Click on a picture to view a short bio of that board member.

Tara A. Owen

OCSNA President

Tara A. Owen

Tara A. Owen and her husband Malcolm Frank are delighted to be relatively new residents of Old City South, having purchased 252 Saint George Street in June of 2020. Transitioning into semi-retirement, Tara has spent much of her career running her own executive communications firm.  She has ghost-written hundreds of speeches, articles, scripts, reports, and book chapters for Fortune 500 C-suite executives across every sector.  It is hoped that some of that experience and expertise might prove useful to the OCSNA.  She and her husband met at their 20th Yale college reunion and have 4 adult children between them and two shelter dogs, Dudley & Skipper Dee. Current interests include “reading” audio books and cross-stitching…at the same time.

Brendan Moore

OCSNA Vice President

Brendan Moore

Brendan Moore grew up in the little town of Venice on the southwest coast of Florida. After attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, he graduated from The University of North Florida with a Bachelors degree in Jazz Performance. Then continued on to receive a Masters Degree in Computer Science from the University of Central Florida.  As a professional composer and musician he has worked with a wide range of artists including The Platters, The Drifters, The Tokens, The Marvelettes, Debbie Gibson, Jordan Knight, Dinosaur Jr, and Guided by Voices to name a few. His compositions have appeared on NBC, Disney, and Netflix.  He is currently a Senior Software Engineer at Intuit working on the QuickBooks for Mac product.  In his free time you can find him and his wife, Lauriann, walking around beautiful St. Augustine.

Mark Brand

OCSNA Treasurer

Mark Brand

Mark Brand and his wife Margrit Kuehn moved to St. Augustine in 2015 from the Chicago area, where they raised their three children. Mark is a native of Minnesota where he graduated from Concordia College. He received his law degree from Notre Dame and practiced for more than 35 years before he and Margrit moved to 316 St. George Street. He has served on a number of bar and civic committees and boards, as well as the executive committee of his law firm, and for many years coached his children’s youth sports. Although mostly retired, he still does a little legal and business consulting.

Mark likes to walk, jog, bike and go to the beaches around St. Augustine. Mostly, he and Margrit appreciate the many good friends who have welcomed them to this wonderful neighborhood.

Burry Gowen

OCSNA Secretary & Neighborhood Council President

Burry Gowen

Burry Gowen is a founding member of the OCSNA and immediate past president, who continues to provide counsel to the Board as an emeritus member. Prior to moving to their home at 5 Tremerton Street, Burry and his wife Wendy lived in the Boston area, where Burry taught middle school social studies in the Lexington Public School system. While at Lexington, Burry served as Social Studies Department Chair from 1998 to 2005 and was named Lexington Public Schools Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2004. Burry has a B. A. in Economics from Marietta College and an Ed.M. from Harvard University. Wendy and Burry love their adopted hometown, its historical neighborhoods, and the warmth and welcoming nature of their neighbors.

Allan Farquhar

OCSNA Board Member

Allan Farquhar

Allan Farquhar and his wife Cara bought 272 St. George Street in February of 202 and have been full time residents of Old City South since August of 2021 along with their three high school and college aged daughters. Allan began a semi-retirement at this time. He is currently serving as a Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Florida Gainesville and is enjoying overseas surgical missions, most recently in Honduras and Ghana.

The couple met at the University of Vermont College of Medicine in 1996 and were married in 1998 after Allan finished his Ophthalmology Residency in Manhattan at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. He entered private practice when he purchased and ran a very busy surgical practice in upstate New York for 20 years. During that time he ran a primary and satellite office which employed over 25 employees and doctors and cared for a large clinical practice as well. Allan has enjoyed the slower pace and community in Saint Augustine and hopes to use his previous experiences to contribute to OCSNA.

Judy Rente

OSCNA Board Member

Judy Rente

After living in Belgrade, Montana for 30 years, Judy Rente recently returned to St. Augustine and will be lifting and restoring her family home…something she’s dreamed of doing for many years!  Judy grew up in Old City South at 331 St. George Street and graduated from St Augustine High School.  She took ballet at the Lightner Museum studio of Lillian Lindsley who had students dancing in many venues around St Augustine.  She attended St John’s River Junior College and North Florida Junior College and ultimately graduated from FSU. One of her favorite summer jobs was lecturing at Potter’s Wax Museum…it was much larger back then!

After graduation, Judy worked in the Public Relations Department at the main office of Mackie Brothers/Deltona Corp in Miami, eventually editing the company newspaper.  She left the company to fly for National Airlines. It was in Miami where Judy was introduced to her husband, Dr. Sid Rente. Together they traveled extensively, scuba-dived and did underwater photography for many years.  It was a great life!

When a friend of Sid’s moved out to Bozeman, MT, they followed a few years later.  Judy reintroduced Jazzercise to Bozeman and taught it for 27 years. After the death of her husband two years ago, she decided it was time to get back to her hometown.  Every day is a joy to be back home!

Gail Crocetta

OCSNA Board Member and Chair, Social & Membership Committee

Gail Crocetta

Gail Crocetta was born in upstate New York where she and her husband Pat lived and raised their 2 children. Gail graduated from the State University of New York at Albany and became a Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). She managed vocational programs serving individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment.

With relatives in Palm Coast, Gail and Pat often visited St. Augustine and spent several years looking for a neighborhood in the city that felt comfortable. In December, 2009, shortly after retiring, Gail and Pat purchased their house at 289 St. George Street. It took a year of renovating to make it feel like home. From all the activities of our historic city to the coziness of our neighborhood, they feel St. Augustine is the perfect place to live.

An avid traveler, Gail also enjoys kayaking, bicycling, and hiking, along with attending spin, pump, and yoga classes. Most of all, she loves spending time with friends and family. As an OCSNA board member, Gail is most interested in helping to organize social gatherings, welcome new members, and promote the bonds that make us a neighborhood.


Questions for the Board? Please email us at: [email protected]

  • Geographic Boundaries:
    North: King Street   |   West: Cordova Street
    South: Hedrick Street   |   East: Matanzas River

About OCSNA

Old City South Neighborhood Association seeks to represent the beautiful historic St. Augustine area & America's oldest residential neighborhood. Get involved, become a member, and/or explore our great resources.

View On Facebook

Local Weather
St. Augustine, FL
°
Weather from OpenWeatherMap
Contact Us

Mailing Address:
OCSNA
PO Box 484,
St. Augustine, FL 32085

Email:
[email protected]

© Copyright 2024 Old City South Neighborhood Association   |   Built In St. Augustine By: Bold City Design