The Glenridge on Palmer Ranch®
Fall 2018
Live Fulfilled! 7333 Scotland Way Sarasota, FL 34238 941-552-5369 or 888-999-GLEN (4536) www.TheGlenridge.com A Not-For-Profit Community governed by a Sarasota Board of Directors
Choices
Inside 2 Something for Everyone 4 Staying Engaged
Seize the Moment, Shape Your Future! Fifteen years after opening its doors, The Glenridge on Palmer Ranch continues to offer members an ideal environment for designing a life they love, while staying healthy, vibrant and engaged. For these members, making the move couldn’t have been better timing – and they say life at The Glenridge just gets better and better! Finding a Home Base Former GM executive Brad Rogers logged more than 3 million air miles flying back and forth from Asia. And during retirement, he and his wife, Sue, kept up the pace, splitting their time between Michigan and Port Charlotte. In 2017, the snowbirds decided on a new nest after Sue visited The Glenridge. “The minute I walked in, I knew,” she recalls. “I came home and told Brad, ‘We’re moving to The Glenridge!’” Brad was initially reluctant to make the move, but he trusted Sue’s instincts – and agreed the decision would be a gift to their children. Once they arrived, Brad was surprised how many activities lined up with his interests. Case in point: a World Affairs class offered at The Glenridge Academy. The couple also shares their story with prospective members as part of the Ambassadors Club. “Oftentimes, one spouse is hesitant to make the leap,” Brad explains. “Now, on the other side of that decision, we tell them that it’s worth it in every way!”
A Welcoming Spirit Janet Wohlman knows the importance of making others feel included. After earning her master’s degree, she worked at an experimental school for young children with learning disabilities. When she experienced a health setback, finding a place she’d be well cared for became a top Janet Wohlman enjoys welcoming priority. With a daughter new members. in Sarasota, Janet made her way to The Glenridge, where the friendly members soon won her over. “At first, I had no friends in the area,” she recalls. “The week I was set to move in, a member called me while I was still in Boca Raton to invite me to a cocktail party that Sunday afternoon!” Janet has extended that hospitality to others
Former snowbirds Brad and Sue Rogers have quickly integrated into The Glenridge.
as the leader of the Singles Welcoming Committee at The Glenridge. “All of us enjoy mingling with each other,” she says. “This community is the friendliest place I’ve ever lived, and with the most interesting people I’ve ever met!”
Prepared and Secure Lifelong boaters Marsha and Ray Starsman found themselves navigating new waters when they moved from Punta Gorda to Sarasota in 2018. “In life, we prepare for growth, but not the aging process,” Marsha says. “We wanted a place where we’d be well cared for, if we ever needed it.” Ray adds, “We needed to find a community where we could easily make new friends. The Glenridge fit the bill. In fact, it’s the members who make this such an exceptional place.” In that regard, Ray and Marsha have their own bragging rights. Ray led a 21-year career with the Army, served as chief systems engineer with the Metro in Washington, D.C., helped manage the design of the International Space Station and worked with the U.S. Department of Transportation developing prototypes of GPS systems for cars. Marsha earned her master’s degree in education from George Mason University
and was named the state of Virginia’s middle school math teacher of the year. Today, the couple takes classes at The Glenridge Academy, plays tennis and bridge, kayaks with their son’s family in North Carolina and bikes on the nearby Legacy Trail. “We love visiting family, but we hate to leave our home at The Glenridge,” Marsha says. “It’s just that kind of a place!”
Ray and Marsha Starsman chose The Glenridge because of its engaging social atmosphere.
Something for E
Whether they’re cooking gourmet meals, traveling the globe or taking serene w picturesque campus, members have the flexibility to choose a lifestyle perfectly With the freedom provided by maintenance-free living, every day brings more A Recipe for Happiness
I
f you ask Zona Starks, the mark of a great chef is resourcefulness – using what’s on hand to take a recipe from mediocre to magnifique. Having been born in an Iñupiat village in Alaska and returning to study their cooking methods over several decades, Zona developed a deep respect for using ingredients found plentifully in nature. After college, she apprenticed with a master chef and ultimately founded the Zona Spray Cooking School in Ohio. Over her 35year culinary career, she broadened her students’ understanding of food through the lens of anthropology, won numerous awards and lectured at Oxford University. Today, both Zona and her husband, Grant – a former executive with IBM – agree that adaptability is one of the most important ingredients to feeling content in life’s later years. Earlier this year, the couple moved to The Glenridge from their home just 12 minutes down the road. “We always knew The Glenridge would be the place for us,” Zona recalls. “It’s an extraordinary community, and Sarasota is the perfect place to enjoy our interests in art, architecture and music.” Those pursuits have kept the couple busy, as have Grant’s interests in swimming and reading, and Zona’s role on the communications committee. While still relative newcomers, they’ve wasted no time settling in. “I’m blown away that whatever you’re interested in, you can find someone who’s done it,” Zona shares. “Living here is a recipe for happiness!”
Freedom and Fulfillment
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oth Michael and Cynthia Charles are planners by nature and profession. Michael served as director of planning for IBM’s Europe, Middle East and Africa territories, while Cynthia worked in administration for lawyers and venture capitalists before retiring from the Sarasota County school district. So, when they began researching seniorliving communities, they took their time to ensure they were making the right decision. Having lived in the Palmer Ranch area since 2001, they watched The Glenridge being built from the ground up. Over the years, they visited the community several times out
Zona and Grant Starks relish expertly prepared meals – at home and in The Glenridge’s dining venues.
of curiosity, but they weren’t in a rush to move – until they got a taste of the wide array of activities for members. They were especially impressed by The Glenridge Academy and the Performing Arts Center. “We took a history course, then a speaker series about health, and then we started seeing shows at the theater,” Cynthia recalls. “Everybody we met seemed engaged, vital and interesting. We knew we wanted to be part of this community – and that sooner was better than later!” In their first year at The Glenridge, the couple have embraced every opportunity to engage with other members. “I wrote a list of the new friends we’ve made, and there were more than 150 names!” Michael says. “And we still have all our old friends, too. There’s no limit to the kind of life you can build for yourself here.” One look at the couple’s busy schedule proves that point. Both play bridge and enjoy shows at Sarasota’s theater and orchestra – while Cynthia jogs, volunteers as a greeter and serves on Michael and Cynthia Charles enjoy staying fit on The Glenridge’s walking trails.
the committee for The Glenridge’s 15th anniversary. “Our calendar is a mess – we have to color-code it to keep track of everything!” Michael says with a laugh. “On top of our fulfilling life here, we still have access to the outside world,” Cynthia says. “This lifestyle gives us incredible freedom!”
Everyone
walks on The Glenridge’s y suited to their needs and desires. e chances to flourish. Life’s an Adventure
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or Ann Sablosky, aging has only made her more adventurous. The 92-year-old Indianapolis native has visited more than 40 countries, but one of her most jaw-dropping experiences happened just this year. While on a four-generation family cruise in Honduras, Ann ziplined across a 150-acre nature preserve, reaching a peak of 65 feet – not to mention climbing 275 steps on the way up. “I figured if my kids could do it, I could too,” she shares. “I was right, and it was exhilarating!” Having checked that item off her bucket list, Ann now aspires to swim with dolphins. Back home at The Glenridge, Ann enjoys doing needlepoint work. She’s also an accomplished knitter, having owned a knit shop and given instruction for years. But she’s best-known for her impressive stone and ceramic sculptures, including a piece titled “Lolly,” which she created as part of a ceramics class offered at The Glenridge Academy. Having lived at The Glenridge for a decade, Ann says the balance of newness and ease makes the place special. “Even though the community keeps offering new programs all the time, I still feel that sense of comfort I felt 10 years ago,” she says. “I’ve developed a great support system – and I’m very grateful to be here!”
A Perfect Fit
W
hen former clothing boutique owner Corrine French moved to The Glenridge, she found a community tailor-made to her needs and interests. Having spent her retirement years in Lakewood Ranch, with a short stint near her daughter in Marco Island, she felt drawn back to the Sarasota area. “I looked at several places through the years, and The Glenridge always came out on top,” Corrine recalls. “I like that it feels like a neighborhood, not a high-rise, and the lifestyle is so active. No matter what your desires are, the staff works hard to provide options for you.” Among the many options she’s discovered are the Foreign Affairs class at The Glenridge Academy and the on-site Fitness Center, where she’s taken line dancing classes and is now setting up her new exercise regimen.
Corrine French is a giraffe aficionado who’s decorated her home at The Glenridge accordingly.
Longtime member Ann Sablosky leads a creatively adventurous life – from ziplining in Honduras to creating ceramic sculptures at The Glenridge.
“The staff will help me decide on the best workouts, set up the machines, and give me a wrist device that ‘talks’ with the exercise equipment, so it’s automatically set to my specifications,” she says. “It’s so smart!” Corrine has several international trips under her belt, including an African safari in which she first became enamored with giraffes, a motif she now displays all over her home. This year, she’s continuing the
adventures by taking a cruise from Boston to Halifax, Canada. “There’s still so much I’d like to see, and I’m still healthy enough to do it,” she remarks. “That’s what makes this community so special – it’s exposed me to new experiences and given me the freedom to pursue my interests whenever I like. This lifestyle fits me like a glove!”
Staying Engaged
At The Glenridge, members say the atmosphere is so inviting, it’s hard not to get involved. Intellectual Stimulation
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etired educators Tom and Catherine Dente are a modern-day “Renaissance couple” with an insatiable curiosity on topics as diverse as genealogy, gardening and dancing. Tom taught history and was a guidance counselor in New York City high schools for 36 years, while Catherine is a former nun, elementary school teacher and curriculum coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. In the 1980s she worked with CompuTech Educational Services as part of
Catherine Dente’s green thumb has become legendary at The Glenridge, where she cultivates a wide array of produce in the communal garden.
the movement to adapt technology for the classroom and then taught high school math. The couple’s multifaceted interests ultimately led them to The Glenridge, where they’ve seamlessly transplanted their intellectual pursuits. Tom and Catherine Dente are actively shaping The Glenridge’s stimulating culture. “What won me over leading the community’s TED Talks club, was that our apartment could accommodate coordinating an array of stimulating taped my library, which has thousands of books,” lectures for members to discuss. One recent says Tom, who is writing his memoirs for his topic: “How to make stress your friend.” family. “I can pull the doors closed and I’m “There are so many educated people in my man cave.” here who enjoy that kind of interaction,” An accomplished artist, Tom is exhibiting Catherine explains. “It’s all about becoming a two of his paintings at the community. more interesting person through Catherine, who wrote exposure to other points two genealogy books of view.” and started a community She adds: “We always garden in Sarasota, is now tell people to come here as a sought-after expert at early as possible, while you The Glenridge, where can live independently and she grows a variety of participate in all the activities. produce in a 4x8 plot at We can’t imagine our good the communal garden. fortune in having chosen The Glenridge. The Dentes have also enriched the lives of It’s an excellent fit for us.” their fellow members. They recently began
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7333 Scotland Way Sarasota, FL 34238 A Not-For-Profit Community governed by a Sarasota Board of Directors
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