SPOTLIGHT ON...
Randy Rutland Brown
Story written by Lynda Stevens
I doubt whether many in our congregation today can say they were baptized in our church as a baby, but Randy Rutland-Brown can. Meeting him for this story it was immediately apparent that he was very fortunate to be born into a loving, close knit, committed family.
The youngest of three boys, Randy has attended Coronado Church all his life. In years passed Joan Harvey helped him participate in various Sunday School and youth programs including a worship program for those with special needs where families joined in and the service ended with a free meal for all. He also served as an acolyte in his youth and helped in serving Communion.
Randy has a very active schedule. He’s been attending the Sunrise Adult Day Workshop, an educational and training center for those with disabilities, four days a week from 8:30 – 2 pm now for 22 years. Votran Services provides his transportation. Some will work at various places e.g. Publix on Sundays and also participate in various projects at the center on other days of week. Due to Randy’s limited hand dexterity and limited vision he attends purely for social reasons. I could tell by looking at his face he enjoys these visits immensely. I just had to ask “So, Randy, do you have a girlfriend there?” “Yes” he replied in a nanosecond “because her previous one is now out of the picture!”
On Wednesdays Randy can be found volunteering at the Boutique from 10 am – 1 pm. He’s been a greeter and helped with window displays for approximately 10 years. “I’ve also sold items too” he added. At one time the boutique had been trying to find a buyer for a vacuum cleaner and Randy offered it to many customers over a period of time but no one would take it. Eventually after about a 15 minute sales pitch the vacuum cleaner rolled out the door.
Randy became a certified volunteer at VITAS, a Hospice Program, visiting facilities such as Lexington Place, and Beachside Center, New Smyrna and Diamond in Edgewater. His aunt, Martha accompanies him on these visits Sunday and Wednesday afternoons, and during the course of one month they undertook 42 visits. In order to become certified volunteers must complete a mandatory number of qualified hours, and the credentialing process includes a background investigation and fingerprinting. Martha and Randy are accompanied by Martha’s two year old Shih Tzu, Maltese, Yorkie, Pomeranian mix therapy dog Sandyman who effortlessly provides the much needed comfort to those they visit. Martha, Randy and Sandyman also visit church members who are residents in these senior living centers.
Once a month on Monday evenings Randy, accompanied by Sandyman, visits Colors of Hunger, the volunteer charity in New Smyrna that provides free hot meals to the unhoused population, and assists with signing in.
(I had to stop and take stock of Randy’s activities at this point and came to the conclusion that our Randy is a social butterfly.)
There are several Alexa’s (the virtual assistant) in Randy’s home. Quite honestly, I didn’t realize the extent of help Alexa can offer. It’s used to call Becky and Bob within the home if Randy needs help, it can dial up telephone calls to his brothers, and aside from music offerings, and audio books, Randy often uses it for the current weather forecast to help him choose his clothing for the day.
Randy is looking forward to a visit from his brother Rob who lives just outside Washington D.C. in early May when they’ll take a road trip to Jacksonville for a few days of quality time together, staying at a motel, visiting the city and riding the water taxi.
A baseball fan, Randy follows his favorite team the Atlanta Braves.
He’s proud of the fact that he gets to ride as co-pilot in the church bus which picks up people who get tired walking in the annual Martin Luther King Day march.
If there’s any free time Randy likes to visit the boardwalk, and a caregiver will often take him fishing. He’s been known to catch many interesting fish both large and small. When struggling to pull in his catch one day, a gun slowly appeared out of the water. All sorts of possible crime scenarios filled the imagination, however the gun was simply turned over to the police...no questions asked.
Randy enjoys swimming and talking on the telephone when the opportunities arise.
I think we can all say the grass doesn’t grow under Randy’s feet.
