BARBARA SIMKEN:  

Life I moved to Massachusetts in 1972 with my former husband (George Kokindo) and 3 sons. We divorced in 1978 and I stayed in the Berkshires. I was working for a construction company as the Contracts Administrator for six years; then went to Sales for another six years with Lenox Machine (a subsidiary of Beloit). It was never a dull moment with my 3 sons (some hair raising moments to say the least). In 1983 I went back to construction for another company and stayed there until 1994. I began as the Contract Administrator and ended up as the MIS Manager. It was an exciting 10 years, both with my boys (I remarried which began another adventure) and was able to take a number of courses which helped me make my next career move to the University of Massachusetts. There I began as the MIS Manager and ended up as the Asst. Parking Manager overseeing a staff of employees and students (up to 42 staff depending on the time of the year and whether the Parking Manager was in or not - Mostly NOT). That was to be the best move for me as I was able to...Expand for more