[newsman]

Good Morning Villagers,

This is my first post. My wife and I are anticipating retirement by next year and we are about 99% in agreement that The Villages is the place to be. We paid a visit earlier this month and plan to be back for a stay in September to check out more new homes.

I am in my 43rd year in the radio broadcasting business in the New York City market. Love every minute of it. While I am looking forward to retirement, I am still hoping to keep my hand in the broadcasting business in some way. Maybe I will get on that line right behind Steve!

From what I can tell from my research so far, The Villages is exactly as it is billed to be, with some of the friendliest people I have ever seen. Hopefully, we will be neighbors in the near future. In the meantime, I will continue to check in on this board to see how life in The Villages is going.

Best wishes to everyone.

Newsman

[Talk Host]

Originally Posted by newsman

Good Morning Villagers,

This is my first post. My wife and I are anticipating retirement by next year and we are about 99% in agreement that The Villages is the place to be. We paid a visit earlier this month and plan to be back for a stay in September to check out more new homes.

I am in my 43rd year in the radio broadcasting business in the New York City market. Love every minute of it. While I am looking forward to retirement, I am still hoping to keep my hand in the broadcasting business in some way. Maybe I will get on that line right behind Steve!

From what I can tell from my research so far, The Villages is exactly as it is billed to be, with some of the friendliest people I have ever seen. Hopefully, we will be neighbors in the near future. In the meantime, I will continue to check in on this board to see how life in The Villages is going.

Best wishes to everyone.

Newsman

So I know you? ;D

[newsman]

Not sure. I have spent most of my career on Long Island first, then Okinawa during the Vietnam War and for the last 27 years in New York City doing on-air news. Now, I'm a public affairs show producer and host. Like you, I am fascinated by other people's professions. I know a little about your career. Very impressive! Maybe we can get together for coffee when we visit again in September. We can talk about "the good old days of radio."

Have a great day.

Newsman

[Talk Host]

Originally Posted by newsman

Not sure. I have spent most of my career on Long Island first, then Okinawa during the Vietnam War and for the last 27 years in New York City doing on-air news. Now, I'm a public affairs show producer and host. Like you, I am fascinated by other people's professions. I know a little about your career. Very impressive! Maybe we can get together for coffee when we visit again in September. We can talk about "the good old days of radio."

Have a great day.

Newsman

I'd love to have coffee with you when you are here. I am writing this in Paris, France, but leave for London tommorrow then on to Southhampton and board the Queen Mary for the trip to NYC. Just finished a trip through Belgium, Poland, Slovakia, The Czech Republic, Germany and
France.

Although I have not worked regularly in New York City, I was there often and two very good friends of mine worked there. Both were roommates years ago. Del Demontreaux and the late Bob Fitzsimmons. Many of the NBC and ABC radio guys are friends of mine. Don't know too many CBS people anymore. Stay in touch, send me an email where are on your way here.

[Lil Dancer]

Its so interesting to read about everyone's professions, especially the way people started out in one profession and ended up doing many other things. I never knew what I wanted to do - was a professional college student for about 10 years. Finally got a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and am a licensed civil engineer now. I spent many years doing Traffic Safety Engineerin g - looking at high accident locations, determining the cause of the accidents, then initiating projects to correct the accident causes. It could be something as simple as correcting traffic signal timing, or more complex such as correcting a geometric deficiency. I've later moved on to a more administrative position, which I work at now (hope to retire in about 6 months), and I also added on the duties of web page design and maintenance. Its never been a really exciting job for me. I get much more satisfaction from volunteer work I do for a group called EAP (Employee Assistance Program). It is a counseling and referral service for employees with problems such as alcohol, divorce, elder care, etc. EAP also sponsors a Wellness program for the employees. My big project was to establish a Wellness room for employees - we were donated space in our office building, where we now have a mini-health club of sorts, which employees can and do use during their breaks and lunch hour. We were able to have donations of equipment such as exercise bikes, a treadmill, rowing machine, etc. We held some raffles, and got carpeting, free weights, etc. Its quite gratifying to see a project like this make it off the ground and become successful.

[darbyduff]

Newsman- Hope you make it to the villages!!!! My husband and I are trying to sell our home in Colorado and then we're on our way down! For both my husband and I, it was Love at First Sight. We also went down twice and have even opened up an account at Citizens in anticipation. Maybe we'll end up in the same Village. Good luck!

In two weeks I will retire as the Jury Commissioner for Colorado's largest court. (I have been here for 24 years)

[newsman]

Good luck on selling the house. Sounds like you have had a very interesting, and important career.

Maybe by next year we will be neighbors. So many people we talk to here in New York know of The Villages. The reputation is excellent. Hopefully, it will work out for us as well. We have kids and grandkids not far from The Villages, so it would be ideal for us to relocate there. Best of luck and keep in touch on your progress.

Newsman

[villagerjudy]

Good luck on all of you selling houses and I hope some of it turns our way too. We've had a house in Georgia (golf course, pond) for sale for over a year. We bought in The Villages anyway so if I have to be in poverty this is a great place to suffer LOL.

Jobs....I might win the most varied collection.....Truck driver in the 60's. Yep, a 16 wheeler and a female was a very rare sight (I actually packed the boxes for a moving and sotrage company but on the interstates I drove too). Then a stewardess for 21 years. The choice of words in intentional because I loved the "sex symbol" image LOL. Eastern Airlines went bankrupt and all of a sudden I went from "sex symbol" to "older displaced worker". That is the tag the U.S. Government gave to all over 40 folks....I sure hope that it wasn't their idea of a motivating slogan. So I had to answer the question "what are you going to do when you grow up?" Most females of that age group thought they had to be nurses or teachers so I went for the nurse degree. During nursing I found what I loved....cattle ranching...and I was good at it. I had 100% live birth to weaning in the last 5 years of doing it. A broken arm with nerve damage forced to me quit that. So here I am nursing at TVRH (I agree the pay is not great but I disagree on it being a good place to work, 20 hours a week with health care benefits can make me very forgiving of any issues....growing pains can make for a few bumps in the road). I don't know what my next avocation will be!?!?!?!?!

[F16 1UB]

30 years, 7 months, 21 days in the Ohio Air National Guard. Started as a jet engine mechanic and after 12 years they finally figured out I didn't know ??? what the hell I was doing so was promoted to engine manager. Fancy title for get it fixed junky. Great career, lovely dedicated people, seen it, done it, been there. Is this a great country or what :bigthumbsup:

Steve