So! Today I am paying tribute to a true Renaissance woman, none other than Jo Barnes of The Renaissance Farm in Prince Edward County, Ontario. 

It is just IMPOSSIBLE to tout all of her talents here in this space, but here is what I can tell you: Jo is an artisanal jam producer - her jams are affectionately known as “Jo Jams” and her Jumbleberry Jam is to die for (check out her site for stores that carry it). She has many other special flavours in collaboration with other businesses in and around PEC that I have yet to try, but I can only assume they are fantastic. She is also a honey producer (in collaboration with @127bees) and she recently did a collaboration with @garagetimebrewing (the result was the Renaissance Garage Jumbleberry Sour). 

When she isn’t making jam or gathering honey (or God knows what else!), Jo is also a caterer, if that wasn’t enough - she works full time in customer service. She is also a loving wife and a terrific mother to her three children AND fun fact - she just placed 2^nd in her class in an arm wrestling competition at the Picton Fair (Arm wrestling!!! FYI – she is arm wrestling in the illustration here 😊 ). I knew all of this about her but typing it out here kind of just blew my mind! 

Thing is - with Jo, it’s never just about the jam (or the honey, the beverages or even the catering). Her focus, passion and joy stems from her collaborations and through forging partnerships througout the community. That’s what drives her. I’ve witnessed this first hand through my interactions with her on the @ThrivePEC initiative - she genuinely loves and cares for this community.

One of the things that I really love about PEC is the positive leadership that we are surrounded by – it’s the fuel that inspires me to do these characters. Jo is one of the most energetic, generous and positive leaders that you could ever want to meet, she leads her life beautifully by example. I feel pretty lucky to have crossed paths with her.

Thank you, Jo, for all that you do – you are without question a County treasure!

Visit The Renaissance Farm site here.

Follow Jo on Instagram here.

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