RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT

Meet Ken Meyer & Marian Parrotta

This month we spoke with Ken and Marian and got to know more about their lives and why they love Grande Dunes!

Ken Meyer, Jersey City, NJ grew up on Long Island and attended college at Ohio University. “Go Bobcats!” Marian Parrotta, Ozone Park Queens, grew up on Long Island and attended college at SUNY Stoney Brook.

They both worked in Manhattan, Ken for the JCPenney Company and Marian for The Guardian Life Insurance Co. They traveled on the Long Island Railroad from Babylon to Penn Station, met on the railroad and were married on 12/31/1989. Ken has two sons, one who lives one in Indiana with his family and the other son on Long Island.

At JCP Ken was in the non-retail purchasing department, his department purchased everything JCP used internally, from stationery to corporate planes. A corporate move in 1988 took them from NY to Plano, Texas. Early retirement was offered in 1998 so after 30 years of service, it was a great opportunity to start the next chapter.

Marian always worked in the health and life insurance arena. With the relocation in Texas, she began a new career with a startup insurance company with 11 employees and a far cry from the NY experience. The company grew and thrived and when she retired in 2000 as Chief Operating Officer there were over 850 employees, an experience like no other.

After Texas retirement they moved to the Eastern Shore of Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay. They farmed clams and had a small vegetable garden. It was a wonderful reprieve from their hectic corporate lives. The real estate bubble was at its peak, so they made a business decision to sell and move. Ken had always wanted to live on a golf course so off to Beaufort, SC they went. They moved to Callawassie Island, a small gated

community on an island. They served on the HOA boards, were officers in the men’s and women’s’ golf associations, and Marian was the leader of their summer kids camp for 10 years and President of the Women’s Club.

Travel and golf are their past time activities and feel very fortunate to be able to travel to 6 of the 7 continents from Machu Picchu to Siem Reap from Northern Ireland to Australia and New Zealand. A favorite trip was to Morocco from the camels to sleeping in a tent in the Eastern Sahara. Their bucket lists still have a few stops as they plan to travel to Puglia, Italy, and Artic Circle in 2020, but that may be on hold until next year. Marian has enjoyed searching her family roots from Czech, Austria, Ireland, and Italy and has traveled to Salt Lake City to the Mormon Library to continue her research.

The move to Myrtle Beach in June 2016, was basically twofold; 1) Downsizing to a condo in Grande Dunes which offered exceptional value. 2) Marian’s parents have lived in the Myrtle Beach area since 1980 plus she has two brothers and 2 sisters who also live close by. Bonus: Ken loved the easy beach and golf access.

Since moving here, Ken sat on the Member’s Club committee and is currently a volunteer at Helping Hands of Myrtle Beach. Marian is involved with Help 4 Kids/Backpack Buddies, Friends of the Carolina Forest Board, and started the Grande Dunes Women’s Lunch Group with over 200 women who have shared in the experience of making new friends! She has also participated in several outreach programs and is very active with the Grande Dunes Cares initiatives. They both feel that Grande Dunes and Myrtle Beach offer lifestyles as diverse as the housing options, there is something for everyone 24/7.