Gail V. Sterrett

She was a member of ATME, the Northeast Pennsylvania Ad Club and Skal International. Prior to joining the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau she was employed by the American Broadcasting Company (now The Walt Disney Company) in New York City as a Supervisor in the Affiliate Relations Department. She earned an MBA in Marketing from Fordham University in NYC and a BA in Communication Arts from Molloy College in Rockville Center.

She impacted many lives and left a lasting impression. Those interested in sharing a "story" or "experience" about Gail, can do so on our blog.   

Gail was our co-worker, boss, and friend. She will be missed dearly by all those at the PMVB and within the tourism industry as a whole. Please keep Gail's family in your prayers. 

Gail's Eulogy Given by her Brother Leon Malinoski

As noted in the February 24, 2009 issue of the PMVB Newsletter, as a tribute to Gail, her eulogy is posted below:

"Life provides us with two great opportunities, time and the freedom to choose how and with whom we spend that time. Today we are gathered to celebrate the time that Gail shared with us, individually and collectively. To each of us, that time and experience maybe quite different because Gail was many things to many people.

What we heard over the last few days from her friends, her tennis partners, fellow skiers, co-workers and business associates reconfirm the qualities we knew in her as a daughter, a sister and our really "cool" aunt, who introduced us to horseback riding or who could get us into Camel Beach in the summer and on to the slopes in the winter.

Visiting Gail one day, she said that a home had to have a decorative flow, although the living room might be radically different from the bedroom as you moved from one room to the next it should be a smooth and gradual transition. She said," You should be able to take a dish towel and throw it in the middle of floor in any room and it should look like it belongs there."  I went to the farthest room which was the master bathroom, took a hand towel, threw it in the middle of the living room and it worked!  And that, that was Gail - she would transition effortlessly, faultlessly, and gracefully through each and every one of us even though our interests might be radically different. She did everything with purpose and because of that everything flowed.

She would discuss with me the relative size of my sales funnel to revenue objective and suggest that the best strategy to deploy with price compression was to decrease the sales reps territory and increase the number of sales reps thus providing more depth and breathe of runway. A few minutes later you would typically find her on a couch with the nieces and nephews discussing art, music and defense strategies for girl's basketball.

Last night I struggled to recall my last conversation with Gail. I think if you recall the last conversation you had with Gail, you too will quickly realize that it was a very one-sided conversation - it was all about you. Like her heart, she would open her arms and typically start a conversation with a probing question. "So what are you up to", I heard you are planning to..." followed by many well placed, really!" - "I am intrigued, tell me more!"  The reason Gail was so amazingly interesting was because she was genuinely and honestly interested in you.

With Gail, everything was scheduled. Although you were scheduled, the time she shared was always special to you and her. For some it was outlet shopping just before Christmas and in the spring it was buying flowers and plants at Orlosky's in NJ. In the summer it was a tennis match behind the school or in the local park, and winter it was an afternoon of skiing. 

In preparation for this I have been asking the question, "What do you remember most of Gail and what will you miss the most?"  The primary answers have been; her ability to light up a room with her smile; her infectious laugh coupled with a great sense of humor.

What I believe we will all miss is her ability to find the best in the worst of situations, no matter how you fell down or how it came undone, in her heart she always saw the best in us or in the situation. She wanted you to see the other side of the problem or understand the others person's reasoning for their position regardless how illogical it might have appeared. She would not let you just complain, condemn or criticize.  After she let you "vent" it was typically followed by, "So how can we fix this!"  She was frugal in her criticism and lavish in her praise. 

Eventually, we will recover from this sudden and unexpected shock. Today was better then yesterday and I am hoping tomorrow is better then today. Our role going forward is to keep Gail in our hearts every day. While Gail would have been bright enough to develop a very creative marketing plan for this objective, I have to steal it from someone else. Think W W G D - What Would Gail Do?

- Be genuinely interested in people
- Think honestly about the other person's perspective
- Be frugal in your criticism and lavish in your praise

And if you find these tasks difficult, start with the easy one, just smile. Because as Gail has proven, it happens in flash but to us the receiver, the memory can last forever."