Dino Baron and Renée Baron
A helping hand leads to art
Sometimes, just lending a hand can make all the difference.
Renée Baron, a Realtor in Jacksonville Beach, spends about one day a week assisting her developmentally disabled older brother, Dino Baron, and others at the L’Arche Rainbow Workshop, a creative day program for adults with disabilities to create extraordinary works of art and jewelry.
“This is a very creative workshop where my brother was able to channel some of those energies into a very creative thing, which has been fantastic,” said Baron. “I cut clay, do sanding, work on the kiln, string beads and do some glass work. I do the things they can’t do. We separate the glass by color and they will put it together by design and we’ll assist. We use all the tools and tie the knots. We really are their assistants.”
At the day program, the artists create artwork and jewelry that is sold to keep the workshop up and running.
Renée Baron (far right) with artists from the L’Arche Rainbow Workshop
“We call it his ‘job’,” she said. “He goes every day and he does get a paycheck, but it’s like $20 a month. It’s just a just a check, so he can bug me to go to the bank. It’s a big deal to go to the bank.”
Her brother lives in an ARC group home, another community that assists adults with disabilities.
Her brother relocated here a few years ago and lived with Baron until she found the group home and the day program to give him a creative outlet and a place to go each day.
As a Realtor, her schedule allows her to take time out to volunteer and spend time with him at his workshop and home.
“I was already involved in the developmentally-disabled community here before my brother moved here because that’s what I did growing up,” she said. “It was just natural for him to move here. I volunteer at the Rainbow clinic and at his home.”
The L’Arche Rainbow Workshop brings forth the talents of those involved in arts and crafts especially ceramics, pottery, jewelry, paper art, shell works and customized “Works of Heart.”
“Many of their creations can be customized for marketing purposes,” said Baron. “I’ve also given closing gifts created and customized by the Rainbow. They are ‘Works of Heart’ and gifts they keep on giving. These economic hard-times are really having an impact on assistance to the disabled community. This is our chance to do a little something to help. Every little bit helps.”
Baron is hosting a “Works of Heart” event at Jacksonville Beach on June 26 at 5-8 p.m. at the Quality Suites Oceanfront hotel to sell artwork and jewelry created by artists from the L’Arche Rainbow Workshop to raise money for the workshop.
“My customers have been exposed to this stuff for years because I give them either an ornament or a magnet or something,” she said. “And I’ve talked about my brother for years. They said that the fundraising events are always held in town, so I said I would sponsor an event at the beach and they said they would come. We are going to have a little wine tasting and the artists will be there. They have cool items that Realtors could incorporate into their business and they are inexpensive. They also make custom made cards or items. My customers love it.”
Baron owns her own company, Renee L. Baron, Inc.
She started selling condominiums when the Eastwinds Condominiums came out and then she moved onto the LandMark and then she going to sell the WaterMark, but decided to go out on her own and her brother moved to town.
“It was really a difficult time,” she said. “But, it worked out fine because I was on my own. My business was just crazy. I had someone cover for me on the weekends and during the weeks I was more flexible to be with him, so it worked out all right. It was well worth it because my business flourished and my brother flourished in a great new home.”
Another unusual name
Barrie Lovern
When I met Barrie Lovern of Watson Realty at a recent Northeast Florida Builders Sales and Marketing Council meeting, I took her photo, wrote her name and then walked away.
It took me a few moments to realize that I had just let a great story pass me by. I hunted her down to get the story.
“My first name came when my mom was pregnant (and overdue) sat up at night, because there was no other position possible, and watched late night television,” she said. “On this particular night Fred Astaire was a guest. How could anyone not love Fred Astaire?
“During this time in his career he was dancing with a beautiful young dancer named Barrie Chase. She was tall, beautiful, agile and graceful, not exactly how an overdue mom-to-be feels. While they danced, my mom decided Barrie was going to be my name.”
It’s one thing to have an unusual name, it’s another to come face to face with the name on a tombstone, but Lovern did!
“Oddly enough, later, in my teens, I attended a family funeral and afterward at the burial site, I wandered around and found my name on a gravestone,” She said. “Not only was it my first, but it was also my last name. Scary. I took my parents over to see it and after that, we started researching our genealogy. We found that the man buried there was one of my ancestors that had emigrated from Europe. None of my family had known of him.”
Lovern said she was teased unmercifully.
“I was called everything that rhymed with Barrie,” she said. “On the playground it was never just Barrie, there always had to be another word in front of it. In my adult life, I usually get a double take on my name. If it is from seeing my identification, nametag or anything else written people usually try to turn it into Barbie. I am called Barbie constantly. When I introduce myself, I’m usually called ‘Mary’ and I have to correct it with ‘Barrie with a B.’ Even as an adult I’ve had some rather rude people say things like ‘What was your mother thinking,?’ or ‘Where did you get a name like that?’ Being somewhat diplomatic, I just smile and say she was looking for something uncommon.”
Lovern has had many interesting experiences where people just don’t believe her mother would give her such a name. Here she tells her story.
“Not giving any names, but I met a public figure and introduced myself,” she said. “He stopped shaking my hand, but continued to hold it and asked me to say it again. I told him it was Barrie with a B. He started with ‘You don’t look like a Barrie’ went on to ‘You don’t look like any Barrie I’ve ever met’. It kept going. With each statement, it got a little more embarrassing for both of us and he tried so hard to correct what he was saying. His face turned bright red. After a moment I explained to him that it was okay, I get like reactions all the time. He may not remember me, but I’ll never forget meeting him.”