Cindy Prothro:
CLASS OF 1972
El Camino Real High SchoolClass of 1972
Woodland hills, CA
Hale Junior High SchoolClass of 1969
Woodland hills, CA
Haynes Street Elementary SchoolClass of 1966
Canoga park, CA
Cindy's Story
Update April 2024
Bought a Jeep Rubicon 4XE last October - owning a Jeep has been a long-term dream. We've done day-long trips and a weekend trip to Sedona and Flagstaff and in the process earned our first Jeep badge last November in Sedona. This past week we completed 2 of my bucket list dreams in Utah's Canyonlands - running Elephant Hill to access the hiking trail to the confluence of the Colorado River and the Green River (this included highlining the Jeep and getting stuck for an hour as we worked through various self-recovery attempts until we were successful - that's part of Jeeping) and traversing the 100-mile White Rim Trail loop from Moab.
We've made many trips to Moab and Canyonlands over the years in other vehicles and we had amazing trips hiking and exploring, but we did not have the vehicle necessary to complete these 2 trips. The views were amazing and the relative solitude during a fairly busy week in Moab was incredible.
My next goal is to be in Yellowstone, in the Jeep with the roof off, for my 70th birthday this July. We've been in and through Yellowstone dozens of time (my sister used to live in Montana), but never in a Jeep.
LIfe at home is good with my 2 lab retrievers, Indiana and Earhart, my best friends.
Update February 2021
Now retired, a casualty to a council that flipped. I was in good company, the City Manager, was also a casualty. I was working because I loved who I worked for and who I worked with. It had become a family. The family was lost last November. I am fortunate, I am fine financially, I just miss the fantastic people I worked with.
Retirement right now means putting in a new roof on the house and a new HVAC system along with other home improvements. I am physically far more active now, to the point that Aleve has become my very good friend twice a day as I discover muscles that did not get used riding my Peloton 30 minutes a day. At 66, moving bricks and gravel in a wheelbarrow isn't as easy as it was 30 years ago, at least not yet. I should be in reasonably good physical shape for the Eastern Sierra's fishing season and hopefully a trip to Yellowstone for fishing and photography with my grandson. In the meantime, I'll add in some online photography and cooking courses while riding out the pandemic. The best part of retirement is the amount of time I get to spend with my Black Labs, Indiana and Earhart.
Update June 2020
What a crazy year so far! Working as one of the "essential" employees, I did not shelter in place. There's been a whirlwind of activities, things happening since my last update, but isn't that the way it feels for all of us.
The short version - political upheaval at work (that's continuous) with a target on my back most of the time. New City Manager was hired a year ago, I was going to step aside and retire (they usually want to pick their own Assistant City Manager). In a very short time we because friends (almost like long lost sisters). I didn't retire - most of the time I love my job - I get to run the operations and admin side of a city. I work with some really awesome people and now we have a boss who is not only a really effective leader, but is a lot of fun to work with.
I took a cruise last October from New England to Canada (it was supposed to be a retirement cruise, instead it was a long vacation). We also did a driving tour of New England - I was in seafood and maple everything heaven. Fall is my favorite time of the year and no one does Fall better than New England, Unfortunately the cruise ship we were on, the Holland America Zaandam, was the cruise ship that no country wanted to let dock in its port when Covid-19 turned up on the ship. I think I'll stick to planes, trains and automobiles for the time being.
On the challenging side - I had an employee commit suicide last Fall (that hit me hard and it was my boss who pulled me through that), my bosses husband passed away 3 weeks ago, Two days after her husband passed away, I was rear ended at high speed. I drive a Toyota Highlander now which is what saved me from serious injury. In addition, we have had the protests at work. WIth my boss out, I was in the Command Center with the Police. I was also given the authority to declare a curfew - that was something that had me holding my breath for a week. Balancing the needs and safety of the community, the citizens, the employees against a backdrop of needing to preserve people's rights to assemble and protest peacefully is not an easy decision. Fortunately, we only used the curfew on the first day of being in a state of emergency. When the violence never materialized, we went back to a cautious normal - the protests in our city remained peaceful and our protesters did not want anyone trashing their city (thank god). In the background of all that, I've done what I do best - working through the numbers to find a way to give council a balanced budget and not lay off anyone in the midst of Covid-19.
I go to Santa Fe this weekend for a little R&R visiting my sister. After buying a new tent for camping (RV's and my Camper are too much work), I'm anxious to pitch my tent in the High Sierras and just fish, hike and read Louis L'amour westerns (my favorite reading material when I camp).
As with all of us - life has it's ups and downs, I am grateful that at this point in my life, I have much to be grateful for. With all the challenges that life gives one, I would not change anything that has happened because where I am right now is good.
August 2018
After a great birthday last month visiting Yellowstone with Dylan (my youngest grandson), I had foot surgery on August 2nd. Apparently I had broken and shattered my left foot years ago without realizing that I had injured it that badly. The doctor removed the larger bone fragments embedded in the tendon, shaved the bone where the fracture had not healed properly and anchored the tendon to the bone. I was expecting maybe 2 weeks at home before my release, now I am hoping to be released to return to work on Sept. 4th. I have a knee scooter to get around, but I cannot put weight on my left foot yet. Luckily I have not had any pain, just some minor discomfort. I have had cabin fever since day 5 after the surgery. Since I can neither walk nor drive, I'm in a forced telecommuting mode. Work has kept me quite busy - that is a blessing and a curse.
I am looking forward to rehab. The surgery should correct the problem I have had with pain when I walk more than 20 or 30 minutes. Then I can return to my daily workouts. I'm lucky with how quickly Kaiser diagnosed the problem and scheduled my surgery.
More updates to come as I transition into rehab (and the holidays).
Update June 2018
Booked my first cruise last month. I will be traveling via Holland America next September from Boston to Montreal. It's a learning trip to figure out the cruise ship thing. I've flown, driven a car or camper, or taken a train before, but never a cruise ship. I'm looking forward to the trip - after that I want to plan trips to Northern Europe, England and Ireland, the Mediterranean, Alaska, Galapagos, and Antarctica over the next few years. I want to mix in train and car travel in the US and Canada as well. My biggest challenge is my 2 year old black Labrador (she's my best friend and I hate to be gone too long) and deciding when it's time to retire (again). Running the operations of a city is rewarding, challenging and exhausting, but I never tire of the hugs I get from the firefighters and the maintenance workers - I work with awesome people!
In the meantime local travel plans have me ready to go - Channel Islands cruising and hiking, Reagan Library - Genghis Khan exhibit, whale watching and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Hollywood Bowl for our annual John Williams concert and a train trip this fall to Santa Fe. In the midst of all of this, I have to have foot surgery soon - apparently I shattered my left foot years ago (I think when I fell off the roof in 2003) and didn't realize it. Life's too short to let minor roadblocks slow me down too much.
In the meantime, life has been busy! William, my oldest grandson is now married. William and Kortny, his wife, live with me. We just celebrated Kortny's graduation from CSUB - she is now on her way to becoming a teacher.
Update April 2017
Wedding plans are under way for my grandson. The wedding is the day after my birthday.
New challenge for me at work - I am the Acting City Manager for the next few weeks.
In the meantime, I am beginning to plan retirement - cruises in different parts of the world starting with Alaska and the New England Coast and Montreal (actually these will be before I retire). After I retire, I'll go down to Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Antarctica, after Antarctica, then Europe and the Mediterranean. I had been nervous about going back into retirement - I am hoping that structured travel abroad, along with camping and fishing excursions in the West will keep me challenged. My year old puppy Indiana (a black lab named after my favorite cinema character, Indiana Jones), has become my favorite companion. More to follow . . .
Update February 2017
My oldest ...Expand for more
grandson just started working for Northrop. This means he and his fiancé can now plan their wedding. I am really happy with the venue they have chosen - it's an historic building in the city where I work.
I have settled into my role as Assistant City Manager. It's rewarding when the simple things are so appreciated by the staff. I spend a lot of time in the field and it's amazing the impact of just showing up and saying thank you and what can I do to help make your job easier to do can have. It's rewarding because I can make decisions to help them do their job better.
There are some challenges - I don't think I'll ever get used to the smell at the Wastewater plant! I haven't quite figured out if it is better to visit the plant before lunch or after lunch.
Update May 2016
Big changes in the first half of 2016 - My son and his wife bought a home nearby and moved out with my youngest (21 year old) grandson. My oldest grandson and his fiance still live with me - it's great, I have a more manageable household size and the kids are great to be around.
Life was back to normal, until this week - I was promoted this week to Assistant City Manager . . . after 35 years in Finance, I have new responsibilities and I love it. It was very humbling when I learned how much support I had from City staff throughout the selection process. I work with great people and I have a lot to learn, but it's exciting and I feel energized about going to work each day.
with new responsibilities, I may travel less this year - we have a big Wash DC trip planned in November, in the meantime we will do day trips to museums and such near home.
Update January 2015
The holidays are over. From October to December I visited Salt Lake City, Santa Fe and Boston. We had fun in each city - I LOVE Boston (note the profile picture of the Old North Church). January is dedicated to football playoffs. February will be busy - the LA Phil, Municipal Finance Officers conference in Monterey 18th-19th, National Geographic Speakers Series in Santa Monica.
I'm getting the itch to plan vacations - it looks like we will make a short trip to Yellowstone in June to do some fly fishing and a trip to DC in September to visit more of the landmarks and museums.
My son will graduate Summa Cum Laude with a cumulative 3.96 GPA from CSUB at the end of this semester with a Business Degree. He starts the MBA program immediately afterwards - it took a long time for him to be interested in going to college, but once he decided on going he put everything into it. It's been nearly 35 years since I did any graduate study, but I may return to join him in the MBA program. An MBA won't make much difference for me career-wise at work, but it does open the door for teaching opportunities when I retire. The more important reason to return for the MBA would be the opportunity to attend classes with my son.
Update 11-25-2014 My story is in the Desert Dispatch (the local paper for Barstow), I was interviewed by the newspaper after my contract was renewed on Nov. 19th.
Current- Single, Finance Professional and Grandmother (2 grandsons in college - Dylan, age 19, the trumpet player, music and business major and William, age 21, majoring in Fire Science (firefighting)
Occupation - Director of Finance City of Barstow.
Hobbies - Camping, Fishing, Geocaching , riding ATVs & Football - starting to really experiment with photography with my son. I have the professional equipment, I lack the patience and the artistic eye. I have a passion for the outdoors and history, photography is a wonderful tool to capture both.
Update 12-13-2014, so I have been asked for my story.
This is a little difficult for 2 reasons. First, I am a numbers person, I have great respect for those who can write with very little effort; however, I am not one of them. Second, in order to not only survive, but to also achieve, I have spent most of my life living for now and living to some plan. In my case the plan involved personal development (education and work) and travel and adventure.
I went into the Army straight from high school. I spent time in Alabama and Germany (to a girl who rarely traveled beyond Los Angeles County growing up, Alabama was as foreign as Germany). While I was in the Army, I learned the one thing about myself that literally formed and focused my life from then on âÃÂàmy test scores showed I had an IQ that put me in the Gifted/Near Genius category. I saying this not to brag, but to demonstrate that this was life altering for me because I felt that God gave me a talent that I could not waste.
While in the Army in Germany, I became engaged, pregnant, unengaged and ultimately shipped home (in the early 1970âÃÂÃÂs single, pregnant women were not an acceptable part of our culture, much less military culture). I was sent back home and discharged (honorably) with a son.
This is where knowing my IQ was life altering, in spite of my familyâÃÂÃÂs objections, I entered college. Initially I majored in Political Science, switching to Economics. I had the benefit of the GI Bill, so I refused to seek any only financial assistance (or public aid) for college or living. I was very determined to prove I could âÃÂÃÂmake itâÃÂàas a single unwed mother (the stereotype I had to fight). During this time, my next life altering event occurred, I got a job as a bookkeeper. I worked 3 bookkeeper jobs simultaneously throughout most of college.
3 years and 11 months later I had a degree in Economics from Cal State Northridge. Soon after, I entered law school at Loyola. During this time, I continued working as a bookkeeper near Loyola.
In 1980, my son and I were in a car accident. Neither of us were seriously hurt, but it caused me to seriously look at my employment situation. I needed health insurance. So on to my first professional job, I was hired by Lockheed to be a Financial Analyst. Soon after, I quit law school when I realized I did not like the mercenary nature of being an attorney and I was better with numbers than words.
I started at Lockheed, just before the personal computer was introduced. Lockheed was a leading edge company, so our department acquired a couple of computers (remember the Radio Shack TRS-80âÃÂÃÂs with the 8âÃÂàfloppy drives and Visicalc). I took to computers like a fish takes to water
.
If you notice, I donâÃÂÃÂt mention much about my social life. The one thing I battled personally and professionally was being shy. On a personal level, I am still shy; however, I forced myself to overcome it on a professional level.
After 4 years at Lockheed, I went to work for Paramount Television as a financial systems analyst. Over the next several years, I also worked for Lear Siegler (back to aerospace), Lockheed again, and then Aerotest, a commercial maintenance facility. I was also balancing being a single mother, dating occasionally and making this gradual transition from an analyst to management. I also grew tired of the mercurial nature of the aerospace industry âÃÂàI loved the industry, but I disliked the insecurity of it âÃÂàI did not want to relocate to keep my job.
On a personal level at this time, I has become a grandmother at 38. I decided focusing on my family was more important for me, as such, I decided that my life was fulfilling enough without dating (not that I dated much, but it just wasnâÃÂÃÂt important to me anymore).
My next big change came in 1994. I had replied to an ad in the Wall Street Journal for the Assistant Finance Director for the City of Visalia. I knew nothing about working in the public sector, but the Finance Director wasnâÃÂÃÂt looking for government experience, he was looking for fresh ideas.
Since 1994, I have worked for Visalia, Hesperia, Lancaster and Barstow. I retired from Lancaster in 2009 after 12ÃÂý years and I unretired in 2011 to work for Barstow as the Finance Director.
Before my grandsons were born, back in the 1988-1990 time frame, I worked for a wonderful man at Lockheed named Joe Spencer. JoeâÃÂÃÂs stories about his families camping adventures got me hooked on camping and travel.
I started traveling solo âÃÂàUtah, Arizona, the High Sierras, etc. camping, hiking and fishing. When my oldest grandson was born, he became my camping buddy. As my grandsons grew older, the trips broadened Utah was still a favorite, but we added Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, etc. visiting National Parks, museums, and participating in dinosaur and fish fossil digs. By this point I had earned the nickname of Indy Cindy because of my love for archaeology, paleontology and Indiana Jones. I went back to school to take classes in archaeology (field work), anthropology and geology.
Now that I am 60 and the boys (my son and my grandsons) are in college, our trips now include flying for long weekend trips to explore museums and history in other cities âÃÂàWashington DC, Boston, New York, Salt Lake City, etc.
Now you have âÃÂÃÂmy storyâÃÂÃÂ.
Next week (12/16-21/2014) we are headed back to Boston for history, museums, and music.
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