise and earning “Rookie of the Year” in 2016.
Although Elle has held a Florida real estate license since 2004, she returned her focus to the industry in 2018 and earned her Florida Real Estate Broker’s license in 2021.
When COVID arrived, her backgrounds in healthcare and real estate unexpectedly came together. As real estate professionals continued working as essential workers, Elle found opportunities to help healthcare providers navigate buying and selling homes during an incredibly challenging time.
Today, she approaches real estate much the same way she approaches community: through relationships.
For Elle, it’s never about a short-term transaction. It’s about getting to know people, building trust and creating connections that last long after a deal is done.
Home Is Still Horizon West
Outside of work and volunteering, Elle loves spending time with her son, Cameron, who is also a licensed real estate agent on her team, and her Maltese, Penny Sue.
She’s an avid traveler who likes to say, “I work to travel.” Her career has even allowed her to conduct business while traveling internationally, supported by a team back home. Of all the places she has visited, Bali remains her favorite because of its people and culture.
But after more than two decades here, Horizon West is home.
And Elle’s story is a reminder that a community isn’t defined only by what gets built within it.
It’s defined by the people who show up.
The people who volunteer, support local businesses, connect neighbors, welcome newcomers and ask what they can do to help.
Those are the people who make a community. And Elle Probst is one of them.
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