Business Notes
SCA TO HOST ANNUAL MEETING
The Sanibel Community Association’s Annual Meeting will be held on April 28 at 8:30 a.m. both virtually and in-person at The Community House, at 2173 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel.
To attend virtually, contact TCH at 239-472-2155.
SCA members are asked to email or mail their ballot surveys back to TCH.
CFI ANNOUNCES BOARD CO-CHAIRS
The Charitable Foundation of the Islands recently announced that Chip Roach and Virginia Stringer will assume the roles of co-chairs of the board of directors.
Roach joined the real estate firm started by his family in 1948 in Philadelphia and helped to grow it before selling his interest to his partners in 2003. He retired from active practice in 2007 and became a Sanibel resident. Roach is former chair of the board of directors for Rosemont College, a chamber of commerce, national real estate referral service and the MLS system in the Philadelphia region. He has served on the board of the Sanibel Sea School, and he is vice chair at the Captiva Chapel by the Sea.
A board member since 2014, Stringer has served as Grants Committee chair and vice chair. She began her marketing career at IBM, then moved to The Pillsbury Company. Stringer chaired the Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation Board and was appointed to the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards. She has served as chair of the Minnesota Opera, Voyageur Outward Bound School, Minnesota Women’s Campaign Fund and Minneapolis Club and on the Madeline Island Chamber Music board.
SYMROSKI TO RETIRE FROM HISTORICAL VILLAGE
A volunteer coordinator at the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village since 2016, Jan Symroski is retiring at the end of April.
In her role, she welcomed guests and guided them as they started their tour. Symroski also did all of the scheduling, was key to good building management, opening and closing the 10-building village, and was ready to help with any task.
She previously worked at the city’s Sanibel Recreation Center as a recreation services assistant at the front desk, where she provided all aspects of customer service, performed data entry in various computer programs and was a jack-of-all trades.
Symroski spent years as chief executive officer of YMCA of Key West and also managed a dental group. Living in Oregon, she was executive director of the Westside Family YMCA. Combined, Symroski helped the YMCA serve over 10,000 youths, managing 350 volunteers.
Village co-worker Sandy Nering remains on the job as a volunteer coordinator. Joining Nering will be Kathy Choquette and Jan MaGirl, two volunteers who will become staff members on May 1.
CORCORAN ACCEPTS AUSTRALIAN APPOINTMENTS
Sanibel resident and Florida Gulf Coast University professor emeritus Peter Blaze Corcoran recently accepted two academic appointments in Australia and continues his work in the South Pacific.
Corcoran will be adjunct professor in Environmental and Sustainability Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. He researches a variety of topics associated with K’Gari-Fraser Island. Corcoran will work in indigenous education, including training for university faculty and staff.
Corcoran has also been invited to be a member of the Environmental Sustainability Education in the Anthropocene Initiative Advisory Group at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. The initiative will support research and teaching that enhance environmental sustainability education across all disciplines. It also includes timely research on the impact of the pandemic on children.
Corcoran also continues to serve as senior advisor to Unity Earth in Melbourne.