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Meet Sherry

"A Great Beginning is sometimes at the point of what you thought would be the end of everything."
~ Dodinsky

I am one of those rare native Floridians and spent most of my life in Winter Park, my home town. Later in life, I also owned a home on Palm Island, where I became enamored with the Gulf coast of Florida.

After studying fashion and interior design at Florida State University, I accepted a position as a flight attendant based in NYC and subsequently became a supervisor of flight attendants at JFK. Living in NYC was an education in itself and both experiences contributed to my passion for travel, fine dining, and live performances.

Eventually returning to Winter Park, I created a unique home décor shop which I developed into a three store mini-chain. It was a love affair I enjoyed over a 20 year period of my life.

After my children left home I retired to the majestic mountains in Highlands, NC. Following my love of design and construction, I developed a parcel of eco-sensitive land into a small upscale residential community. I then built and furnished a number of "spec homes."

The birth of granddaughters in Florida started calling me back home. However, after living in a small pristine mountain town surrounded by nature for 15 years, the Orlando area felt like a concrete jungle. Not knowing a single person, I moved to Sarasota instead which brought me closer to my family but also allowed me to enjoy reconnecting with the beauty of the Gulf coast.

I immediately fell in love with Sarasota but found it to be very difficult as a single person to create a new life. If you don't have friends or a significant other to do things with, life can be very limiting.

Ssssssh, don't tell my friends, but yes, I did attempt to meet people online. I met some nice people along the way, however, I had far more negative experiences than positive. I found that for me, the whole process led to a lot of wasted time and disappointment. I always felt there must be a better way to meet other singles.

People are sometimes placed in your life for a purpose. I happened to meet someone quite by chance who shared her concept of the singles social club she and her husband founded and operated for many years in Chicago. She mentioned that they had members who wintered here and always lamented the fact that there was nothing like their singles club in this area.

It seemed the perfect venue for singles like myself to have the opportunity to expand our horizons and experience life in a much broader sense. Thus, the Sarasota Singles Society was born in November of 2013.

The media picked up on this new concept and the exposure it received through TV and newspapers captured the attention of a multitude of area singles. There were 150 people in attendance at our first holiday party that December.

The Sarasota Singles Society flourished and continued to bring new people into our fold. It also brought many wonderful people into my life personally. Through our events and travel I not only made countless new friendships but also met a wonderful man. We had a sweet wedding in February of 2016, but most unfortunately, Simon was diagnosed with terminal cancer two months later. I immediately suspended all our events and travel as I became Simon's caregiver until his passing.

I must apologize as I didn't know if or when I would be able to return to hosting events and travel again. I know it was very confusing for people who came to this site which appeared to be active but without any current events offered.

Recently, I found myself back in the state of mind I was in when I first moved to Sarasota. I had been isolated while caregiving and was in need of renewing my life as a single, once again. In thinking about ways to broaden my life, I realized that the Sarasota Singles Society was still the best way I could think of to socialize with people in my same situation.

So, here I am again. I have spent the past months considering how best to breathe new life into this unique and special means for singles, like myself, to meet other quality singles.

We will begin our new chapter in the life of the Sarasota Singles Society on October 19th. I have a number of great events and activities lined up for you so please visit our event calendar!

I will so look forward to seeing my friends from the past as well as meeting new friends!