Joey Porter and BARC Clients at his 2009 Celebrity Golf Tournament

If you’ve lived in Bakersfield for any length of time, you know we take our sports seriously and local athletes that make it “big” reach iconic status quickly.  We’ve had a wealth of athletes enjoy professional success; arguably the most recognizable of all is Foothill High graduate Joey Porter.

Most everyone in Kern County – even those who aren’t football fans – can recite some or all of Joey’s pertinent stats: two sports star athlete at Foothill High, Colorado State standout, third round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl champion with the Steelers, four time Pro-Bowler, former Miami Dolphin and current Arizona Cardinal.  And many are quick to (repeatedly) point out his missteps as well —-an all too common consequence of living in the public eye.

What is largely unknown to the public at large is the spirit of generosity that quietly defines Joey Porter off the football field.  An outspoken and often brash personality on the field, Joey is soft spoken off the field.  He and his wife Christy could live anywhere but they have chosen to remain in Bakersfield to raise their family.  Possessed with a strong sense of hometown pride, the Porters are generous benefactors to many organizations and active participants in the community.  From their support of Foothill High to Bakersfield Memorial Hospital and several other groups, the Porters take their commitment to Bakersfield seriously.

Their own personal journey with their daughter Jasmine, who is autistic, has increased their involvement within the developmentally disabled community.  They opened the Jasmine Nyree Day Center in 2008, a comprehensive child care facility catering to the needs of children with disabilities, including autism, Down’s syndrome and various levels of developmental disabilities.  They have funded this venture largely out of their own pockets, a testament to the importance they have placed on helping others in our community.

 On Friday, June 11^th, Joey will, once again, bring a number of his NFL friends – Larry Fitzgerald, Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown and Jerome Bettis, to name a few – to Bakersfield for a day of golf at Bakersfield Country Club.  Cost to play is $250 per player and space is limited, so get your team in today!  On Saturday, June 12^th at Foothill High, Joey and the other NFL greats will share their skills with the youth of Bakersfield at the Joey Porter Football Camp.  Cost for this day of skill building and fun is $50 and includes a great lunch.  More information can be found on the BARC website (www.barc-inc.org) on the upcoming events page.

 Last year for the first time, BARC was the recipient of the proceeds from the Joey Porter Celebrity Golf Tournament as well as the Football Camp.  We are privileged to share that honor this year with the Jasmine Nyree Day Center.  Come on out to one of these events and show your hometown pride.

Families have always been the cornerstone of BARC’s success from the beginning and families have been involved ever since.

                 Without the many devoted family members of our Clients, BARC would not be sixty years strong and growing. A great example of how family involvement makes a difference at BARC is seen in the Gregor family. Harry and Claire Gregor’s family involvement and dedication to both their daughter Dede and BARC, stretches back over 50 years. At the suggestion of the Crippled Children’s Society, where Dede was receiving speech therapy, Harry and Claire Gregor placed Dede in the BARC preschool. The Gregors loved the atmosphere and care Dede received and once she moved on to elementary school at Greeley, the Gregors continued their involvement with BARC. 

                Seeing first hand the difference that could be made and knowing that Dede would need someplace to feed her mind and provide her opportunities after graduation, Harry and Claire devoted countless hours to BARC activities and fundraisers. Harry especially enjoyed working in the Kern County Fair booth as he was a people person who could talk to anyone and did – every chance he got.  Claire was asked by Hy Seiden, another long-time BARC parent and Board member, to serve on the Board of Directors during his tenure as President of the Board; a position she proudly held until 2009 when she turned over the reins to her son Dan.

                Claire fondly recalls, “Parent involvement was nearly 100% and the monthly spaghetti feed was always overflowing with families. We accomplished many great things, even when finances sometimes impeded the ability to provide services.” She sees the growth of the BARC facility and the expansion of services provided as a testament to the power of community and family involvement. With Harry Gregor’s passing this year he will be missed and remembered for decades to come for all that was built upon BARC’s foundation that he helped to secure for future generations of Clients and Families.

                Looking forward, Claire stresses the need to start educating the new parents of developmentally disabled children now.  “They (the young parents) are the key to a grassroots movement. You have to educate them on what is available for their children as they grow and to get in there and fight for the kids,” she says.

                Just as critical to BARC’s Mission of Giving People Purpose was the dedicated work of Josie Perez, long time Client Coordinator.  Josie Perez was more than a Client Coordinator though. To BARC’s clients she helped make dreams come true. In addition to her duties on campus, for many years she volunteered her time to operate Camp KEEP and was instrumental in initiating our trips to Hawaii.

Josie was a mother and grandmother to all. She developed skills and renewed self-esteems. Josie did not see Individual differences but accepted individualized and special characteristics. She saw beauty from the inside out.  Claire Gregor could not agree more, saying “We couldn’t have raised Dede without her.  There will never be another Josie.”

                Josie passed away in 2010.  Due to her dedication the California State Department of Habilitation developed the Josie Perez award. Claire commented…BARC has achieved success in many areas, but one of the most significant has been the ability to expand the view of the world for their Clients.

 Harry and Josie we all miss you but you will remain forever in our hearts.

Lisa Plank; Jim Baldwin

Kern County students LOVE to read.   How do we know that?  Nearly 7000 admission tickets to the BARC Magical Forest tell us so.

 BARC introduced its Magical Forest Reading Express program in 2008 as a way to encourage reading for fun.  Students at participating schools who read 200 minutes for pleasure received one adult and one child admission to the Magical Forest.  We distributed over 1400 tickets in 2008, which was pretty impressive for an initial effort we thought. 

 This year participation skyrocketed with 21 schools from 8 districts participating.  Nearly 7000 admission tickets to the Magical Forest were distributed to the students and teachers who participated.   What a testament to the great teachers we have in Kern County who are mentoring voracious and enthusiastic student readers in our elementary and middle schools.  They should all be very proud of their accomplishment.

 Not enough gets said about our educators and their dedication to broadening the horizons of our students.  In the era of “teaching to the test” and the weight put on test scores that translates into necessary funding, it would be easy for teachers to not take on extra projects or recognize the importance to commit to new ideas that help with the task at hand, and the students are responding.

 Not in Kern County.  We have some of the finest educators on our campuses that do see the importance of opening the world of reading for pleasure to their students.  A life long love of reading can be awakened with encouragement…and a little reward doesn’t hurt either. 

 Our heartfelt Thanks to all of the participating schools, students, teachers and parents who made this reading program successful, and Thank You for Your Support of BARC.

The holiday season is rapidly approaching and before we are all overwhelmed with the whirlwind that envelopes our lives during this time of year, I would like to invite you to join all of us at BARC and savor our crisp fall weather while it lasts, and slow down for a moment as we give some thought to what we are thankful for this year. The past year has been tumultuous, to say the least, for our country and state, as well as our own county and city as the economy has impacted all of us in some way. It is easy to temporarily forget, in the chaos that is life, all that we truly have.

As the year of BARC’s 60th Anniversary winds down, we are reminded of how much there is to be thankful for while looking forward to what the next 60 years brings for our Clients, families and community.

We are thankful for the Clients we serve as they remind us with their smiles and enthusiasm why we come to work every day. Their well-being is entrusted to BARC and we are thankful for the supportive families that bestow that trust upon us. We provide services to over 500 Clients daily and we are thankful for both the support of the Kern Regional Center and the BARC staff for their dedication and for making it look easy. We are especially grateful to our community for unwavering support without which we could not have survived these 60 years. We are blessed with the best families, volunteers, cheerleaders, vendors, customers and benefactors any organization could hope for and we are thankful every day they share our vision and partner with us as we work to Give People Purpose for another 60 years.

All of us at BARC wish you a holiday season filled with blessings and promise that will last through the upcoming year.