When asked what she liked to do just for herself, Sally Grinsfelder was quiet. Seated on her flowered couch, coffee cup in hand, she tried to come up with an answer. The long silence was telling.
As the mother of five children and a volunteer to a long list of organizations and groups, Grinsfelder has very few moments to spend on herself. But she doesn’t seem to mind.
“I suspect that I might be a little hyper – that’s one reason that I can probably do so much,” she says.
As Grinsfelder quickly moved about her cozy home, she proudly named all the children smiling in framed photographs, talked about her two dogs and birds, and pointed out that the kitchen wallpaper and hand-painted dinner table featured one of her favorite things – chickens.
The eclectically decorated home personifies Grinsfelder: It’s a place where so many different things come together.
She’s a mentor. She’s an organizer. She’s a caretaker. And after spending time with her, it became apparent why so many people in the Lake Highlands community think Grinsfelder is one of a kind.
“One of the things I like the best about Sally is that she has such a great sense of humor. She’s always able to find the light moment in every occasion,” says Margaret Gall, friend and member of the Lake Highlands Women’s League.
“She’s a terrific mom. She’s very supportive of her kids.”
Grinsfelder’s give-all attitude to her family and volunteer work made her the recipient of this year’s Advocate Award, a yearly honor presented by this magazine to an individual who has devoted time and energy into making our neighborhood a better place to live.
Like so many active parents vo