Sharon Gerdik
There may be some of you who don’t know Sharon, since she’s only been a member for a year and a half, but when she did join, she jumped right in and ran for our board and was a cast member in The Last Round-up of the Guacamole Queens. You may remember her as one of the sexual deviants.
Sharon was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island. She met her husband Peter while both were working at New York Telephone Company. After the Great Blizzard of February 1978, they accepted a Bell System transfer to California. They built a home on a hillside in Escondido and raised their son and daughter there. Sharon worked at a trauma center and a private psych hospital, as well as a start-up diabetic biotech firm where she wore many hats, since she was the only type 1 diabetic on staff. The common thread through her professional life has always been advocacy. She was a patient advocate, a diabetes advocate, and now continues her advocacy as a CBD advocate related to overall wellness.
Sharon and Peter were both retired by 2010 and decided to leave California. They relocated to Nashville, Tenn. They built a home there, and Sharon loved living in Middle Tennessee, but Peter said it was too cold and wanted to move back West again, but not California. While they lived in Middle Tennessee, they took advantage of the location and traveled to all neighboring states and beyond for six years. When they were planning their move, they both decided on Arizona and, specifically, Sun Lakes. Their son and his family live in Chandler and helped check out homes they were researching from Tennessee. They all agreed on one, and it was purchased sight unseen. Now that’s family trust. They’ve been living here going on seven years, and they truly enjoy this community.
Sharon performed in several plays in her lifetime and usually enjoyed the experience. She decided to join SLCT and help in any way needed. As a board member, she hoped to be able to help with making needed changes. There are so many talented people living here. She feels we need to grow our membership and bring in new members with a variety of fresher and innovative ideas.
She volunteers with Neighbors Who Care. She is a member of New Yorkers Living in the Desert and S-E-V-E-N, a business networking group, as well as the founder of the Long Island Group of Sun Lakes, which she started three years ago, for residents living here now who had lived in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, or Suffolk Counties on Long Island. She says they’re a fun group, and it even includes our president Greg Posniack. She also has a trivia team named The Mighty Dimwits, and they play weekly in the Oakwood ballroom.
Sharon so enjoys their lives here and hopes that by completing the next two years of her board term, she will help facilitate growth and changes as needed. She would like others to consider becoming a group member and enjoy the involvement and fellowship.