REAL HEROES OF RICHARDSON SHINE BRIGHTLY

by Bonnie Kudlicki

On September 14, 2023, moonlight illuminated the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts while the spotlight was on Warren Caldwell and Barney Carbajal, two gentlemen being honored as 2023 Real Heroes at the 13th Annual Richardson Real Heroes Awards Ceremony.

Established in 2009, Richardson Real Heroes was founded to honor volunteers who give tirelessly to the community with no intent of recognition. Each year in April, National Volunteer month, the nomination window opens. Anyone who works with or knows an extraordinary volunteer can submit a nomination. A review board evaluates each candidate and selects a recipient or recipients.

This year’s ceremony boasted record attendance, including Mayor Bob Dubey, City Council Members, City Manager Don Magner, and family and friends of the honorees. A highlight of the evening was a tribute to the late Ann Eisemann, who conceived the idea of the Richardson Real Heroes award more than a decade ago. And in a moving tribute, she was remembered for her generosity and giving spirit, as well as the legacy she left behind in Richardson. In that vein, the newly selected Real Hero award has been affectionately named “The Annie” in her honor and Charles Eisemann proudly presented the award to each honoree.

Warren Caldwell Real Hero Honoree

Warren Caldwell is a lifelong resident and member of the Richardson Community. Currently, he is President of the Canyon Creek HOA, a role he has held for seven years. His leadership of the largest HOA in Richardson has helped the relationship between residents and our city flourish. Warren often inspires the HOA board with his eloquent words and a favorite saying: “We should always be increasing the thread count in the fabric of our community.” For six years, he has been serving on the Board of Directors for Network of Community Ministries. Along with his strategic leadership, Warren also gets involved with hands-on projects, such as organizing and volunteering at many of Network’s food drives. Warren’s civic involvement is widespread. A long-time presence in the Leadership Richardson program, he is a graduate of Class 32 and has followed through to serve as a ROC (advisor and curriculum coordinator) to inspire future generations of LR graduates. He has completed Richardson C.A.R.E.S., Richardson Citizen’s Police and Fire Academies, and has worked on the Board for the Police Academy Alumni Association. On the education front, Warren has graduated from Inside R.I.S.D. and has been a Strategic Action Team Member since 2017, tasked with guiding R.I.S.D. into the next decade.

Warren has dedicated 13 years of service to the Boy Scouts of America, where he has participated in a multitude of roles including Quartermaster and High Adventure Adult Leader for Troop 1001 and sits regularly on Eagle Scout Boards of Review.

Barney Carbajal Real Hero Honoree

At 90 years young and a resident of Richardson for 63 years, Barney Carbajal is the perfect example of an unsung hero in our local community. Through his volunteerism, he has and continues to give to many thousands of our neighbors spanning multiple decades. His spirit has inspired many to take up the volunteer cause, including his children and grandchildren.

Barney’s volunteerism began prior to retiring from Texas Instruments more than 25 years ago. Barney sat on the Richardson Library Board for two terms, helping facilitate the construction of Richardson’s current library, was an Assistant Scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts of America, and in the 1960’s was an active community representative to the R.I.S.D. School Board, ensuring schools with students predominantly of color had a voice at meetings. He also served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Richardson Senior Golf League and organized multiple charity golf events, including the Network of Community Ministries Annual Golf Outing fundraiser that he led for more than nine years. Upon retirement, Barney became a staple at Network. As a regular volunteer there for 25-plus years, he sees it as “an obligation to give back” to his neighbors.

At St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Barney contributes his time and efforts as one of the original volunteers helping with food distribution in partnership with the North Texas Food Bank and Catholic Charities of Dallas. He also serves as a co-director and team member of St. Paul’s ACTS (Adoration, Community, Theology, Service) ministry leading retreats, prayer groups, mentoring others and so much more. Barney is also an active volunteer with Kolbe Prison Ministries where he participates in retreats held at the Hutchins State Jail.

These heroes’ fascinating, entertaining and inspiring video stories can be viewed at https://richardsonrealheroes. com/2023realheroes. Our hope is that their stories will lead others to extend a volunteer hand. Richardson Real Heroes loves to say, “We work to pay the bills. We volunteer to pay the heart.”

This year, Richardson Real Heroes became an independent nonprofit after having been funded by a single source since its inception. Its mission, however, remains the same: to honor outstanding volunteers whose work serves the Richardson community, to raise awareness of the valuable companies these volunteers work for, and to promote the volunteer spirit. This is the only city-wide program dedicated to volunteerism. To keep this valuable program going, consider donating at http://richardsonrealheroes.com/donate.

Tell us about yourself, Annie. Have you always been an entrepreneur?

I basically followed in my mom’s creative and entrepreneurial footsteps. She rented an old Stillwater house, created leasable spots throughout the space, and rented them to around 12 local makers. In addition to renting spaces, Mom made dolls, candles and all kinds of other products. I watched her every move and now I’m following in her footsteps.

I am a mom of two girls and a boy, ages 6, 9 and 12, and they all attend school in Richardson. We absolutely LOVE being a part of this community. I’m starting to see the entrepreneurial spark in my oldest daughter’s eyes and I’m pretty sure she’ll be a third-generation shop owner.

Tell us about Lone Chimney Mercantile (LCM) and your brand-new plant shop.

LCM is an eclectic gift shop born from my photo art days. I’m the gal behind all the landmark photos that remain our topselling item. 95% of our other products are purchased directly from small, independent makers and artists, both local and nationwide.

Our products range from candles to earrings to coffee table books to embroidery kits and so much more. We have several unique Texas souvenirs and carry quite a bit of pop culture items, including vinyl stickers, enamel pins, patches, fun coffee mugs, and a large collection of sarcastic but also very sweet greeting cards with wonderful artwork. We have gifts for all ages. I choose items that will make my customers smile, are nostalgic, or simply just pleasing to the eye.

As for our plant shop, it is unique in that the customer can craft the final product if they’d like. They choose from a variety of succulents and other plants and then pick one of an array of vintage vessels, fun pots and other unusual planters. We add dirt and the happy customer can add other doodads such as geodes, mini disco balls, or mushroom figurines and then walk away with an eclectic planting. Our new plant studio has been so gratifying and helps me slow down. I love vintage items, so hunting for vintage vessels for the plants is bringing me back to my roots. The plant shop has given me time to still be creative while allowing my busy brain to focus on what my next project will be for the gift shop.

What inspired you to open your shop and what was the inspiration for its name?

I’ve been in retail all my life. I had a vintage shop back in the late 1990’s while in college in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It closed shortly after 9/11 because the economy crashed. I had to get a “real” job, which wound up bringing me to Dallas. I’ve come full circle and I’m so fortunate to do what I love. “Lone Chimney” is the name of the road that led to my grandmother’s home in Maramec, Oklahoma (pop 100). I have some wonderful memories there and wanted to always carry a piece of her with me. The name doesn’t really match our shop vibe at all, but that’s ok. It’s important to me.

Who is your typical customer? What are your best sellers?

Gosh, our typical customer is ALL over the map. I sometimes get nervous when I see my elder customers walk in for fear I’m going to get in trouble as soon as they read an oven mitt with a sarcastic but hilarious saying on it. But once we hear a chuckle, we know we’re in the clear and secretly high-five each other behind the cash stand. If you have a sense of humor and like pretty things, you’ll enjoy LCM.

What makes LCM unique among gift shops?

What I hear the most from people is that they never know what they’ll find here. And that’s true. We carry the original Kit Cat Clocks…the ones with the moving eyes and tails. We have Build-Your-Own Ukulele kits, unique puzzles and so much more. We just set up a patch bar and you can bring in your own denim jacket or whatever else you want to slap a patch on and we will heat transfer them for you! And that’s just the beginning of our eclectic offerings.

What was it about Richardson that made you decide to live and open a business here?

I lived in downtown Dallas for 10 years. After I found out I was pregnant with my firstborn, we decided that we wanted to raise our children in Richardson. The schools are great and we still feel like we’re in the big city, but we’re getting to enjoy Richardson’s small town feel. I love our neighborhood and our customers are so supportive; in fact, our Richardson customers kept our business afloat during Covid. The shutdown happened on our one-year anniversary and I was sure our shop would have to close. But Richardson helped us pull through and I will continue to work as hard as I can to provide you a fun shopping experience in this town as a thank you.

What inspires you on any given day?

The customers. My staff. My family. Like I said, I love making people laugh. I love connecting people. I love pushing creative people to do what they love and to help teach them the business side of things and how to get their product out there. I’m inspired by so much!

Of what accomplishment are you most proud?

I’m most proud to be a mom to my children and I hope I’m teaching them the value of taking care of others because that’s what we do at LCM. I have a wonderful staff that is like family. I am very fortunate to do what I love and to also have the freedom to be mom!

Share with us a funny or awesome story of having a business in Richardson.

I think the most awesome part of having this shop in Richardson is seeing the customers interact. So many neat stories have been told on the green couch, which came from a thrift store off Campbell. The day after we moved it into the shop, a lady walked in and told me she had just donated it and how she loved to see it inside of our store. You’ll just have to come in and see for yourself if you haven’t already what makes LCM so fun. I always hope you’ll have an awesome experience when you come in to shop!

The gift shop is open:

Monday 12:00 – 5:00 pm

Tues-Thursday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Fri/Sat 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Sun 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

The plant shop is open weekends from 12:00 – 4:00 pm or by appointment.

Text 214.734.8691 to schedule. We love to host small gatherings (up to 10 people) for teens and up in our back room for plant nights.

Follow us

@lonechimneymercantile.