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Executive Lifestyles
Public People, Private Passions
 THE WRITE STUFF: Summer Rodman helps run a poetry press and is a published poet. |
As president of Orlando-based Amazon Hose & Rubber, Summer Rodman oversees an industrial distribution company with three offices in Florida that does $11 million in sales annually. She also helps run a poetry press, is a published poet herself and supports aspiring writers through the Kerouac Project.
"Writing is a priority for me. I have to keep that part of my life in balance," says Rodman, who received a master's degree in writing and poetics from Naropa University, a private liberal arts college in Boulder, Colo., noted for its Buddhist-inspired core courses. She joined Subday Press a year ago at the request of friend and fellow writer Kyle Kaufman. He's based in San Francisco. They do all their work via the internet and try to meet in person at least once or twice a year. They've published seven titles and are reviewing several more for publication. Rodman's own first book of poetry, "A Train Came By and Slowed," was published in 2003.
The Kerouac Project, based out of the house where Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac lived in the late 1950s, takes on four writers a year, giving them a place to live and write, rent-free, no strings attached. Rodman's job is to help the artists-in-residence get situated. It's a great way to stay connected with the writers community, she says. "I've always loved to write," she says. "It's been a great source of knowing myself, understanding the world and sorting things out."
 Tom Equels |
Horseplay
Miami litigation attorney Tom Equels, who helped recover millions of dollars hidden throughout the world by former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, follows more pastoral pursuits when he gets away to Mystic Oaks, his Ocala ranch. He breeds and trains Paso Fino and Tennessee Walking Horses. Among his 11 horses, Equels' favorite is Shiloh, a 5½-year-old Tennessee Walker that he trained to be his trail horse. Equels' favorite riding times are dusk and dawn, but often he'll stay gone all day, riding along the Florida Greenway. One of his favorite stopping places along the trail is an ancient oak tree that he had a hand in saving from loggers who wanted to cut it down. Now he's trying to get hitching posts and picnic tables installed so people can stop and enjoy the tree. Equels used to ride his horses in dressage competition, but he now sticks mostly to trail riding and training. "It takes years and years to learn how to work with and handle horses," he says.
 ESCAPE MECHANISM: When he's not taking to the skies as part of his job, Ben Barrocas hits the road on his Harley Superglide. |
Road Hog
As a managing director for United Airlines' Latin American market, Ben Barrocas spends 50% of his time flying. When he's home in Broward County, he likes to stay grounded. His favorite ride? A Harley-Davidson Superglide. "I'm in a challenging business. The bike makes a nice escape," says Barrocas. He usually rides to Daytona, Orlando or Key Largo, leaving Saturday morning and returning Sunday. He's looking to trade up to an HD Roadglide ($16,000), known among Hog owners as a true "rider's bike," for long hauls down the highway.
 DRUMMING UP BUSINESS: Jan Reese plays with some big names through his business. |
Beat Player
Jan Reese was the founder and lead drummer of the Jan Reese Quartet, which played a regular gig at the Flagler Inn in Gainesville when he was a college student. But he turned down a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston for a degree in business, choosing to follow a path into the family real estate development business. He's now a top executive with real estate investment firm Cypress Creek Capital in Fort Lauderdale.
Reese, who grew up on Miles Davis and John Coltrane, still finds a way to fit drumming into his schedule. He practices as much as he can. He's got a full trap set at his home and plays at local clubs when he's able.
Reese also manages to play with some big names through his business -- when he has a grand opening for a building, he hires a band. One of the stipulations is that he gets to sit in and play during their last set.
"I've gotten to play with some incredible groups," says Reese. Among the most memorable was a gig featuring Nestor Torres. He's also had jam sessions with former Office Depot President and Mars Music founder Mark Begelman. "It helps me keep my chops," says Reese.
 griller: Daryl Junck’s Kalamazoo grill: “Bullet-proof,” for about $6,000. |
Making a Grilling
Plantation-based yacht broker and yacht captain Daryl Junck turned a passion for outdoor grilling into a way to feed the neighborhood after Hurricane Wilma hit south Florida last October. Without water or power for 15 days, Junck grilled chicken, shrimp, even prime ribs, feeding about a dozen or more neighbors every night. His grill of choice: A hand-crafted Kalamazoo gourmet grill manufactured in Kalamazoo, Mich., by fourth-generation stainless steel fabricators. "It's bulletproof, still looks like it did the day I bought it nearly five years ago," says Junck. Fun feature: You can put a logo on the grill so it gets seared into your meats. What's on Junck's grill? "Ski Hard." He's Canadian.
