CO-PRESIDENT         TOBA KNOBEL          215-266-5451

BACKGROUND: Toba and her husband, Aaron moved to The Villages in July 2017 from Langhorne, Pennsylvania. In April 2018, they purchased their forever home in the Village of Sanibel. Toba’s 43-year career has always been in the field of Special Education, as a classroom teacher for students with severe disabilities, a consultant for the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the New Jersey Departments of Human Services and Education and, for the final 20 years of her career, as a pubic Special Education school principal.

Toba has published several works in her field, writing the 1977 Regulations for the Implementation of P.L. 94-142 (later IDEA) for the state of PA, 1979 Implementation Guide for IEPs (PA & NJ), and a series of seven books for parents of students with disabilities (Publisher-DLM). While working for the NJ Department of Education, she developed the Core Curriculum Content Standards for Students with Severe Disabilities, which was New Jersey’s evaluation instrument for students whose participation in standard assessments was not possible due to the severity of their disability.

Toba and Aaron have two sons. Joshua, the oldest, lives with his parents in their home in The Villages. Joshua has a rare genetic disease (only 300 cases in the world), and is medically fragile. He requires assistance in mobility and personal care, but has adapted well to life in Florida and enjoys the Comic Collectors Club, Special Friends Bowling and a family favorite, Walt Disney World. Their younger son, Jeremy, is an attorney in Manhattan and lives with his wife and 2 toddler sons, Everett and Keeler, in New Jersey. They enjoy their visits to Florida, and both boys have already shown the family love of everything Disney!

CO-PRESIDENT:         EILEEN CONNOLLY        516-398-3497

VICE-PRESIDENT:      VACANT    

RECORDING SECRETARY:         LORETTA FINK           908-399-2495

Loretta and her husband Ed moved to the Village of Collier full time in August 2015. Loretta grew up in Queens , New York and attended St. John’s University and LI University. Her teaching career spanned over 25 years. During that time she taught fifth and sixth grade science and math in Franklin Square, Basic Skills K-5 in Copiague, and 2 and K in Lindenhurst. When Ed’s job relocated them to New Jersey, Loretta began teaching in the Bridgewater-Raritan School District. She taught first grade for over 10 years. Loretta was a recipient of the New Jersey Govenors Teacher of the Year Award and also the Bridgewater Raritan School District Service of the Year Award. While at Bridgewater, she served on the Mathematics Advisory Council, as well as a facilitator at the annual Young Author’s Workshop. She started an after school Young Authors Writing Club for her first grade students. Loretta could often be found arriving to school dressed as a favorite book character or having Fun Friday afternoons.

In her spare time, Loretta loves to read especially Historical Fiction. She enjoys playing golf with friends, socializing, traveling and most importantly spending time with her husband Ed and her family, her son John, a Family Physician in Delaware, his wife Erin and their 3 children, Owen, Brendan and Molly and her daughter Barbara, a Professor at SUNY New Paultz, her husband Kevin and their 2 children, Bryan and Abigail. Loretta is currently on the McLiners Social Committee serving as co-chair coordinator and recording secretary. She also plans the monthly gathering of the McLiners Ladies Lunch and Movie Group. Keeping healthy and active is important to her so she does try to fit in some exercise classes at MVP.

FINANCIAL SECRETARY:        GAIL FEIND            352-391-9194

BACKGROUND:  Gail moved to The Villages with her husband, Bob, from Chester, Virginia in June, 2010. She taught for over 31 years as a classroom teacher in Buffalo, New York and Houston, Texas; and as a Title I Reading and Mathematics teacher with at risk students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 in Chesterfield County, Virginia. In addition, she developed summer school and before-school programs for students, parent workshops, and teacher training. She was teacher of the year in two of the schools she served; presented at local, state and national reading conferences; and tutored students after school. She was involved with the Girl Scouts both as a leader and as a director in her community and received the Honor Pin in recognition of her service. Upon retirement, Gail served on numerous committees in her church; participated in several mission trips to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina; served on the Chesterfield County Historical Society Board; was a member of the Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights Christmas Mother Committee that provided needy families with food, clothing and gifts during the holidays; was given the honor of being the Christmas Mother for 2009; and mentored at risk middle school students. Gail and her husband (who is also a retired teacher) have a son and daughter who live in Virginia, and a daughter and her family who live in Raleigh, NC. They are blessed with 3 grandchildren, who enjoy riding in grandpa’s golf cart. Presently she is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International (an honorary teacher organization), the Friends of the Villages Library and volunteers in the bookroom at the Pinellas Branch; The Original Virginia Club where she serves as treasurer; and The Bookworm Club to continue her passion for reading. She enjoys traveling with Bob to new places, working crossword and Suduko puzzles, playing cards, photography, and going to Disney World (she is an avid Mickey fan).

 TREASURER:  VACANT