meet - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T13:55:18Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/meetMEET YOUR NEIGHBOR: Lisa Marie Brownehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/meet-your-neighbor-lisa-marie-browne2020-07-01T14:37:19.000Z2020-07-01T14:37:19.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960945880,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960945880,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960945880?profile=original" /></a><em>Lisa Marie Browne, standing in front of a mural inside Dreyfoos School of the Arts, fell in love with the mission of the school. Her involvement grew to the point that she now chairs its foundation. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Brian Biggane</strong></p>
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<p>An invitation to a Dreyfoos School of the Arts luncheon 15 years ago proved to be more than an eye-opener for coastal Boca Raton resident Lisa Marie Browne. It was a revelation.<br /> “The last board chairman, Simon Offit, invited me and he told me how successful these students were and how hard they work,” said Browne, who was recently named to succeed Offit as board chair of the Dreyfoos Foundation.<br /> “At the luncheon a girl named Ariel, who weighed about 98 pounds, got up and belted out these songs from Broadway,” Browne recalled. “And then two pianists sat down and played side-by-side and I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. I found myself sitting there saying, ‘These are students. These are students.’”<br /> Browne was so intrigued she asked to take a tour of the school, after which she was invited to serve on the board. A few years later she became vice chair, a position she held 10 times prior to succeeding Offit, who retired after serving as chairman for 23 years.<br /> “At the time Louis was about 9, and I found myself getting more and more involved,” Browne said of her son. “It was, ‘OK, you’re having an event, I’ll do this. You need someone to tutor, I’ll do that.’”<br /> Her observations made her admiration for the school grow.<br /> “I learned how hard the students work, and how they come from every walk of life imaginable. From the student whose mom is bagging groceries at Publix, to ones coming from other countries — we even had students we took care of during hurricanes. It’s a great public high school.”<br /> Browne’s loyalty to the program was tested a few years ago. She was involved with the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, had close friends in Broward County and was considering a move to get closer to both.<br /> “But I have to live in Palm Beach County to be on the board,” she said of Dreyfoos. “Ultimately I knew if I moved that would no longer be the case. So, it played into my decision to stay.”<br /> Browne, 60, is the single mother of Louis, now 24, an aspiring actor living in Manhattan.<br /> Dreyfoos is not her only passion. A trip to Florence, Italy, years ago introduced her to the Uffizi Gallery art museum and she’s been closely connected ever since. Today, she serves as executive director of Friends of the Uffizi Gallery, a U.S.-based nonprofit whose mission is one of art conservation, historic preservation and education.<br /> An opera lover, she is a lifetime member of the Florida Grand Opera. She is also a member of the Highland Beach chapter of UNICO, the largest Italian-American service organization in the country. In February she accompanied six friends on a three-week trip to Australia and New Zealand.<br /> “I enjoy experiencing firsthand new customs and cultures,” Browne said. “This time we were extremely lucky, to make it back before our country shut down” because of the coronavirus. <br />— Brian Biggane</p>
<p>Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?<br /> A: I grew up in the small peninsula town of Bayonne, New Jersey, and attended Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School in a community dominated by Italian-Americans. It was there that I developed my lust for travel.<br /> In the 1980s, I moved to Boca Raton and attended Florida Atlantic University, earning a B.S. in developmental psychology. During an art therapy master’s course I was invited to join a docent program at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, which changed my course of study to this day. I was enchanted with the arts and how art reveals history, both past and present. I have been supporting and teaching the arts on a daily basis ever since.</p>
<p>Q: What professions have you worked in?<br /> A: My very first work experience was at Burger King … my dad called me the Burger Queen. I then worked in business in different office positions. My favorite position found me 14 years ago when I was asked to become the executive director of the Friends of the Uffizi Gallery, a 501(c)(3) U.S.-sanctioned organization created in Palm Beach County supporting the preservation of the artwork in the Uffizi in Florence, Italy.</p>
<p>Q: What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?<br /> A: Laocoön and His Sons was a monumental yearlong onsite restoration at the Uffizi Gallery set behind a plexiglass barrier allowing museum visitors to see the restorers at work. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi was a 6-year-long restoration project that at completion revealed never-before-seen areas on the masterwork.<br /> In 2019 my friends and family supported the Uffizi’s newest room, The Titian Room, featuring the Venus of Urbino.<br /> <br />Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?<br /> A: Never be afraid to embrace a second chance.<br /> <br />Q: How did you choose to make your home in coastal Boca Raton?<br /> A: I remember vividly the first time I entered Boca Raton via A1A from Deerfield Beach. The street screamed out to me as the asphalt changed from black to white upon entry. I was enchanted at that moment and still today I am thankful to be a Boca Raton resident. </p>
<p>Q: What is your favorite part about living in coastal Boca Raton?<br /> A: The sunshine and easy access to everything — especially the beach, parks, the turtles, the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the proximity to airports and the smiles on the face of every tourist that enters our magical world.</p>
<p>Q: What book are you reading now?<br /> A: I am reading Art in Renaissance Italy for an art and architecture class I am taking online. <br />The “Crazy Rich Asians” series was my last fun read, so much so that I read it twice. Historical fictions are my all-time favorites.</p>
<p>Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired? <br /> A: Andrea Bocelli for relaxation and soulful pop for inspiration.<br /> <br />Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?<br /> A: Yes, I was blessed with strong, intelligent and kind parents as my first mentors. One girlfriend that inspired me was my friend Davey, who is now in heaven. Davey’s wisdom was worth writing in books. During a crisis she traveled to Florence, Italy, to study art. Years later, I mimicked her therapy during my own change in life. Studying art history in Italy for me was life-changing.</p>
<p>Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?<br /> A: Julianna Margulies. She’s someone I admire as an actress.</p></div>MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR: Robert Barfknechthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/meet-your-neighbor-robert-barfknecht2020-05-20T16:30:00.000Z2020-05-20T16:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960951278,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960951278,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960951278?profile=original" /></a><em>Robert Barfknecht, chairman of the Lantana Library Foundation, is as much a part of the library as is the ponytail palm outside. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related Story: <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-library-on-track-for-renovation-modernization" target="_blank">Library on track</a> for renovation, modernization</strong></p>
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<p><strong>By Brian Biggane</strong></p>
<p>It was no surprise some years back when Hypoluxo Island resident Robert Barfknecht, a voracious reader, became a dues-paying member of the Lantana Library Foundation.</p>
<p><br /> Then, about 10 years ago, he became even more.</p>
<p><br /> “I made the mistake of giving them too much money one year and they immediately invited me to become a member of the foundation’s board of directors,” Barfknecht recalled with a laugh. “I accepted delightfully. I like giving back to the communities where I’ve lived and prospered.”</p>
<p><br /> Sanford “Sandy” Beach was the foundation director at the time “and he was very, very passionate about the library,” Barfknecht said. “Later Sandy left, and I was got elected chairman of the foundation.”</p>
<p><br /> Located for the past 25 years in an old bank building on Ocean Avenue just west of the railroad tracks, the library is not in the county system but is maintained and supported by the town of Lantana.</p>
<p><br /> “Sid Patchett, the director for so many years, worked hard to make it different, through the quality of the literature that was to be found there,” Barfknecht said.</p>
<p><br /> Patchett died last year and Barfknecht oversaw the hiring of his replacement, Kristine Kreidler.</p>
<p><br /> But now he and his board have a much larger assignment.</p>
<p><br /> The 1-cent sales tax increase levied by Palm Beach County a few years ago has allowed Lantana to improve some public utilities and, according to Barfknecht, much of the money for a significant upgrade in the library is in this year’s budget.</p>
<p><br /> The foundation interviewed four architectural firms and hired PGAL of Boca Raton, which has designed more than 30 libraries. Former Greenacres Mayor Sam Ferrari is the lead architect.</p>
<p><br /> “What we have in that plan are some wonderful spaces for children, special places for teens, a teen creation lab, and also a community center for adult activities. That’s something that’s missing here,” Barfknecht said. “It’s going to enrich our community and bring us forward for the next decades.”</p>
<p><br /> The plan was approved by the Town Council at its May 11 meeting. Barfknecht was praised for his dedication to the effort.<br /> As it happens, the meeting coincided with Barfknect’s 82nd birthday, “and I can’t imagine a better birthday present. Our community needs it and will prosper with it.”</p>
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<p>Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?</p>
<p>A: I grew up in the city of Detroit when it was the industrial center of the world. I went to school and university there, earning a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in engineering mechanics at Wayne State University.</p>
<p><br /> It was a great place to work in my chosen profession as there were producers of every kind of product and their support industries. I worked for a consulting engineering firm started by several of my professors at the university and gained incredible experience across many industries as a young project engineer.</p>
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<p>Q: What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?</p>
<p>A: I developed an early pneumatically powered robot that was quite successful. I also obtained my license as a registered professional engineer. I maintain that license in Michigan even today.</p>
<p><br /> After the Detroit riots in 1967, with the burning of large parts of the city, my wife and I began planning our departure. My experience in Detroit convinced me that I could find useful employment anywhere in the world. So, Louise and I decided to go to my mother’s beautiful country of Italy to learn the language and perhaps learn to cook like my grandmother did. Louise suggested that we go to Italy via the Orient.</p>
<p><br /> In August 1969, I resigned my position, we sold our stuff, packed two backpacks and flew west to California, Hawaii and Japan to begin our five-month trip to Florence, Italy, where we had reserved spots in a good language school. Louise published a memoir about all this called Leaving Detroit, which is available on Amazon and at the Lantana and Manalapan libraries.<br /> We had saved enough money to last at least a year while I learned enough Italian to find professional employment. It took longer than I thought. But after a year in the wonderful city of Florence we had made enough friends to find small jobs to augment our savings.</p>
<p><br /> I worked as a carpenter and as a house painter for an American countess who owned a grand villa. These were skills that my father had taught me and that I had used to work my way through college. As we got better with the language we both found work as translators. </p>
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<p>Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?</p>
<p>A: In Italy, while working to upgrade the former villa stables to a grand apartment, I was introduced to the new renter, an American named Bob Collier, who had arrived to take over an Italian plastics company. We hit it off. After building him some closets and painting the place to his satisfaction, I gave him my bill and enclosed my résumé. I asked him to call me if he ever needed a good engineer.</p>
<p><br /> Two weeks later he called, and that began what became a wonderful 20-year career with Mobil Corp. I was hired first as a consultant to help them purchase three Italian plastic manufacturing plants in northern Italy. Then they hired me to be engineering manager, operations manager and ultimately general manager of various plastics manufacturing businesses in Europe and the United States. This marvelous man became my mentor and helped me launch a great new career.</p>
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<p>Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?</p>
<p>A: Get the best technical education you can. This will give you independence. With a great technical education, you can go where you wish and find a good occupation and a good life.</p>
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<p>Q: How did you choose to make your home in Lantana on Hypoluxo Island?</p>
<p>A: During our early years in Italy we returned on a visit to Detroit to find my old neighborhood very depressed and my widowed mother looking for change. Mom had a close cousin who lived in Lantana and we suggested she visit and check out the town. She loved it and bought a condo at the new Croton Harbor, one block away from her cousin.</p>
<p><br /> We visited in 1974 and were smitten by the tropical wonders. On every visit we would barbecue and picnic at the Lantana beach pavilion, which was open to the public in those days. We snorkeled, spear-fished and played lots of pinochle.</p>
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<p>We bought our condo apartment across the street from my mother’s place in 1988. We used it as a getaway whenever I could get some time off. I vowed that someday when I retired, we would find a home on Hypoluxo Island. We moved to the island in 2000.<br /> In 1991, I was offered the opportunity to become president and CEO of a wonderful company in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, called EDI. We left our home in Tuscany to come to Wisconsin for my new career. We had softened the bitterly cold winters of northern Wisconsin with frequent visits to our condo in Lantana but looked forward to retirement in the tropics.</p>
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<p>Q: What is your favorite part about living on Hypoluxo?</p>
<p>A: We are as happy today as we were when we bought it 20 years ago, maybe even more so. We have found good friends here, very interesting people who have worked hard at their professions and who appreciate the tranquility and beauty of this place.<br /> Now in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is as good a place to shelter as I can imagine. We are walking on the island, swimming in the pool, painting watercolors in the garden (me) and writing a memoir of food and friends in Italy (Louise). We don’t watch television but read tons of books. Louise got us both involved with the Lantana library some 15 years ago.</p>
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<p>Q: What book are you reading now?</p>
<p>A: I have just started Hilary Mantel’s third book of the Wolf Hall trilogy, called The Mirror & the Light. On the reading table are started but not yet finished, The Anarchy by William Dalrymple, about the British East India Company, and Disunited Nations by geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan.</p>
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<p>Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?</p>
<p>A: We have instituted opera night every Friday during the pandemic. We will prepare a special dinner and follow it with an opera film. This started when our last opera of the Palm Beach Opera season, Eugene Onegin, was canceled due to the virus. I bought a copy of an old (1958) Russian film of the opera and we started with a 7:30 curtain time that Friday evening. This was so much fun that we started doing our own Friday night at the opera.</p>
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<p>Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?</p>
<p>A: James Dean.</p>
<p>Q: Is there something people don’t know about you but should?</p>
<p>A: I have a show of my watercolor paintings hanging in the Manalapan Library and I have been honored with commissions for paintings that hang both in the library and in the new Manalapan Council Chambers.</p></div>MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR: Barbara Floreshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/10-questions-meet-your-neighbor-barbara-flores2020-04-01T18:30:00.000Z2020-04-01T18:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960943261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960943261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960943261?profile=original" /></a><em>Barbara Flores, a designer and author, stands in front of two of her poster creations and holds copies of her four books, including a memoir about her marriage breakup. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong><br /> By Brian Biggane</strong></p>
<p>It was about the time Barbara Flores had her third book published that she decided she needed to learn how to write.</p>
<p><br /> Flores, a 71-year-old South Palm Beach resident who in 2019 published her memoir Separated, Acting Badly to positive reviews, produced a book of quotes for Al-Anon families and two cookbooks before actually making the time and effort required to consider herself an accomplished writer.</p>
<p><br /> “I started out as a graphic designer, and getting the design right was actually more important to me than what the book had to say,” she said.</p>
<p><br /> When her third book, The Great Book of Pears, became a finalist for the International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award in 2001, she decided to take a different tack.</p>
<p><br /> “That was what I call my big-ass award,” she said. “That was when I decided to get interested in writing. I didn’t even call myself a writer then. I really wanted to design more than write.”</p>
<p><br /> Living in the Bay Area, Flores started by taking writing classes from Adair Lara, a columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle.</p>
<p><br /> “I took so many of her classes she got sick of me, but we became writing partners, so everything she wrote for the Chronicle she sent me, and all the crap I wrote I sent her. We had to write a column every day, and I got very good very fast, and that’s when I had the thought of writing a memoir.”</p>
<p><br /> Her plan was to catalogue the ups and downs of her marriage, which had lasted more than 30 years, but it was about that time her husband had an affair with a younger woman and left her.</p>
<p><br /> “So, there goes the book idea, but then people said why not write about the experience of him leaving, so that’s what I did.”</p>
<p><br /> That was in 2004, and in 2006 she decided to leave the Bay Area to join her parents in South Palm Beach. After years of grieving over the failed marriage and many stops and starts, she wrapped up the manuscript last year.</p>
<p><br /> “We had a very long separation before we got the divorce, so that’s the ‘separated’ part, and the ‘acting badly’ part is me acting badly,” she said.</p>
<p><br /> Flores, who has married again — to artist George Canberg — has spent many years as a teacher, first at an inner-city school in Oakland and more recently at G-Star School of the Arts in the village of Palm Springs. That background contributed to her latest manuscript, a work of fiction involving guns. The book is intended for ages 11-13.</p>
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<p>Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?<br /> A: I grew up in a village, yes a real village, called Menomonee Falls outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I wanted to leave as fast as I could. I wanted to see the world, the ocean. I wanted notoriety as an artist. I already won awards in high school and college — my artwork sold — and I grew too big and too bigheaded for my small hometown. Now I really appreciate the people. They’re so kind, friendly, soft-spoken … just don’t schedule anything during a Packers game.</p>
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<p>Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?<br /> A: My career as an artist/writer/teacher has been a see-saw of peaks and valleys. My writing mentor, Adair Lara, a former San Francisco Chronicle columnist, has called me a serial enthusiast. In college in Madison, Wisconsin, I began illustrating shoes like Andy Warhol did. By the time I was 22 my illustrations for Nunn Bush shoes were appearing in Playboy and GQ. That gig allowed me to buy a small starter cottage in the Bay Area. I raised three kids in the ’80s and when the youngest was 2 I decided to quit my job as a magazine art director to be home with them and do volunteer work for the war-torn refugees flooding into the Bay Area.<br /> I founded a work program called Manos with grants. But I was broke and had to ask my husband for a food allowance to feed the kids. After five years, my graphic design work picked up and I opened a graphic design studio in Berkeley.</p>
<p><br /> One of my good friends from church was the mother of Mark Miller, the Coyote Café chef. She had a wacko idea that I should fly to New Mexico the day after Christmas and talk to him about designing a chile poster. This was in 1990 when no one had even heard of a jalapeño or a chipotle. It launched a 12-year career of designing food posters and authoring cookbooks for TenSpeed Press. <br /> After my husband, whom I had adored, left after 31 years of marriage, I needed something more in my life. I decided I wanted to write more than I wanted to design. I published essays and took a job teaching writing to inner-city kids in Oakland. I moved to Florida and taught at G-Star School of the Arts.</p>
<p><br /> At age 60 I got a degree in writing and literature at Bennington College, Vermont. I’ve been honored to teach at U.C. Berkeley Extension, Moraga College and Palm Beach Atlantic University.</p>
<p><br /> Now I teach adults, edit manuscripts, care for my great-granddaughter and I’m on the third draft of my next book, a tween fiction. <br /> I am most proud of my work with women. Today I continue to volunteer to mentor disadvantaged, marginalized and abused women in recovery.</p>
<p><br /> And I am proud of my memoir, Separated, Acting Badly.</p>
<p><br /> Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?<br /> A: Success is where your greatest passion meets the needs of the marketplace. You hear “follow your heart,” but with the cost of education today, your heart can lead to financial ruin. Yes, follow your heart but there’s also a stomach(s) to feed. In my twisty-turvy career path I’ve taken low-paying jobs serving ice cream, teaching high school, and after my husband left and my third book won a big cookbook award, I took a serving catering job just so I had a party to go to every Saturday night.</p>
<p><br /> Also, if you want to work in a creative field — film, design, publishing — I suggest you work as an intern at the most prestigious company you can find. Find the win/win in every difficult situation.</p>
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<p>Q: How did you choose to make your home in South Palm Beach?<br /> A: When I first moved to South Palm Beach in 2006 a stranger said, “Everyone that moves to Florida is either moving away from something or moving to something. Which one are you?” I didn’t miss a beat answering that I was moving away from a marriage breakup. I ran away from California as far as I could until I hit an ocean. And the ocean healed me. Also my parents lived here, and I needed them, especially my dad.<br /> <br /> Q: What is your favorite part about living in South Palm Beach?<br /> A: The exquisite aqua sea. I never get tired of looking at it. Also my grandmother was one of the first residents in South Beach when there was only the Tropicana on the Intracoastal side. My aunt also lived in the Imperial. Some South Beach trivia: The Imperial is built around a two-story beach house that was once owned by Howard Hughes. My Aunt Alvina lived there. I came here at 13 and fell in love with South Palm Beach. I watched the (recently demolished) Hawaiian Motel being built from my grandma’s third-story condo. Then the view was all beach and dunes and palm trees.</p>
<p><br /> And now my granddaughter and her daughter live a few steps away. My husband, George Canberg, an artist, has a trailer at Briny Breezes where he paints. I call Briny my happy place.</p>
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<p>Q: What book are you reading now?<br /> A: I’m writing a kids fiction book so I’m into YA. I’m reading With the Fire on High, by Elizabeth Acevedo. One of my students also recommended Little Fires Everywhere.</p>
<p><br /> Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?<br /> A: I’m a visual person and I’ll listen to whatever George puts on. He plays old rock ’n’ roll. I love it. I love to have music served to me. If I play music (salsa mostly) it’s to dance not relax. If I want to relax, I’ll meditate.</p>
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<p>Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?<br /> A: My father. I feel sorry for the men who married me because my father was a hard act to follow. He was always very proud of me. But then I’ve been a workaholic who carried a briefcase to first grade. He was a small-town dentist, honest, humble, admired and he never said a bad word about anyone. I must have been in my 40s or 50s when I realized that my father was one of the grandfathers of the National Basketball League, a forerunner to the NBA.</p>
<p><br /> Every time I drive into my condo parking lot I think I see his green station wagon. He passed last April at age 99.</p>
<p><br /> Another mentor is Adair Lara. She was a columnist, not an academic, but she taught me how to write and teach.</p>
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<p>Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?<br /> A: I’ve been told that I’m a weird mix of wit, sophistication, and immature naiveté. I’d like it to be Meryl Streep because she can capture nuance and paradox. <br /> <br /> Q: Who/what makes you laugh?<br /> A: Honesty. Brutal honesty. A very successful writer told me once, “Barbara, when you write, you’re so funny. But when you talk, you’re not funny at all.” I find that hilarious.</p>
<p><br /> Also my 7-year-old great-granddaughter, Giselle Solis. I can’t get enough of her. I wish I could see the world through those beautiful brown eyes.</p>
<p><br /> Visit <a href="http://www.barbaraflores.net">www.barbaraflores.net</a> for more on her work.</p></div>Meet Your Neighbor: Terry Fedelehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/meet-your-neighbor-terry-fedele2015-12-02T20:30:14.000Z2015-12-02T20:30:14.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960611894,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960611894,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="720" alt="7960611894?profile=original" /></a><em>Terry Fedele has been a vital part of the local health-care philanthropy scene since coming to Boca Raton with her husband, Jerry, seven years ago. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p>Her lengthy résumé might boggle the minds of some of the most avid volunteers in South County, and her monthly schedule might do the same.<br />She earned accolades for an even lengthier list of inspired accomplishments at this year’s Soroptimist International of Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach Women of Distinction breakfast, which honors female leaders making a difference in the lives of others.<br />“I feel very, very fortunate,” wife, mother, board member and community volunteer Terry Fedele said of the award. “There are many women in this community who give tirelessly of their time, talent and treasure, so I feel extremely blessed to have won.”<br />The 63-year-old coastal Boca Raton resident has lived in the area for seven years and is building a new home with husband Jerry, president and CEO of Boca Raton Regional Hospital.<br />“We feel like we landed in paradise,” Fedele said.<br />Before moving to Boca Raton, she worked in the Pittsburgh area as a registered nurse at the Allegheny General Hospital Suburban Campus (then called Suburban General) and eventually landed a series of professional roles prior to retiring as executive vice president of hospital operations. Her success in — and passion for — the health-care industry led her to join a long list of boards and committees that share her vision.<br />Fedele serves on Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation’s Hospital Ball, Go Pink Luncheon and golf tournament committees and is coordinator and director of sales for the Allianz Championship’s Women’s Pro-Am, which benefits the hospital’s Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute. She is a member of the hospital’s Collaborative Care Council and helps its Debbie-Rand Memorial Service League auxiliary group.<br />She also serves as a board member of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, gives her time to the college’s Caring Hearts Auxiliary and co-chairs its Keep Memories Alive walk. She and Jerry will co-chair the American Heart Association’s Boca Raton Heart Ball in 2016.<br />Education is another one of Fedele’s passions, so she decided to get involved with the Boca Raton Children’s Museum (vice chairwoman of the board), Florence Fuller Child Development Centers (chairwoman of the Men With Caring Hearts Awards Luncheon and co-chairwoman of the Wee Dream Ball) and the George Snow Scholarship Fund’s Boca’s Ballroom Battle (committee member) and Caribbean Cowboy Ball (co-chairwoman).<br />“My calendar is full, but that’s the way I like it,” she said. “The busier I am, the happier I am.”<br /><em>— Amy Woods</em></p>
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<p>10 QUESTIONS<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?<br /><strong>A.</strong> I grew up in Pittsburgh, the daughter of blue-collar parents who instilled a strong work ethic in me and the value of education.<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> In what professions have you worked, and which ones make you the proudest?<br /><strong>A.</strong> I have always been very proud of working in the nursing profession as I enjoy helping others and making a positive difference in their lives.<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> What advice do you have for young adults selecting a career today?<br /><strong>A</strong>. Select a career that you are passionate about, and do not focus on how much money that choice affords you. Money is a short-term satisfier, and work is a significant part of your daily life.<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> How did you choose to make your home in Boca Raton?<br /><strong>A.</strong> My husband, Jerry, took a job in Boca as the president and CEO of Boca Raton Community Hospital, which is now Boca Raton Regional Hospital.<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> What is your favorite part about living in Boca Raton?<br /><strong>A.</strong> The people and how much they support their community and the organizations within the community. Every day in Boca is a perfect day, as this is truly paradise. For me, spending time helping others, being with friends and family, being at the beach and golf time makes life wonderful.<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> What music do you listen to when you need inspiration or want to relax?<br /><strong>A.</strong> I like classic ’60s and ’70s music.<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you?<br /><strong>A.</strong> Treat others as you would want to be treated.<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> Have you had mentors in your life — individuals who have inspired your decisions?<br /><strong>A.</strong> My dad is my hero. Through his example, he taught me to always be positive and not to wallow in sorrow or problems but to move on to the solution.<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?<br /><strong>A.</strong> I would really want Katharine Hepburn, as she was strong, independent and the kind of person willing to give of herself to help and better others.<br /><br /><strong>Q.</strong> Who/what makes you laugh?<br /><strong>A.</strong> My husband and my children, as they are the joys of my life.</p></div>