Peter and Carmel Baronoff believe in giving back to the community.
Photo provided
By Amy Woods
He serves on the board of trustees for Boca Raton Regional Hospital, chairs its medical staff review committee and runs one of the largest health care companies in the United States.
She has a background in bodybuilding, culinary arts and modeling and hosts a weekly television show about living life to the fullest. She wrote a book about it, too.
Both their résumés are reason enough for Peter and Carmel Baronoff to win a Boca Raton Rotary Club OPAL (Outstanding People And Leaders) Award. Add in their tireless philanthropic work raising scholarship funds to send local students to college, and they define the acronym.
Peter Baronoff, 58, a longtime Rotary member who chaired the ceremony in previous years, said news of the personal honor took him by surprise. He was having lunch with another Rotarian, thinking they were going to discuss nominees for the award’s health-and-wellness category, when the following exchange occurred.
“He stopped me in the middle of our conversation while I was making a suggestion,” Peter Baronoff said. “Then he said, ‘Unfortunately, you couldn’t be there, but we’ve already decided who’s going to be this year’s honoree.’ And I said, ‘How can you do that to me?’ And he said, ‘Real simple: Because it is you and Carmel.’ It kind of caught me in my tracks.”
The lunch companion, Irving Gutin, died two months later, making the moment even more poignant.
“He was going to present Carmel and me the award,” Peter Baronoff said.
The OPAL Award recognizes Boca Raton residents who have demonstrated a commitment to serve their community through charity efforts aimed at making the area a better place to live, work and play.
The Baronoffs will join honorees Arthur Adler, Yvonne Boice-Zucaro and Jordan Zimmerman on Jan. 14 at the Boca West Country Club.
“Carmel and I have always believed in giving back to the community,” Baronoff said. “We’ve been blessed with so many wonderful things in our lives. We like to help others. It’s just something that’s ingrained in us. Getting this award means we are doing the right thing.”
Carmel Baronoff, 56, who has a degree from the Florida Culinary Institute, now the Lincoln Culinary Institute, puts it to good use.
She frequently offers to prepare dinners for 10 as auction items and, to date, has raised $20,000 doing so. She also volunteered to cook a meal for more than 100 at another charity event.
“Whoever calls us, we help them,” she said. “It’s a team. People get awards, but you really can’t do anything without support and help.”
One of her most passionate causes is clothing and feeding single mothers and their children. She does so as president of St. Jude Catholic Church’s Council of Catholic Women.
“People who do not have food and clothes in Florida is mind-blowing to me,” she said. “It’s here, and it’s right in our neighborhood. Even Mother Teresa said you don’t need to go to India to see the poor. And she was right.”
If You Go
What: Rotary Club of Boca Raton’s OPAL Awards
When: 6:30 p.m. reception, 7:30 p.m. dinner Jan. 14
Where: Boca West Country Club, 20583 Boca West Drive, Boca Raton
Cost: $250
Information: Call 477-7180 or visit opalawards.com or rotarydowntownbocaraton.org
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