Ixoria Student Designs Greeting Cards

Press Release:  May 9

When Willie Kent was a young teenager, he and his brother would hang out after school at A.E. “Beanie” Backus’ home in Ft. Pierce. They would stay until night learning lessons about art and life from the silver-haired man who wore colorful shirts. 

Backus would spend hours teaching the boys to draw and paint and would offer words of encouragement.  “He furnished all the materials for us kids,” said Kent.  “He was an extraordinary man and just being around him was amazing.” 

Backus died in 1990 and for Kent, the years since his passing have been hard.  But with the help of caring counselors and the programs at New Horizons, he is getting his life back on track.  For the past eight months, this soft spoken man has been a student at Ixoria Learning Center in Ft. Pierce. “When I first met Willie, he was very shy. He wouldn’t speak and had no eye contact,” said Jack Miller, Recovery specialist.

Then, his counselors noticed that he enjoyed drawing and they encouraged him. He began creating beautiful greeting cards and was thrilled when he received blue ribbons and a Best in Show at the St. Lucie County Fair.

With a personal motto of “take something good and make it better”, Kent is developing a custom line of greeting cards that are crafted from recycled cards and supplies purchased from local craft stores. The beautiful one-of-a-kind cards feature colorful designs with intricate cut-outs and embellishments. 

Through classes at Ixoria, he is also learning skills to market his line of greeting cards. Charlotte Jackson, owner of Teddy Bear Corner, was the first to carry the beautiful custom cards. “We started carrying his line around Valentines Day and my customers loved the cards,” she said.  “Because they are hand made and different, they are very sentimental.” 

“They are teaching me to cope with being out in the world,” said Kent, “and they have helped me find an apartment.”

With the help of his case manager, he moved into an efficiency apartment in White City and through programs at Ixoria, he is learning about household budgeting and shopping.  In the tiny apartment, there is evidence of an artist in residence.  Brightly colored projects - in- progress cover the table and counter tops. 

The talented artist is learning additional job skills through Ixoria’s Employment Solutions program.  He has worked on a painting crew to help brighten New Horizons Outpatient Centers and he also does lawn maintenance. “Willie is a very hard worker, and goes the extra mile,” said Miller.  “He pays attention to detail and during a recent painting project, insisted on scraping off drops of old paint before putting on a fresh coat.

“The staff at Ixoria is very pleased with Willie’s progress and we feel that our work with him is a reflection of his personal motto “take something good and make it better,” said Miller.