Category Archives for People

Childhood Dream of Becoming a Photographer Becomes a Realty

Published December 7, 2012, Pawtucket Times

Some times an appreciation for the arts takes hold of your soul later in life and sometimes it takes place during your childhood.  For thirty nine year old Briana Gallo, she was intrigued with photography at a very young age, which began while playing with her dad’s old Nikon camera.    Today with pride and excitement, she finds herself participating in her first show, selling her photographs at the 30th Annual Foundry Artist Holiday Sale.

Looking Back

“I could ride [a horse] before I learned to walk,” remembers photographer Briana Gallo, who grew up on a 100 acre horse farm in Missouri.   Little did the five year old child know that the seeds of her desire to be a professional photographer was gently planted while taking ‘pretend’ shots of imaginary scenes.  Years later, this ultimately created and shape her photographic style as an adult.

Gallo’s imagination guided her photography.  “I want my photos to be full of emotion, with people becoming an integral part of the image.”  For those looking at her work, this Northfield, New Hampshire resident wants them to see the image as she saw through the lens, feeling that they became part of the exact moment the photograph was taken.

When Gallo turned ten years old, the pain of her parent’s divorce pushed her away from photography, taking her to Florida to live with her mother.  As a sophomore at ArmwoodHigh School in her new community of Brandon, Florida, the young student again picked up a camera joining the school’s year book staff.  “I was all over the school clicking away, capturing each and every moment”, she says.  Gallo ultimately did take on the responsibility of becoming the editor in her junior and senior years.

Snapping Pictures at College

             After high school, Gallo entered  Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where she majored in English, with two minors – teaching English as a second language, and of course, photography.  The budding photographer made a few dollars on the side by taking photos at sports events and sorority and fraternity parties. “Photography paid my bills,” she says, but noting that it took “absolutely no creativity.”

As a college senior, Gallo traveled to attend photo workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico, mostly focusing on landscapes and slide photography, however, these trips also reignited her love for riding horses.  After graduating college, she ran a horseback riding program for boys in North Carolina.  Gallo, who grew up on a Missouri horse ranch, trained Arabians to become “kid horses” in North Carolina for four year.  This experience ultimately led her to meet her husband and marry.

Her last winter in North Carolina, Gallo found her old manual camera. After wiping the dust off, she took a photograph of a White Zinfandel wine bottle, which became an award winning photo.  The internal calling to become a professional photographer was reinforced when the wine company bought her photograph to use in an advertisement.  “This was my sign,” she says.

Relocating to New Hampshire, the couple would become Directors at Interlocken, an international summer camp. Gallo fell back on her college skills of teaching English as a second language, combining it with photography to work with the campers who came from all corners of the world.  She also ultimately served as the camp’s marketing and staffing director, too.

As a Camp Counselor, “I suddenly found myself back in the heart of photography,” she said, “…not taking pictures but teaching the craft to the youngsters.”

In time, the young couple bought a ranch in Northfield, New Hampshire to establish, Driftwood, their own camp and boarding facility.  During the summer, they offered two three-week horseback residential riding programs to children.

Gallo realized that the skills she honed while training horses would also make her a better photographer as well.  “Training young horses requires the eye, patience and steadiness needed to become a professional photographer,” she said.  Ultimately, closing her ranch allowed Gallo to bring photography back into her very hectic family life, especially with the time it takes to raise two small children under age seven.

With the purchase of a Canon 7 D and learning about the digital darkroom at  Rhode Island School of Design,  Gallo was off and running, to become a professional photographer.  She traveled to Honduras, with the nonprofit group, Shoulder to Shoulder, to create a photo essay of their work.  This allowed Gallo to provide photos for use in their fundraising, telling their story through many of her camera lenses.  She also did her photo-philanthropy for City Arts and Mount Hope Youth, Center  located in Providence.

Last year, Gallo traveled to Cuba, learning photo-taking tips from the world renowned travel photographer Lorne Resnick., where the experience propelled her into the world of fine art photography. Today, Gallo reflects on her life’s journey where she has found a way to do all that she loves – to be a mom, to work, to travel, to practice photography while at the same time, helping others.

Looking back over the years, Gallo has come to realize that “art is not what you see but what you make others feel.” With Gallo’s attempts to become a full-time photographer, she adds “I’m definitely stepping into unknown waters, it’s kind of like getting on a young horse for the first time.”

Buy Local, Support Your Local Artist Community

             Gallo becomes one of 65 seasoned artists who will show their work at the Foundry Artist Association’s thirtieth anniversary holiday sale, considered to be one of the top regional art sale, showcasing jewelry, glass, pottery, clothing, artwork, photography, and furniture.  As for the last ten years, this Christmas event is held at the historic Pawtucket Armory, located Exchange Street in Pawtucket.  Kicking off last weekend, the holiday sale reopens this Friday, December 7th, noon – 8 p.m., with jazz singer Debra Mann performing from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ; Saturday, December 8th, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., and closes on Sunday, December 9th, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The Foundry Show, for Gallo, a first-time Foundry Arts Association participant, allows her to showcase her unique photographic work (her website is www.courageispower.com) to thousands of shoppers, who want to purchase one-of-a-kind photos, with the added benefit of not having to pay sales tax on their purchase.

The show is free to the public with free parking in the adjacent parking. All major credit cards accepted.

For additional information and directions to the Foundry Artist Show visit the website, www.foundryshow.com  and or visit Facebook .

Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket-based freelance writer who covers health care, aging, and medical issues.  He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.

Pawtucket to Celebrate its Own

Published October 11, 2012, Pawtucket Times  

            Making a difference in your community can be as simple as helping a family member, neighbor or friend who are in need of a little assistance.  Those simple acts of kindness can have far reaching effects that are not always obvious  – whether it be shoveling a side walk for a neighbor, donating canned goods to feed the needy, or volunteering for a nonprofit or civic group, are some examples of giving of ones self.     

             But some Pawtucket residents (or even former one’s, too) excel in their motivation to “go the extra mile” to making a positive impact on their beloved Pawtucket community. Enhancing their home town to strengthen its social fabric becomes their life’s mission.   Founded in 1986 to commemorate the City of Pawtucket’s 100th Anniversary, today the Pawtucket Hall of Fame has recognized 98 inductees, that include 18 historical figures, who have made an extremely positive impact in the Birthplace of America’s Industrial Revolution.  In two weeks, the following five inductees will join their ranks, to be recognized by the City’s Pawtucket Hall of Committee for 2012:

 A Voice for the Voiceless

             Semi-retired businessman and philanthropist Paul Audette brings his love for the City of Pawtucket with his detailed historical knowledge of the community, combined with 50 years of work experience. “He comes to the aide of those in need”, notes Patty Zacks, who nominated this 83 year old inductee.  “He never wants or expects to be recognized for his help,” Zacks adds. 

             “His actions [to help] are led by his heart and done for the right reasons,” says Zacks,  who believes that he has oftentimes been the ‘glue” that help keeps this community working together.

             Mayor Donald R. Grebien, notes “He is a self-described ombudsman for the City and has worked in many instances to insure that a potential new business can navigate its way through the “red tape” to become a successful Pawtucket business.

             Former President of the Pawtucket Rotary Club, Colin Murray, also recognized Audette’s efforts to help others.  “Because of his determination for making Pawtucket a better place to live and work, the Pawtucket Rotary Club awarded him the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award, the highest civic recognition that the civic group bestows upon a individual,” he said.

              According to Murray, Audette has been an advocate for the “voiceless” and has served as a volunteer ombudsman for the Alliance for Better Long-Term Care, was Chair of the City’s Affirmative Action Committee, and worked for decades assisting the down and out in the community, providing financial assistance and helping them navigate the State’s regulatory process.  Audette, a Pawtucket Rotarian, exemplifies the Rotary International’s motto, “Service Above Self,” Murray says.

         Murray adds that since 2006, as co-founder of a nonprofit group, Helping Hands, Audette has continued assistance to local organizations that help at-risk Pawtucket youth, the homeless, and the helpless.  Organizations receiving assistance include Cross Roads, Pawtucket Boys and Girls Club, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Pawtucket Salvation Army and the American Cancer Society.

Bringing Winter Wonders to Pawtucket

            Janice McHale and her good friend, Jean Stipek, of Pawtucket, will also become 2012 inductees into the Pawtucket Hall of Fame.

            Pawtucket resident Dawn P. Goff, who chairs the Winter Wonderland Committee, recognizes McHale and Stipek, for creating Pawtucket’s premier winter event. After experiencing a winter festival in California, McHale and Stipek presented their idea to Mayor James E. Doyle, who gave them the “green light” to organize a “Winter Wonderland” in Pawtucket. 

            For over a decade these two Pawtucket residents directed the efforts of a dedicated group of volunteers.  Goff noted that last year, Winter Wonderland turned 13-years-old, showcasing 425 lighted Christmas trees, along with 20 Victorian Houses sponsored by local businesses along with a number of lighted displays.  The two December weekends were jam-packed with festive holiday entertainment, Goff says.

            Winter Wonderland, drawing thousands of Rhode Islanders into Slater Park each December,  began with “two people who had a vision in 1999”,  Goff adds.

            Besides her activities with Winter Wonderland, McHale has served on the Pawtucket Riverfront Commission, the City’s Parks and Recreation Commission, in addition to the Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick Day Parade in 2000.    

America’s Legendary Jockey

            John “Red” Pollard rode into American history while overcoming physical disabilities, such as partial blindness in one eye and worked with intense physical pain caused by severe riding injuries that fractured his bones.  The man who rode Seabiscuit, humbly accepted his role in racing history.   As noted by local horse trainer, Nino Calabro “Red had a way with the horses..”. And Seabiscut was considered to be one of  America’s most recognized thoroughbred racehorses in the nation’s history.

             Attorney John J. Partridge who nominated the late Pollard, says “It is not often we can honor someone who lived a relatively quiet life while as a resident of Pawtucket, but was internationally acclaimed and twice memorialized in motion pictures, and more recently in a best-selling book [on the Times bestsellers list for a total of 42 weeks].”  Pollard, who in his later years resided at 249 Vine Street in Darlington with his wife Agnes, raised their two children, Norah and John in Pawtucket and worked at the Narragansett Race Track.  Today, Red and his wife Agnes’ final resting place is in the City’s Notre DameCemetery.

             Supporting this nomination, Mayor Grebien noted, “Between August 1936 and March 1940, Pollard rode Seabiscuit 30 times, winning 18 races including his final start in March 1940, the year the horse and rider won the San Anita Handicap and Seabiscuit was the nation’s top money-winning thoroughbred.”

             According to Mayor Grebien, Pollard was “an outstanding athlete himself in a very demanding sport, and mentored countless young jockeys who rode at Narragansett Race Track.”  He often provided shelter and a hot meal to many of the young jockey’s who needed a hand as they aspired to what Pollard had achieved as one of horse racing’s all-time best jockeys.”

          A  native of Alberta, Canada, Pollard was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1982, says Tom Cosgrove, Archivist. “His name will be forever linked to the days when thoroughbred racing, boxing, and baseball were the only sports in America that truly mattered,” states Cosgrove.  

             Terence J. Meyocks, of the Nicholasville, Kentucky-based Jockeys Guild, says that Pollard “holds a special place in Jockey’s Guild history because he was one of the founding fathers of the Guild in 1940.  He joined other leading jockey’s at the time including Eddie Arcaro, John Longden and Charles Kurtsinger, to create the Guild, which represents the health and safety interests of jockeys everywhere.”

 Unsung Civil War Hero

             Finally, Pawtucket resident, Dale Rogers, nominated Lt. Colonel Henry Harrison Young, who becomes this years’ Historical Inductee.  “Young distinguished himself and his unit throughout the war by furnishing excellent intelligence on Confederate troop movements and by oftentimes even donning Confederate uniforms to either kidnap southern soldiers or gather valuable information for General Sheridan. 

             According to Roger’s,  the Civil War veteran was dispatched at the war’s end to the Texas border to round up Confederate renegades who were making raids, where he lost his life in an ambush while crossing the Rio Grande River.  A statute was dedicated to this Pawtucket resident at BurnsidePark in Providence, (across from the Biltmore, near the skating rink), for his heroics.

             The Pawtucket Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony will take place on Friday, October 26th at 7:00pm. at the LeFoyer Club on 151 Fountain Street.  To purchase tickets ($30 each)  please call Rick Goldstein, at (401) 728-0500, Ext. 348. 

             Herb Weiss is a Pawtucket-based freelance writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues.  He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.

 

Real Role Models Fly Under the Radar Screen

Published Augusts 24, 2012, Pawtucket Times

            As we go through our life stages, we are attracted to ‘role models’ or people we look up to – “mentors” as they are commonly referred to.    Those individuals who possess the right attributes and specific traits we hope to emulate – a persona we admire and respect. 

             For children growing up or those having reached their middle years, they may look up to and view their parents as that “perfect” role model.  Others may see redeeming qualities they try to imitate turning to entertainment celebrities, pro-athletes, successful business entrepreneurs, or religious and ethical figures. I found myself stumped when I was recently asked who my role model was as I responded to a “PowerPlayer” questi+onnaire by Golocalprov.com.  I never looked up to any one individual in the celebrity culture, sports personality, or even a politician.  

 Influential People in My Life

           As I pondered this question, there were a few people that came to mind.

          Of course I thought of my father, Frank Weiss, who had a great impact on my life.  He taught me the importance of using a business network in my profession.  While the Dallas businessman raised money to fund cancer research projects and other worthy causes, as Economic and Cultural Affairs Officer, I try to do the same, such as working to support the City’s Annual Pawtucket Arts Festival. 

          Then there was Fred Levy, a former Army intelligence officer during World War II, who was also a fabric salesman and writer.  When I was a young man, Mr. Levy was my neighbor and a man for whom I had great respect.  He might be a likely candidate for being my role model.  Mr. Levy gave me advice on how to become a better writer during my early professional years.  He juggled his job, writing, and also being a full-time caregiver to his adult daughter, Faye, who was bedridden with multiple sclerosis.  He was an inspiration to me, who read my published articles and encouraged me to continue to writing.  

         More recently in my present work, I thought of my former boss, Planning Director Michael Cassidy.  He was a role model to me – teaching me the value of tenaciousness. He looked at all bureaucratic and political angles to accomplish his planning goals. While it took him 10 years to get the City’s skate board park up and running, it took me seven years to see my project, the SlaterParkDogPark come to fruition.  But it happened. 

            While my father, my neighbor and former boss taught me valuable lessons in life, I realized that the most influential person in my life, was an 82 year old, semi-retired man right here in my Pawtucket community.                

Being an Advocate for the Voiceless

          Like the “energizer bunny” sporting gray whiskers and a plump belly, Pawtucket businessman, Paul Audette has always been an advocate for the “voiceless” in the City of Pawtucket and the surrounding communities. 

         Watching out for the elderly, he became a volunteer ‘ombudsman’ for the Alliance for Better Long-Term Care.  Paul even served as Chairman of the Pawtucket’s  Affirmative Action Committee to ensure that everyone had equal opportunities in municipal government.   He has worked for decades assisting those down-and-out, even providing them financial assistance out of his pocket, to help them navigate the State’s regulatory process.

         Paul has long-ties to many of the City’s nonprofit groups, from the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, the Pawtucket Armory Association, the Foundry Artists, the Pawtucket Fireworks Committee, Pawtucket Preservation Society, and the Pawtucket Arts Festival, just to name a few groups.  He even has been active bringing his expertise as a property manager and developer to assist the Pawtucket Planning Department streamline the City’s Building permit process.

        Paul co-founded a non-profit group called Helping Hands, and has provided financial assistance to local organizations that help youths at risk, the helpless and homeless.  Since 2006, Helping Hands has given donations to 37 organizations, including, Cross Roads, Pawtucket Boys and Girls Club, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Pawtucket Salvation Army, American Cancer Society.

        Paul did not learn the ropes about business by attending any of the ivy-league schools, but instead learned the tricks of the trade by working.  For over 50 years, his hard work landed him senior-level positions for major corporations including Dunkin Donuts, in addition to serving as ‘Special Assistant’ to the Presidents of Providence Metalizing, working in the Personnel Department, and by managing its properties and taking on special projects as assigned. 

        This local businessman even ran one of the largest catering companies in Rhode Island, catering over 300 weddings and 10,000 functions over the years.  His corporate and nonprofit clients include widely recognized organizations in the OceanState, including Hasbro, Hospital Trust, La SalleAcademy, BayViewAcademy, and Swank. 

           Exemplifying the Rotary International’s motto “Service Above Self,” Paul has been a member of the Pawtucket Rotary Club since 1999, and was recognized and awarded the prestigious Paul Harris Award, the highest civic recognition that the national civic group bestows upon an individual.

           Throughout one’s lifetime you might have many role models who inspire, teach and give you a road map to overcoming obstacles in your personal and professional career.  But sometimes the most important ones are those individuals who are not so visible or obvious, like those reported in surveys reported by the nation’s medai – the celebrities, professional athletes, or beloved religious figures, but rather that person in your community, whose mere existence quietly impacts you – as well as a community.

          The most important role model in your life may well be that person flying under the radar screen, seeking to help others – one person at a time – giving of themselves without seeking public notice.   For me, that person, my mentor is  Paul Audette.

           Herb Weiss is a freelance Pawtucket-based writer who covers, aging, health care and medical issues.