President’s Message
Dear Newcomer Friends,
It is hard to believe another year has gone by. We had a lovely installation luncheon at Red Lobster. For those who were unable to attend, my first message will be the biography Kathi read. I look forward to a productive and fun year with my Newcomer friends.
I was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in La Crescenta and La Canada.
I joined Girl Scouts in the 2nd grade and continued on through the 12th grade. Girl Scouting taught me many life skills which I used throughout my life.
My father died when I was in the 12th grade and since he was the buffer between me and my mother, I moved out of the house after high school.
I subsequently met my first husband, and we had a son. That union was not meant to be, so I divorced and moved out on my own with my son. Now, having to support myself and David, I looked for a better paying job and ended up at Union Bank in downtown Los Angeles and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a Trust Operations Officer.
In December 1974, in walked Joe Dieringer, a new hire. After working together for a year Joe asked me out in January 1976. The rest is history. We married in August 1976 and moved to Belmont Shore in Long Beach, California.
While in Long Beach, I started taking classes to become a nurse and had been accepted into the nursing program at Long Beach City College. However, I gave birth to Scott three weeks before classes were to start. I decided to drop out of school because I had enough on my plate with a newborn and a teenager. The following year Joe graduated from law school and we decided to move to Reno to raise our family. I was pregnant with our daughter, Amy when we moved.
The family joined a local church and made many new friends. I also became involved in Christian Women’s Club, subsequently becoming their president.
I continued my education, taking classes with the hope of getting a nursing degree.
Our six years in Reno were great. We could drive 30 minutes to the north, south, east, or west to find a campground by a lake. In spite of our time there being so great, we decided to move back to Southern California to be near family.
Back in California, I decided to continue my education. However, there was a glitch. I would have to register as an out of state student until I lived in California for one year. That was when my dream died.
At this point in 1987, David had joined the Marines and Scott and Amy were ready to start school. We settled in Monrovia and lived there until Amy went off to college. To meet people, I joined the elementary school PTA, serving in various positions, including two years as president.
While raising my children I volunteered for the local Girl Scout Council as a leader, Service Unit Chairman, and worked on various council committees organizing council wide events.
In the early 1990s I went back to work part time, then full time after a year. I worked for the local Girl Scout Council for eleven years before being laid off due to budget cuts.
When Amy went off to college, Joe & Joey started traveling. Our first trip was to Paris to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We were scheduled to fly out on September 12, 2001. Unfortunately, 911 happened, but we finally got a flight in November and had the time of our lives. Since then, we have traveled to London, all over Italy, Berlin, Munich, Prague, Barcelona, New England and Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and Alaska to name a few. We backpacked down the Grand Canyon twice and to the top of Mt Whitney.
After looking for work for one year, I landed a job and became a Labor Compliance Specialist. That was a very fulfilling job but once again I was laid off due to the dissolution of the company. During this time, I also returned to school and received a degree in business.
Since I could not find work, I decided it was time to retire and I am enjoying my retirement very much. We moved to Santa Clarita when our daughter bought a house in Saugus. I keep busy with weekly bowling, picking up my granddaughter every day from school and my involvement in a myriad of activities with Newcomers. And of course, we continue to travel.
With love,
Joey