Sandra and I came on board at the Berks in 2016 together. Ellie Shermer had stepped down as Treasurer and Susan Yohn, the president, needed us both to jump in feet first. That first year Sandra and I talked nearly every day as we taught ourselves QuickBooks, got the taxes done, and helped Susan plan the 2017 Big Berks at Hofstra. Our calls and texts included not only the work we were doing but also stories of our families and shared love of cats.
In 2017, I went through a very traumatic and difficult pregnancy and Sandra talked to me nearly every day again, this time drawing on her experience as a midwife and nurse and helping me navigate first hospital bedrest and then an infant in the NICU. At the fall 2017 Little Berks she got to meet my child and hold them, and her smile is one I will never forget when she cuddled him up while the executive team met in a boardroom at the Maryland Inn in Annapolis.
While we didn’t talk as often after I left the board in 2020, we still kept in touch and I will never forget her kindnesses to me and her friendship.
Stephanie Richmond
