Trelynda Kerr
I’ve met so many fascinating people while writing “Before the Beach.” TV and theater producers and personalities; executive chefs; a commanding officer in the Marines who served as a presidential assistant; an award-winning FDA, CDC and USDA microbiologist who created food sanitation directives for restaurants; mayoral, senatorial and house of representatives wannabes; entrepreneurs who risked it all for their dream of self-employment; the president of the National Association for Healthcare Quality, and even the maintenance supervisor for the top-secret avionics on Air Force One (he is now one of the most talented female impersonator/illusionists I have ever seen).
I can now add a Miss Oklahoma to that list. Some of you might remember last month’s column (if not, shame on you!) where I profiled Kymmr Barker, long-time Rehoboth bartender and daughter of Bob Barker. No, I’m not giving you that one; you’ll have to read last month’s issue. That article was also my first two-parter, so welcome to Part Two.
Kymmr’s wife, Trelynda Kerr, was born in Oklahoma where, in her words, “all the tornadoes like to hit.” There’s really no other way of saying that she is strikingly beautiful, and from the tender age of five she competed in the beauty pageant circuit. Between the ages of five and 17, she placed in the top ten and eventually won the title “World’s Ideal Miss.” She not only served as a cheerleader at the University of Oklahoma, but also did extensive work in television, film, and radio. Her talents included tap dancing, singing, and even playing the drums. She excelled in gymnastics and used that to her advantage in various competitions and pageants.
To the outsider, this sort of life might seem glamorous, but Tre underscores the hours and hours of practice, disappointment, and rehearsal required to reap even the occasional triumph. The young women who persevere stand a chance at the crown, and Trelynda was crowned Miss Oklahoma in 1983.
In ‘85 she moved to Dallas where her mom worked for a modeling agency. It wasn’t difficult for Tre to find modeling gigs, and she honed her dancing and singing talents at the 212-acre Six Flags over Texas amusement park about 15 miles from Dallas. Shortly thereafter she enrolled at Southern Methodist University, but left to take a flight attendant job for TWA. The 22-year-old worked with the airline for several years, but in ’91 she settled in Virginia.
Tre worked in the traffic department for the Nostalgia Network, a cable operation based in Northern Virginia, ending up in New York City working traffic for Court TV. Everything was an adventure for Trelynda, and in the ensuing years she worked for Black Entertainment Television, and even AOL. By this time, she had come out and had a partner.
Oklahoma University alumni frequented a bar in Virginia called the Crystal City Sports Pub. The three-level complex features pool, darts, pinball, foosball and multiple channels of sports TV. On one fateful night, Tre ran into a woman named Lori, who was Kymmr Barker’s girlfriend at the time. Kymmr and Lori had been having problems, and Tre followed her to a nearby gay bar named Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant where Kymmr was the barkeep. They both shared their feelings with Trelynda. Tre couldn’t get Kymmr out of her mind, and she returned to Freddie’s to get to know “that flirty bartender” a little better.
Fast-forward: Fresh out of relationships, both women were a little gun-shy. In fact, it took them eight months to get to their first kiss! At one point Tre confided that she was afraid to lose the allure of the dynamic personality she had met, so on Christmas, Kymmr presented her with a beautifully wrapped bottle of Allure cologne, reassuring her that in the event she felt she was losing the allure, she could find it right there on her dresser. By 2006 they were a couple, and proposed to one another on Valentine’s Day.
The former Miss Oklahoma and celebrity bartender were married on a rooftop in Washington, D.C. on 11/11/11 at exactly 11:00. Kymmr asked a friend if he could decorate the roof on short notice, and, though he was armed with nothing but a shower curtain and some plants, both women become misty-eyed when they say that, “It was fabulous.” (He was a hairdresser. Of course it was fabulous.)
Though they bought a house here in 2007, Tre still commutes to Washington, D.C. to work with a direct-mail firm. Among her many talents, she is also a skilled karaoke operator, and DJ. In fact, she was a smash hit at Rehoboth’s Touch of Italy on New Year’s Eve.
Tre will be appearing this season at the Seafood Shack and also at Town Dancebou-tique, a multilevel gay bar in Washington, D.C. Twice a month they feature Trelynda and her signature “Bearaoke” for the burly, hirsute D.C. boys, and those who love them.
Tre and Kymmr both love what they do and look forward to a full-time life together here in Rehoboth. Oh …and the allure? It’s still there.