2015 in Review

Understanding the Opportunities

It’s amazing the perspective life provides as we age. Perspective on what’s happened “to us”, insights into who we are and what we’re here to accomplish. Both Anita and I experienced major changes at the end of 2014, changes that challenged the view of our life path. Changes disguised as opportunities to get aligned with our true selves and be true to the purpose for our existence.

Underdog to the Rescue

The hustle and bustle of reacting to weekly euthanasia lists from our county animal shelter was replaced with a determined focus to find homes for the more than 70 animals remaining in the Clermont Pets Alive! (CPA) adoption program. Our County Commissioners refused to support the No-Kill movement Anita started in 2014 by selecting a different organization to run the Animal Shelter. As the number of animals available for adoption decreased, so did the need for adoption events, volunteers and foster homes. Providing Anita with the opportunity to get some much needed rest after YEARS of determined focus to locally demonstrate the effectiveness of the programs of the No-Kill Equation (defined as saving over 90% of all animals entering an open-admission animal shelter).

We’re grateful for those who dedicated their time, talent and resources to try to make Clermont County the first truly no-kill community in our area. She felt the need to demonstrate the effectiveness of the programs locally, but never wanted the role she ultimately had to fill to do so.

Anita’s returned to her passion of helping homeless community cats and is focusing CPA’s limited canine activities on providing a safety net for large dogs typically euthanized in shelters for behavior issues. Her first project is Manny, who we’re fostering (no worries for our cats, Manny is in a heated outdoor kennel). I was originally skeptical of having a dog at the house, but have come to enjoy playing and running with Manny and will miss seeing his happy face and loving disposition once he finds his forever home.

2016 promises to provide Anita with time to pursue her passions for rescue and real estate. Using real estate to help fund her passion for saving more homeless animals in our communities by facilitating the programs of the No-Kill Equation.

Unlikely Blessing

In February I returned to seeking consulting and employment opportunities after the unexpected end of my 3 plus year gig with Procter & Gamble. The experience provided insights into my limited marketability for roles as a Project Manager or Business Analyst, my disdain for returning to a 6′ by 6′ cube to trade hours for dollars and certification as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

My discovery process introduced me to a few entrepreneurs open to the application of my skills who re-introduced me to what I’ve been reluctant to embrace for a VERY long time, I’m much happier building something WITH someone vs. FOR someone. Both opportunities support my passion for helping others. If you own, or are in a leadership position in a business seeking revenue growth, or if you have contacts with leadership within your local schools or school board, send me a quick email for additional details.

Under Construction

I started the Barron’s Place website in 1999 (as Barron’s Online) when FrontPage was the website technology of choice and a screen resolution of 640 x 480 was considered LARGE. Over the years I’ve changed how multiple photos from a single “event” are displayed, added video and increased the resolution of the photos but had remained true to FrontPage (even as I built dozens of new sites using Dreamweaver or WordPress).

I’ve communicated for years that the modern browsers do not display the old photo slideshows correctly and this summer could not bring myself to add photos for my trip to Vegas without starting the upgrade to WordPress. A strategy that will permit viewing Barron’s Place on ANY device but will take YEARS to complete (3,633 web pages in the site are accessible via the old home page)!! In addition, none of my nephews or my niece had a sub-domain (so I can get them to maintain their own site in the future).

I have no schedule for the completion and am doing my best to make sure the old site is viewable from the new site as long as possible. I apologize in advance if your experience is a bit awkward when I start converting the larger sub-domains (i.e. Rick, Mia and Anita).

I started the upgrade with sites for Allen, Anna and Will. I migrated all the year-end letters to this blog so you have easy access to them all. The links in the text from the previous year-end letters will continue to work for content that remains in the FrontPage site. Re-linking to the new content will be the final project of the WordPress conversion. Andrew’s site is next (with a goal to have it complete BEFORE he graduates from high school in May), followed by Grace. Then I’ll probably take on Dick’s site, followed by Sally’s and then toss a coin on which of the BIG sites to start.

I’m not sure how I’ll continue to provide content for those last to convert (that’s why the Vegas link above sent you to facebook). Keep coming back, send words of encouragement and let me know if you’ve got WordPress skills (or are interested in learning them) and are interested in helping bring Barron’s Place into the 21^st century.

United We Stand

BOTH Rick’s granddaughters are now driving. Anna turned 15 and got her learner’s permit within days of doing so and is doing well in a program to graduate high school while simultaneously earning an Associate’s Degree. Mia graduated from high school, bought her first car and is working as a paraprofessional at a school for challenged students. Rick celebrated spring break with the ladies in Washington, DC, enjoying tours of the Mall, the Capital, the Museum of National History and Arlington Cemetery.

Kevin’s son Andrew is finishing his last year of high school and considering studying Nursing at the University of Virginia. Grace is a sophomore and is playing volleyball. Will is finishing his last year of Middle School and is studying French until he can pursue his desire to learn German. Kevin’s career has gone full circle – returning to the Virginia Department of Transportation as a consultant. He’s thrilled to be back in the workplace after a year. Tina continues her work as a Contract Specialist for a Life Science and Engineering Services company.

Kendra’s son A.J. is a now in Middle School and still enjoys building Lego, Kendra continues her career as a Paralegal while Eric runs his IT Consulting company. Sally fills her days volunteering at her church in Laguna Beach and traveling to El Salvador every year as an Ophthalmologist Assistant.

Rick traveled to Tennessee in May to celebrate the life of Captain Matt Mlekush, our long time, dear friend. We hope to introduce the next generation of Barron’s and Mlekush’s to one another in Williamsburg, VA in May. Rick’s diving this year was limited to a few visits to the Gilboa Stone Quarry with one of his business partners. Rick’s TV show ended in May with the closing of the Anderson Community Television Studio but he continues to be active in Toastmasters, taking 2^nd place in the District Evaluation Contest in the Spring and competing in the District Impromptu Speaking Contest in the Fall.

Unconditional Love

It feels like the pace of our lives increases every year. Monday is quickly followed by Friday, with the chance to squeeze a week’s worth of personal activities and home chores into two days before starting over again. BUT life is NEVER too full to enjoy time with you and yours. We look forward to seeing you, speaking to you or sharing your lives and experiences electronically or via a simple postcard. You are VERY important to us and we love that we’ve been able to share our lives with you. We hope you’ll include us in your plans for 2016, we commit to try to do the same. Each passing year reminds us of a very simple truth – it’s not what we do, but who we do it with, and who we’re able to support on our journey, that’s most important to us.

With All Our Love,

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