Lynn Lotkowictz Lynn St. Petersburg, FL MAR/APR 2021 Est. September 2004 Imagine Getting Paid Changing Lives With for Your Hobby the Red Tent Initiative –– JANAN TALAFER –– ometimes a simple synchronicity can be life-changing in ways we couldn’t dream of at the time. That’s what happened Sfor Barbara Rhode, a St. Petersburg licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of the Red Tent Women’s Initiative. Barbara had just finished reading Anita Diamant’s book, The Red Tent – a compelling fiction about the ancient tradition of women seeking comfort in each other’s company while they spent time in the “red tent.” The book reinforced Barbara’s belief that for many women, having a safe space to share their feelings and experiences was very much missing in today’s society. John and Lien Satino with their dog Mino out for a drive in the vintage Edsel –– SAMANTHA BOND RICHMAN –– magine getting paid for your hobby. Shore Acres resident John Satino does just that. He’s a car guy from way back in his childhood, hanging out in his stepdad’s garage, and later fixing cars Ineeding a lot of work, which he bought from the ‘back lot’ of the local Chevy dealership and then sold for a profit. He was changing out engines and transmissions even before he had his driver’s license in his original state of Ohio. Since 1984, his car collection has been featured in numerous television and movie productions, sometimes generating a nice daily stipend, though clearly John would collect cars with or without the added attention. John’s current collection consists of “about 20” cars, including Bentleys, Ferraris and a Hummer. He keeps about 10 of them at his “custom-built for vehicle-storage” stilt home in Shore Acres. This is how he came to own one very famous Edsel – the vehicle with huge marketing excess that turned sour for Ford Motor Company when consumers realized the cars were lemons. Continued on page 8 Barbara Rhode (left) and Meg Hogan of the Red Tent Women’s Initiative At an estate sale a few months later, she had the odd sensation that something was wrong from the minute she walked into the Mirror Lake: Beauty & History house. “Everything in the home was for sale, even the previous –– WILL MICHAELS –– owner’s hairbrush,” says Barbara. “It was as if she had left one ake a stroll around the Mirror Lake neighborhood and soak in the beauty and history of morning and not returned.” Then she learned that the the area, as well as the unique architecture of the buildings. The neighborhood is rich in homeowner, recently divorced and depressed, had taken her life. T1920s-era architecture and a feast for the eyes. Styles include Beaux Arts, Masonry “It was a very heavy experience,” Barbara recalls. “I felt sad Vernacular, Mediterranean Revival, Modern, and Moorish. More recent buildings include the that she felt there were no other options. As I got ready to leave, modernist Judicial Building, the Sebring State Offices, and Wannemacher-Jensen Architects. I felt the need to walk through her bedroom. And there on her Mirror Lake itself is the only lake downtown and believed to be part of a string of ancient nightstand was the book, The Red Tent. It was like the universe lakes that also includes Crescent Lake. The lakes offered Native Americans a source of fresh flicked me in the head to tell me to pay attention.” water long before Europeans arrived. H.A. Weir acquired 40 acres near Mirror Lake in 1876, Barbara bought the book and placed it on the shelf in her and for a while the lake was known as Weir Lake. The city’s original plat included about office. It’s a reminder about the power of connection. It also led two-thirds of Mirror Lake, then called Reservoir Lake. It was of quite different shape than the to Barbara founding the Red Tent Women’s Initiative, a nonprofit present arrowhead configuration. Continued on page 26 program dedicated to helping incarcerated women heal unresolved trauma and turn their lives around. In recognition of her success, Barbara was named one of the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth for 2020. For the past 15 years, L’Oreal Paris has selected ten “extraordinary women who selflessly volunteer their time to serve their communities.” The honorees receive $10,000 to support their continued philanthropic work. “When I got the call, I didn’t know that our former CEO had nominated me, so I thought it was a joke at first,” says Barbara. It was quite an honor, and Barbara says she was selected not only for the work the organization does, but also for the story behind how the Red Tent Initiative came to be. In 2007, after many years in private practice as a counselor specializing in trauma resolution, Barbara was hired by the Goodwill Suncoast Residential Re-entry Center to help women transitioning back into society after serving jail time on drug Mirror Lake – a place of beauty, rich in history – is the city’s Civic Center with City Hall, Carnegie Library, charges. It wasn’t long before it became apparent to Barbara that Sunshine Center, Coliseum and Recreation Complex, Adult Education Center, Judicial Building, and State Building. Continued on page 20 Have you been diagnosed with PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY? Do you experience tingling, burning, numbness, or pain in the hands or feet? ASK YOURSELF... Neuropathy occurs in the feet or hands as a result of nerve Do you have difficulty damage. Over time, the nerves lose blood supply due to sleeping at night because of constriction which causes them to degenerate. 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RECENTLY SOLD PROPERTIES SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD 475 2ND ST N #402 4707 ROYAL PALM CIR NE 224 ARANDA ST NE 1205 13TH ST N LIST PRICE $950,000 LIST PRICE $720,000 LIST PRICE $2,100,000 LIST PRICE $650,000 REPRESENTED BUYER SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD 1301 15TH ST N 916 NORTH SHORE DR NE 266 SNELL ISLE BLVD NE 176 4TH AVENUE NE #1001 LIST PRICE $385,000 LIST PRICE $690,000 LIST PRICE $684,900 LIST PRICE $1,890,000 REPRESENTED BUYER REPRESENTED BUYER 727 498 0610 [email protected] & DON H SAR AH OWE TE TEAM 2017 [email protected] 1 ST PE 2020 # sarahanddonhowe.com Page 4 March/April 2021 NORTHEAST JOURNAL EDITOR’S NOTE Have you seen the fabulous new sculpture of the life-size Benoit Airboat sculpture at the Pier? It’s a commanding presence that adds to our growing collection of amazing public art throughout the city. The sculpture, with pilot Tony Jannus at the controls and Mayor Abe Pheil as the first passenger, commemorates that iconic first flight on New Year’s Day 1914. It also recog- nizes St. Pete’s role in the birthplace of commercial aviation – one more cool piece of history that makes our city special. I was fortunate to attend the official dedication of the sculpture, and later, to interview keynote speaker Nicole Stott, a former NASA astronaut.