1 TheNews August 2016 Welcome New President’s Message Members We welcome 5 new It sure has been challenging to stay active in this heat! Did members this month: you know that August is historically one degree cooler than July? Okay, so maybe not incredible news right now, but Roseann DiCarmine August puts us one step closer to September when the Palmetto Cove Ct temperatures start dropping down. So stay cool and look Kathy Hall forward to the change! Reflection Point Holly Page Speaking of change, let’s talk about the member survey you Hampton Lake Dr will receive the first week of August via email. Last month I Sherry Porter suggested you start thinking about ideas to freshen the HLWG agenda Fording Ct over the next year. The Executive Board wants your input and SueEllen Stickley produced a 10-minute survey to gather thoughts and ideas. We are Hampton Lake Dr hoping for a significant response so results represent a good cross section of member’s interests. I realize we all lead hectic lives, but this Please remember to is your opportunity to provide candid, anonymous feedback and contact Pat Jacobs when influence areas important to you! Only ten minutes. So whether you new neighbors move in or you meet people new are an active member or not, please take a moment to evaluate our to Hampton Lake. services, activities and events. Armed with these results, we will know where to allocate time and funds. Our volunteers play a key role in the social life members enjoy. We thank the Interest Group chairs for their service. We also acknowledge our President Elect, Donna Fiebert, as the primary accountable lady to plan social events. As she implements our programs and events over the next year, she will be looking for your support with ideas and volunteerism to bring the best speakers, HLWG Executive Board programs and events to our membership. Your help and energy will Meeting make the year a success! Don’t hesitate to reach out to Donna at any August 10 at 2:30 pm time to get involved, offer your support, discuss your interests or share your ideas. You can do that in person, by email or phone. This link is HLWG General Meeting to our password-protected roster where you can find her contact August 25 at 7 pm. information: http://hlwg.org/forms-and-documents/ HLWG Executive Board Now I’m heading back to spend time with my 14-year-old Meeting September 14 at 2:30 pm granddaughter who wants to be busy every minute of the day! I’m so happy she is visiting. Treasuring our Friendship, Rita Brown, President 2 2 Profile of The Month Meet Gayle Burrer. She kindly agreed to be interviewed for the NEWS’ Profile of the Month. Gayle and her husband, Wayne, moved here from Jerome, Michigan in October 2014. CM: Besides Jerome, Michigan where else have you lived? GB: I was born in Lafayette, Indiana and moved to Troy, Michigan when I was 4 years old. College brought me to Ohio where I attended Bowling Green State University and met my husband Wayne. We married and moved to Rossford, Ohio just outside of Toledo, where we had our two sons, Ryan and Andrew. After 25 years in Rossford we decided we wanted to move South. We put our house on the market and it sold in one Meet Gayle Burrer, week! We needed a place to live fast so we moved to our cottage in Jerome, Michigan outside of Ann Arbor. We lived there three years and commuted to our jobs in Ohio. jet skier, line dancer and much more! CM: How did you discover Hampton Lake? NEWS editor, Carol GB: Wayne and I had never been to Charleston or Savannah. So for my birthday in 2012, Wayne planned a trip. We started in Charleston and loved it. Then we drove to Matarese, chatted Savannah. On the way, Wayne suggested we stop in Bluffton. He had been receiving with Gayle for the emails about a place called Hampton Lake and thought we should check it out. A real estate agent gave us a tour and we fell in love. Our cottage in Michigan was on a lake August Profile of the and we enjoy being on the water, so Hampton Lake was perfect. We ended up purchasing a lot hoping to build “sometime in the future”. The next winter in Michigan Month. was terrible—82 inches of snow and 40 below 0—so we decided we would start the building process immediately! We moved into our house in October 2014. CM: You mentioned your job in Ohio, what did you do? GB:I taught elementary school for 15 years, teaching all subject areas in grades 3 through 6. I spent most of that time at All Saints Catholic School in Rossford, Ohio. It was a great school, and my own children attended the school, which was a bonus for me! After I obtained my Masters Degree in Teaching and Curriculum, I worked at Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio for 6 years. There I coordinated all of the field experiences (Methods/Student Teaching) for college students preparing to be teachers, and I taught several Education courses. CM: Now that you are retired, what are your interests and how do you keep yourself busy? GB:I love Old Town Bluffton and the surrounding areas of Beaufort, Hilton Head, Charleston and Savannah! Sitting outside all year long, listening to music while drinking local craft beer is my heaven! Exploring the local shopping and learning about local history is great too. I like being active; I play tennis, take Spin and Yoga classes, and enjoy walking our 13 year-old mixed terrier dog, Scout—he’s my third son! I love to dance and started taking line dance soon after we moved here. This past year I took over organizing the line dance classes for the neighborhood. It was great fun. Recently Wayne and I, along with other neighbors, have explored the waterways surrounding Bluffton and Hilton Head on our jet skis! This has become a new favorite pastime! We had a jet ski in Michigan, but it is a very different experience here. You 2 13 3 Profile continued Interest Group Information have to watch the tides and there are so many estuaries to explore. Seeing this beautiful place from the water is amazing. The wildlife is up close and personal— To get involved in any of Can’t beat it! the Interest Groups sponsored by the I love to travel and spend time visiting our sons and other family and friends. Ryan is Hampton Lake Women’s 27 now and lives in Boulder, Colorado and Andrew just graduated from the University Group you must be a of Cincinnati. He’s 23 and bought his own house in Cincinnati. We also enjoy cruising, HLWG member. especially in the Caribbean—the blue water is beautiful. To join the HLWG I have been substituting in the Bluffton Elementary Schools this past year and find contact Pat Jacobs, Vice that both challenging and fun! A good way to keep up my teaching skills and I like the President, Membership. flexibility it offers. Membership forms are available on the HLWG website at hlwg.org. CM: And now that you have been here almost 2 years, what do you like best about Hampton Lake? To join an interest group and receive information GB: At first, it was a feeling of awe for the beauty of the lake and surrounding wooded about group activities or areas. I loved the amenities; it all felt like a resort! After moving in, I came to realize events, contact the chair the people were down to earth, friendly, fun and looking for others to meet and do listed below. Contact info things with. My life is pretty simple! I just feel blessed to be enjoying life in such a is available by clicking lovely place! the following link: http://hlwg.org/forms- CM: Thank you, Gayle, for letting us get to know you. and-documents/ American Mah Jongg (Daytime) Joyce Schlosser American Mah Jongg (Evening) Joan Grayson Interest Groups Art Group Barbara Hege American Mah Jongg – Daytime Book Group (Daytime) Mah Jongg meets every Monday at 1 pm in the Lakeview Room unless otherwise Debbie Legiadre notified. Contact chair Joyce Schlosser. Book Group (Evening) Joan Grayson American Mah Jongg – Evening (coed) Breakfast Group Linda DelCore Evening Mah Jongg meets every Wednesday at 6 pm in the Lakeview Room. New members are always welcome and lessons can be arranged. Contact chair Joan Bridge Group (Daytime) Grayson. You can purchase the 2016 card ($8 or $9 for large print) at Deb Fuller www.nationalmahjonggleague.org. Bridge Group (Evening) Marilyn McPhillips Art Group Day Trips Group Judith Hughes While there are no Art Group meetings in August, I would like to share some of the plans we are making for the September through June meetings. The Discussion Dinner Group Group meets the first Tuesday of each month. This year we will be having an eclectic Darice Ahrnsbrak mix of topics since each member that presents at a meeting will be picking a topic 3 42 4 Dominoes Group they are interested in. For instance Betsy Rudd will be talking about open position art theft and Barbara Hege about the glass blower, Chihuly, at the September 6th meeting. Garden Group Carol Basso The first Studio Group meeting is on September 20th. Linda Nickles will be teaching a class on abstract art. She will provide all of the Lunch Bunch materials needed and each attendee will leave the class with a Joan Grayson finished piece of art.