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4 minute read
A Peoples Person
Sandy Peoples has devoted nearly 40 years to the mortgage banking industry, but she has spent more than 60 years answering her true calling: to help others.
Sandy, born and raised in Kingston, Pennsylvania, started in the mortgage business right after high school. At age 20, she decided to attend college to study marketing and has had a fascination with the human science behind marketing ever since.
“Years ago, it was sell, sell, sell,” she said. “Then it was advertise. Now it’s influence people so they want to buy your product. I like to find out what they want and need.”
Sandy specialized in selling things people couldn’t see: loans and mortgages. “I was marketing the invisible,” she said, “but I found ways to help people understand the features of a loan and whether it benefited them or not.”
She worked in the Washington, D.C., area and many of her clients were transplants from other parts of the country. The housing market there led to sticker shock for people from small towns, and having moved from southern Virginia to Washington, D.C., Sandy could relate.
“Your first duty was to calm them down and help them figure out how to live there,” she said. “I really
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loved helping people and getting them into a home. Sometimes they were staying in a hotel and had a week to find a house, and it was a lot of stress for them. I got a lot of pleasure from making it happen.”
As Sandy advanced in her career to where she was managing a region from Maine to Florida, she spent more time in an office and less time with customers. She realized it was beyond her “want and need level.”
She retired, and she and her husband of 50 years, Arthur, a retired federal agent, moved back to Pennsylvania in 2000, where she quickly found ways to continue to fulfill her desire to help others. She volunteered with Rotary, the area food pantry, the local library and as deacon at her church, and she worked as a photographer and writer for the “Back Mountain Community News.”
She and her husband officially joined the Dallas Rotary Club 19 years ago, but Sandy has considered herself a Rotarian since age 5, thanks to her father. One of her earliest memories is of her father asking her and her sister to help
the family across the street. The daughter of the couple who lived there, and her two daughters, had been dropped off and abandoned by their husband/father. Having come from Florida, they played outside in the snow in sandals and shorts, which Sandy’s father couldn’t bear to watch.
“He said he had it on good authority that Santa was bringing us new snow suits, so we could give the neighbors our old ones. My father took care of everyone,” Sandy said. “Our house was a swinging door. If a family member or friend had no place to stay, they came to our house. He taught me service above self.”
Through Rotary, Sandy has helped organize shopping sprees and holiday dinners for older adults, worked the annual golf tournament, assisted with marketing and photography and served two terms as president. Her involvement in Rotary led her to volunteer with the local library doing advertising and photography.
Sandy became an “accidental photographer” during her time in the mortgage business when she had to photograph homes for lenders and investors. Now it’s a passion of hers, revealing a “window to the world.” One of her secrets for alleviating nerves during portraits is to give the person words to think about related to their accomplishments, career, gratitude or other encouragements, causing them to smile or appear focused.
Being a photographer and correspondent for the “Back Mountain Community News” has connected Sandy to many in her neighborhood. When she’s in public, people often say hello to her, and while she can’t recall their names, she remembers their stories. One of Sandy’s most memorable opportunities was for a Veterans Day article when she pieced together letters her father and his brothers wrote to their father while they served in World War II. It was a special story for her family and resonated with readers since many in the area had seen relatives go off to war and are patriotic.
Meeting people through the stories she covered, Sandy became involved in the area food pantry, where she volunteered to do fundraising and publicity. There was a need in the area, and with the right talent, led by a retired nurse, the pantry was able to expand its reach.
Sandy and Art moved to Masonic Village at Dallas in 2018. Their two-bedroom villa includes a sunroom and plenty of space for each of them to have an office.
After nearly 60 years of actively working and volunteering, Sandy’s ready to step back from her community involvement – a little. Part of her genetic makeup, service will always be close to her heart.
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Sandy’s photo of Harvey’s Lake, one of her favorites