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DECEMBER 2024 941.312.0665 | 27TH STATE MEDIA, LLC OKTOBERFEST IN THE LANDINGS
WELCOME BACK SNOWBIRDS! Desiree Lurf - A Global Perspective Shapes Her Life By Joan Lowery
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LMA BOARD NOMINATIONS
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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
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KID’S CORNER ELI POLITO, 8
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J: Desi, tell me about your early life. D: I was born in Germany to Austrian parents. My father, who was a mechanical engineer, ran a company there. So, for my first three years we lived outside Frankfurt. Then, he ran a company in New York. That fit with my parents’ goal of exposing my sister and I to American culture. J: How long did you live in the United States? D: We lived in the U.S. for three years and off and on after that. My parents wanted my sister and I to remain fluent in English, so we spent our summers with my mother in the U.S. We went to day camp and sleepaway camp in New York’s Adirondack region. That sealed my love for this incredibly beautiful area where eventually I worked and still own property. J: Your father’s career had your family move back to Germany for another three years. What next?
D: After Germany my parents moved national law and legal studies from back to Salzburg, Austria. That’s where Georgetown Law. I also took courses which enabled me to sit for the NY bar most of my schooling took place. and get licensed in the United States. J: Then what? J: You did a stint in France as well? D: I returned to Europe to intern at the D: Yes. While I was in high school my parents thought it would be a good idea Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland and for me to become fluent in French and then worked at the Austrian Ministry to be immersed in French culture. It of Foreign Affairs. From there I took a was an amazing year! I learned French position at the International Criminal and got to know students from France Court in the Hague, Netherlands. My and all over the world. By the end of work involved prosecuting war crimes high school, I spoke three languages: and crimes against humanity in the DR German, English and French! For my higher education I decided to study law at Vienna University. J: Why law and more specifically, what type of law? D: Well, early in my life I read about Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. They were both lawyers and they inspired me to want to use the legal system as a vehicle for social justice. I committed my life to helping underserved and oppressed people. Additionally, growing up in Austria I experienced a feeling of collective guilt for the Holocaust and man’s terrible inhumanity to man. That dreadful history also influenced my decision to fight injustice and hatred and to be on the side of protecting and bettering people’s lives. J: What type of law did you specialize in? D: Given my goals I decided to study International Criminal Law. After graduating from Vienna Law School, I returned to the United States where I received a master’s degree in inter-
Congo, the Sudan and Kenya. J: What was that like? D: It was very challenging and stressful, albeit gratifying. We worked in teams to prosecute international criminals. After six years I took a sabbatical. I returned to the United States for a change of pace. I taught tennis at the sleepaway camp I attended as a child. I also met my ex-husband and for a year we ‘went off the grid’ to live a simple life in the Vermont mountains. Story continues on page 18
The Landings Spooktacular Halloween Trail
Turn to page 20 for more monsters, goblins, and ghouls.
Landings Resident Profile
Roger Blanken
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ART SHOW SCHEDULED
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If you chat with Desiree (Desi) about her background you will learn that she is truly a global citizen. Her parents made sure of that as they set out to have their young daughters experience life in Germany, the United States, Austria, France, and, in Desi’s case, Spain. That sowed the seeds for her quest to deeply understand and empathize with people from different cultures - especially those who are less fortunate than her. Desi’s calling as an immigration attorney reflects her lifelong commitment to social justice and helping others secure better lives.
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You may know Roger as a frequent tennis player or as the new treasurer of the Landings Racquet Club. However, to get to know Roger, is to get to know a business professional whose work has taken him around the globe. Roger was born and raised with his younger sister in the small town of Batesville, Indiana. Home of Hillenbrand Industries, it was at the time the largest manufacturer of caskets and hospital beds in the country. It was the main business in town and where his dad worked most of his career. Roger’s mom and dad had no college education but
valued education and insisted that Roger and his sister go to college. Roger worked part-time jobs, cutting lawns, working at the local golf course, and in a landscaping nursery in his youth. In high school, Roger was a true multi-talented student athlete. He was on the track team, was quarterback of his football team, served on the yearbook committee, was president of the Spanish Club and on top of that, was an actor and thespian. He went to study liberal arts at the University of Notre Dame, spending his sophomore year in Mexico. When he returned, he changed his major to Accounting. He supplemented his income while in school making pizzas. After college, he spent nine years with Price Waterhouse on their audit staff. He was assigned to Barcelona for three of those years. He then worked for Maytag, in Iowa, as a Division Controller and was sent to Wales for two years. When he left Maytag, in 1993, he joined International Flavors and Fragrances and was based in the Netherlands as Vice President of Finance for Europe, Africa and the
Middle East. He returned to the States in 2002 where he took on global roles at the corporate office in NYC. It was in NYC where he met his wife, Pam. They married and maintained an apartment there while Roger commuted back and forth to Amsterdam. In 2021, Roger retired. Pam recently retired after a long career as a Program Manager in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. Between Roger and Pam, they have five children, one grandchild, and another on the way. By now you have figured out that Roger has worked around the world. He was based in six countries, and has lived or worked on every continent. He couldn’t count high enough when asked how many different countries he has visited for work. During the pandemic Pam and Roger stayed in their Landings home since they both were able to work remotely. When Roger retired, it was only natural to return to a place they loved and where they now reside. Once in The Landings, after retirement, Roger got involved. He not only joined the board of the LRC
and became its treasurer, but he also has been helping with the kayak committee. He recently became an adjunct board member of SILL and is providing volunteer assistance to a local nonprofit. When asked what were his interests and hobbies, Roger ran down a broad range of activities which included: artificial iIntelligence, world affairs,tTennis, exercise, meditation,eating healthy, reading books, lawn bowling and petanque (the French equivalent to lawn bowling or Bocce). When you see or meet Roger, you will have a lot of ways to connect with him. He appreciates the quality of The Landings and hopes he will be able, as a LRC board member, to maintain the high quality of the club and its facilities. Roger, like so many residents, enjoys the beautiful surroundings, the friendliness of the people, the location and the true sense of community that exists in The Landings. We are so fortunate Roger has chosen to volunteer to help make The Landings such a special place to live.