They name themselves, merely, The Board.
They meet for espresso a few occasions per week to resolve the world’s issues and reminisce about their long-gone youth, comparable to the place the perfect ladies so far lived — on the town or on the Seashores.
Well-known and revered in authorities, company, enterprise and social circles round Jacksonville, they concede to being outdated guys who get pleasure from one another’s firm in retirement. You’d have a tough time discovering a sharper bunch.
Richard “Dick” Brown, 83, former public affairs supervisor for Bellsouth, served two phrases on Jacksonville Metropolis Council and as mayor of Neptune Seashore, the identical elected positions his spouse Elaine, present mayor, additionally received. Richard Bowers, 82, held administration positions in housing, group improvement and code enforcement for the Metropolis of Jacksonville and lobbied for the state governor’s workplace. He later was vice chairman for group affairs for the PGA Tour.
Harry Schnabel, 79, owned Seahorse Florist in Jacksonville Seashore for 35 years earlier than promoting it six years in the past. All served as chair of the Seashores Division of JAX Chamber.
The trio meets most frequently at Breezy, a beach-themed espresso store at Jacksonville Seashore, in what’s appropriately named The Board Room, though its signal depicts a surfboard. The espresso chats have been occurring at the least eight years, however they’re unscheduled. Construction, comparable to every Monday and Thursday at 10:30 can be insupportable for Bowers, who prefers their versatile “Espresso tomorrow? You wager!” texting system.
Humorous, partaking, thoughtful and clever, they tease and play off one another and don’t conceal their mutual admiration. Brown and Bowers return many years and co-hosted a weekly one-hour speak radio present referred to as Salt Air on Seashores station 1600 AM about 10 years in the past. Its banter was so much like board conferences — humorous, respectful and informative. They speculate that they related with Schnabel at chamber previous chairs’ dinners — however they aren’t positive.
Of their many commendable qualities, maybe probably the most spectacular is their capability to disagree politically with out animosity. The 2 conservatives and one liberal continuously focus on contentious nationwide, state and native points and depart smiling.
“We worth the friendship,” stated Schnabel.
“By tomorrow we may have forgotten what the difficulty was,” quipped Bowers.
“We understand that each side could make good factors at occasions,” Brown stated. “One thing will pop up within the information and we’ll hash it out a bit. Some folks get walking-off mad about politics, however we all the time handle to complete our espresso.”
“He’s the peacemaker,” Bowers stated of Brown. “He has the distinctive capability to be in a troublesome scenario and say the factor that must be stated to calm it again down.”
Proprietor Nancy Ruth Barber, who opened Breezy 10 years in the past, has cultivated a real friendship with the trio and has been aware of a lot of their conversations—from presidential elections to the pullout of American troops from Afghanistan to the proposed sale of JEA.
“Each time they arrive in we are saying, ‘Right here comes The Board.’ We love having them,” stated Barber of her enterprise that she described as a homey spot the place folks can collect.
Regardless of their faith, race or political persuasion, her clients share the frequent bond that they care about their group, she stated.
“These three are wonderful. Not solely have they been pals a very long time however they’ve totally different political and different views, and that’s OK. They’ve nice dialogue and share concepts,” she stated. “There’s been a few occasions somebody virtually stormed out, however they got here again collectively.”
Visitors, invited and impromptu, are welcome at board conferences. Eavesdropping patrons at Breezy typically be a part of the dialog. Others are requested to sit down in.
“Take into consideration 12 months after 12 months the variety of folks now we have met, from kids who learn to us to folks on computer systems doing doctorate work,” stated Schnabel, whose golden retriever Shilo additionally attracts consideration and affection at conferences.
The boys agree that their robust friendship and having this socialization of their senior years is wholesome and an essential a part of their lives.
“It’s an impartial dependency,” stated Bowers. “We share stuff we don’t share with anyone else and I’m unsure I might be comfy not having this group to hold with and bounce issues off of.”
“The camaraderie is a giant half,” Schnabel agreed. “We discuss the whole lot overtly and actually. It’s a godsend for a person my age to have these pals to speak in confidence to, banter forwards and backwards, be insulted and know they’ve my again.”
Generally the teasing and insults are relentless. As an illustration, Brown and Schnabel have taken to playfully numbering Bowers’ tales that they’ve heard repeatedly.
“I generally tend to repeat myself and inform the identical story,” Bowers acknowledged. “Over a 12 months’s time I could inform it 10 occasions. In order that they’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s quantity 202,’ or ‘Right here comes quantity 112.’”
“However they’re good tales,” Brown stated.
“Converse for your self,” countered Schnabel.
And so it goes.
Along with their weekly coffees, the three have launched into what they name “guys journeys,” day-long, camera-toting adventures to the Suwannee River, Darien and different spots in Florida and Georgia.
Socially, the three {couples} have turn out to be shut pals, so far as forming a good bubble throughout the harmful early months of COVID-19. Though Elaine Brown, Fran Bowers and, in Schnabel’s case, yours really, his AFG (all-time eternally girlfriend,) seldom attend board conferences, the six get pleasure from dinner events and weekend getaways.
“A lot of years in the past I assumed at 83 I might be sitting on the entrance porch rocking,” stated Brown, also referred to as First Dude because the mayor’s husband. “I’m so happy that we’re out and about and leaping within the automobile and going locations.”
Lorrie DeFrank, a former Pennsylvania newspaper reporter and editor, beforehand served as chief of the Metropolis of Jacksonville’s Neighborhood Companies Division.