evening session #5 – a gorgeous night at the radnor hotel

Wednesday 5/28/2008

It was slated to be a family night – bring babies, and meet the spouses, finally.  We had all grown so close, it was so cool to meet everyone’s better halves!!  Two classmates had new additions they added in the time we had been meeting since January.  One classmate was expecting – how exciting!

The rain had finally stopped – and the evening was a perfect one.  Out in the garden, a calm before the storm, we all discussed what was next and how we could not believe our PROJECT WAS DUE NEXT WEEK!!!

Spouses met and found out we all had a lot in common – in fact, Jeanne’s husband was there – a chiropractor!  My husband, also one as well, made a new friend!

The general consensus was that we could not believe the time had flown – one more class to go, this one down in UPenn. We all joked that since gas prices were so high and we had to be there early – we would meet on a certain train and hook up for coffee – kind of like a mass transit carpool, if you will.

 

The mood was light as we all joked around, babies running around.  I was grateful I left Nat, my one year old at home, since she was in to everything.  Everyone had such beautiful children.  

 

When the stars came out, it was time for the kiddies bed times, and off we all went, again, having a great time, with a tinge of sadness, knowing that it was all to soon come to an formal end as a group.

green goes gorgeous

So after we met at the Willows, Jim (now nicknamed “Jimmy V”) weaves through the back roads of Wayne with Jenny, Dave, and me in tow.  We pulled up to an amazing home – not a half a mile from the Chamber.

 

Not a minute later, a man drove up, hopped out of his car, and introduced himself….”Hi, I’m Charlie Szoradi.  Welcome to my house!”  

 

We entered his home and were all awestruck.  His house looked like it was right out of a magazine.  There was even an adorable little boy that sat at the kitchen table who was busily playing with yogurt.

 

Charlie explained that about 5 years ago, he and his wife, Cynthia wanted to be more green.  Out of that, they had made major changes to their home to make it more green….from putting solar panels on the house which feeds the energy back – to radiant heat floors that are heated from the suns rays.  Charlie, an architect, began talking about vectors and insulation types.  I found him incredibly brilliant and yet humble, and funny.  

When we originally came into his home, he poured us all juice, and handed us his “business card.”  I flipped mine over to see “Jo Jo’s” while others had printed bears and other colorful prints.  Charlie laughed and said that he made his business cards from his cereal boxes and a stamp.  I commented that I was sure no one ever forgot about his card.

The other thing we will never forget, was a ladder in one of Charlie’s rooms that is made out of 600 cases of Bud Light. 

Charlie then explained about his website greenandsave.com.  It was exactly what we had planned for the Chamber, times a million.  Charlie lays out on that site, small, medium, and large things you can do to be more green…..the cost, and how much you should recoup.  It is an all-in-one resource that is amazing!

 

Our group was blown away by the sheer beauty of Charlie and Cynthia’s home.  It was incredible and environmentally responsible.  Charlie and Cynthia were so hospitable, funny, and warm.  We had so much fun that night.  Another great experience in my life, only by participating with Leadership Main Line.