“Like a Big Family”

A Visit with Sue Isbell

By

Dale Dauten

We always enjoy visiting with Silveridge’s Park Manager, Sue Isbell, and having heard that this will be Sue’s tenth season, it was a great time to persuade her to sit down for an interview.

Knowing the park as well as she does, we asked her how she describes the place to someone who’s never been. She said, “It is a joyful place. The residents come here to relax, to have fun, and to make new friends. Everybody is friendly — that’s what the park is about. The residents are like a big family.”

Sue knows big families — she’s the youngest of eight siblings. And, like so many of the folks she encounters at the park, she’s from the upper Midwest — she still has family around Jackson, Michigan, where she grew up.

Further, like so many of those at Silveridge, she has spent time on the road, out traveling the country’s highways. However, she didn’t do it in an RV; rather, when  Sue and her husband Rick got mid-life wanderlust, Rick retired from corporate life and took a job driving big rig trucks, Sue riding shotgun. (Moving freight was Rick’s specialty – he’d served in the Air Force as a freight specialist.)

Their time on the road lasted two years, ending when Sue learned her daughter was pregnant. That’s when she announced, “I’m going home. I’ll be with the grandkids. I’m not going anywhere.” Those grandkids are now grown and we asked Sue for some family photos and she sent these with the following explanation: “Pictures of my husband Rick, Daughter Denise, Granddaughter Ashlynn, and Grandson Joshua. My husband and grandson like to pick on each other and do funny stuff in pictures as you can see. “

Years after returning from the road, back in 2013, Sue took a job as Assistant Manager at Silveridge’s sister park, The Resort, but soon got promoted to Manager at Silveridge, the following year.

George Igualt, head of the park’s management company, said of Sue,

“We have an environment where people get an opportunity and they either run with it or they don’t. Right from the start, Sue jumped in and just made things better. She is great to work with, and she is easy to work with. It’s an honor to have her.”

Nice.

THE UPCOMING SEASON

As for the park itself, when asked what changes seasonal residents might encounter upon their return, Sue said, “There are always changes. Every season we have upgrades. This year the pools have been redone and they look just great. And we have the new pickleball courts. Plus Lu has new activities planned and Mike and his team have made improvements over the summer.” (That’s Lu Way, Activities Director and Mike Hacker, head of Maintenance.)

Below: After photos of the new PebbleTec pool surfaces is a shot of the new pickleball courts. At the time of the photo, the new nets were in but yet to be installed.

“We’ll have the same amazing team in place for the new season,” Sue added. “When you come in, the first people you see are Kay Kreun and Sheila Bishop. My office is behind the front desk and I hear laughter all day as they joke with the residents.” She then laughed at herself and explained, “I’m thinking about how they come in my office all the time, often because I’ve taken something from the front desk. If they’re missing something, I probably have it. I’m a pen thief.”

As Sue and I talked, sitting in the lobby, Jennifer Krask overheard Sue talking about first impressions at the park and called out, “Don’t forget the gate hosts.” Sue quickly agreed, saying, “We get lots of compliments about how helpful and friendly the hosts are.” She also went on to compliment the rest of the team, including the good news that Teri Douglas is recovering nicely from health problems and will return as Assistant Activities Director. “From the Office to the Post Office to Activities and Maintenance, we all work together and all enjoy each other.”

Sue summed up her thoughts by saying,

“Once again we’ll have a full park for the season – I have a four-page waiting list. We are geared up and ready to go. We can’t wait.”

From the Activity Team

Greetings from the Activity Office!

I can’t believe October is here already. We are looking forward to our

upcoming season. There are so many activities to choose from at Silveridge RV Resort. We offer a variety of activities to keep you busy. We are kicking off the new season with a Dive-In Movie Night on Thursday, October 19th. We will be showing Long, Long Trailer with Lucy and Desi (weather permitting). Then, Harry Mathews will be here on Friday, October 20th to kick off our poolside Happy Hours. Join us by the pool from 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.

On October 30th get ready to have some fun at our Welcome Back Pool Party. Be sure to stop by our activities office, say “Hi” to Teri and purchase your Welcome Back tickets. The Burger Bash will begin at 4:00 by the pool. Our very own Greg Whitmarsh will be our DJ for the evening.

Keep your dancing shoes on because we will be dancing on Halloween, October 31st. Electric Blue will be here to entertain us with his many costume changes and he’ll have us up and having fun.

Mixed in with all the great entertainment are all of the clubs and classes! You are never too old to learn something new. Maybe you have always wanted to learn how to make a quilt, create an oil painting, craft something out of wood, or how to do ceramics. Don’t forget about your favorite sports or recreation activities too. We have billiards, softball, tennis, hiking, pickleball and golf to name a few. We are excited to offer some new activities too. Corn hole

needs a leader to get a club going so we can have some round robin tournament play. There are rumors that the computer club is being resurrected and a photography club is in the works. We also have a new Amateur Radio club that started last season. Peek your head in to the Computer room and ask how you can become a licensed ham too. If you have an idea

for a new club or activity, come see me. Teri and I are interested in providing new opportunities.

It is because of our talented and giving volunteer leaders that Silveridge can offer all these fabulous opportunities. Most of our classes are either free or charge a minimal fee for supplies. Some of the clubs charge a nominal yearly membership fee. If you have a talent you would like to share, consider volunteering. Don’t forget to thank our wonderful volunteers for all they do. Kudos to our incredible kitchen team of volunteers as well. Thanks

to those volunteers we can offer food at our dinner dances, dinner shows, bingo, and Saturday breakfasts. We know many activities revolve around food!

We think we’re off to a great new season!

Lu & Teri

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES FLYERS

“I REMEMBER READING SOMETHING ABOUT THAT”

NEWS ABOUT PAST NEWSLETTERS

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:

If you’d like to volunteer to be the subject of an article, or have someone you’d like to learn more about, please let me know.

Or, if you have photos you’ll like to share in upcoming newsletters, please send them.

Dale Dauten, Editor

Email: ddauten@gmail.com

Text: 480-297-6244

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