Meet Sophia Garder of The Publyk House

May 1, 2017

Sophia was born on the lower East side of Manhattan. She lived in Queens and moved to Bennington when she was fifteen years old. A combination of things made it easier for her to move to Bennington. Her parents were immigrants; her dad from Russia and her mother from Switzerland. In the city, her parents were protective and kept Sophia and her five brothers and one sister sheltered. When the family moved to Bennington, their parents loosened the reins because they felt safer.

The other reason it was easy was that the family had spent a month in the summers in Vermont so the state had always been comfortable for them.

Sophia went to Mount Anthony Union High School. After she graduated, she went to MCLA where she got her bachelor's degree in theatre. She worked at Hubbard Hall, Oldcastle Theatre and Shakespeare and Company. She was an actor, a state mangr and engaged in all different aspects of theatre production.

For five years, Sophia was Company Manager at Shakespeare and Company. She enjoyed her time there, but when you work an

an hour from where you live, you lose a sense of community. She also missed being on the performance side of things. The easiest way for someone who is local to work in theatre is to work at a restaurant. However, when they promoted her to manger, she couldn't get the time off that she could before.

Sophia is a marathoner, a great cook and she enjoys traveling the world and deeply loves all of the arts. Sophia has three grown sons. Her husband is Shane Fressola.

About three years ago, for a better part of a year, Sophia volunteered at the Sacred Heart Food Pantry. She felt she was giving something back, so Rotary is a great fit for her. She is interested in being on a committee, probably Public Relations since she would like to help out with social media.

Author: Sally Sugarman (Club Member & Windmill Editor)
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