By Lori Denman
Daily News Staff Writer
Always focused on helping others in need, Sandra Cherry stands above the rest when it comes to community service from South of the Boulevard to Conejo Valley. This is evident as one reads the list of organizations she is involved with, including her current work for the Volunteer League of the San Fernando Valley, the Zonta Club of the Conejo Valley, the Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village Chamber of Commerce , S.C.O.P.E. (Long-term Care industry professionals), California Women Business Owners (CWBO) and the American Business Women's Association. In addition, Cherry has also assisted the Ventura County Ombudsman and the Westlake High School Band Boosters.
With Cherry's work as Secretary for the CWBO, the group raised $1,800 at a silent auction last April for scholarships to women in the San Fernando Valley. Their Web site is www.cwbo.org and they meet the second Monday of the month at 6 p.m. for networking, speakers and dinner. All members are business people in the surrounding communities.
Through her extensive experience, Cherry gave some inspirational words for all women. "My generation believed a man would take care of us because that's what was ingrained in us. Many of us learned that this does not hold true. Know that people and situation changes occur when least expected and you may end up a single parent or widow. Be prepared to support yourself. If you marry and have children, keep your skills up. If you are in a situation that you are unhappy with. LET IT GO!"
Cherry assists others in her spare time as a volunteer and also in her nine-to-five position. "My business is guiding people to achieve their personal financial goals and protecting the assets that the individuals have accumulated," Cherry said. "People have to plan to retire. Retirement takes money. Nothing more. When a prospective client meets me and asks what I would do if they gave me $100,000 to invest my standard answer is 'I don't know.' I gather information about people's wants and desires and from what I am told I can then figure out my recommendations. There is no cookie cutter answer."
Cherry stated that her experience as a former Ombudsman for Long-term Care has benefited her clients. She has even encountered some extreme situations, in which her warm heart acts as a guide. Cherry explained. "One of my elderly clients was recently a victim of fiduciary elder abuse by someone who befriended her. She's 85 years old. When she called up and asked for a large sum of money and was wishywashy about what it was for I said I needed to talk to her CPA first. In the past, she always was willing to tell me what the money was needed for. As it turned out, the person was attempting to steal from her Brokerage Account. My broker-dealer representative and the client's daughter and I were on a conference call when a forged letter was faxed to National Planning Corporation. No funds were released and the family decided it was in the clients best interest to change all documents to another Trustee. I was aware that the change in the clients behavior was a signal that something was wrong. I think a lot of other people in this business would have just given her the funds."
Cherry's experience has built her a respected reputation. She is regarded as an expert in Long-term Care insurance planning and is planning on branching out to offer insurance benefits for the living person. "Critical Illness, Disability Income and Long-term Care policies help people when they are no longer able to do things they use to, due to accidents, disease or chronic illness," she said.
The two major groups that Cherry volunteers for, including the Zonta Club and the Volunteer League, are as respectable as she. "I have been a member since 1992. I have held positions of Director, Secretary, Program Chair and Holiday Party Chair and I am currently Treasurer and Publicity Chair. Meets are held monthly on the third Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Zonta coordinates Special Kids Day at Conejo Valley Days and I have chaired Special Kids Day twice. This year's SKD is Friday, May 3 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and kids are invited through their schools. Volunteers are needed to assist the children on rides and lunch with them."
"Concerning the Volunteer League of the San Fernando Valley," Cherry explained, "I have been an active and community member of this group for the last several years. I especially have enjoyed working at Clothes Corner where children are given new school clothes, underwear and shoes when they are referred by the school they attend. This group started 50 years ago by a group of women who wanted to do something for the less fortunate in the community."
Sandra Cherry, a woman constantly on the go, admires other women of accomplishment as much as she herself is admired. When I entered the Moorpark College Re-entry Program for Women, I had to write a paper on a woman I admired. I still have the paper I wrote on Golda Meir. She had chutzpa. I admire the women who have broken the glass ceiling in politics. Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, whom I have heard speak twice, is brilliant. The women who started Zonta International and Soroptomists International when women were not allowed to join Rotary International. What guts they had.
"My dream is to do something for women in the community who are seniors and underprivileged. My vision is to have a brick building with one bedroom units that these women can live in or rent at a nominal cost in their 'golden years.' Whether I will accomplish this I don't know now. I know it is very important to have goals and I became aware of my dream at a financial workshop when I was doing something called 'what's important to me about money?' It is something I incorporate into my work as it is a way for me to learn about the individual I am working with and for the client to learn what is important for them about money.
If dreams do come true for good people in the world, Cherry's are sure to materialize. For those persons that would like to assist her in her efforts, she may be contacted by calling her at (805) 374-1744 or (800) 266-2077. Her e-mail address is swfr@hotmail.com.