MEET VICKI BERG
BY
Phyllis Cohen
How many of us would answer an ad in the International Herald Tribune to rent a house on Menorca? Our newest Board member, Vicki Berg, did just that during the turbulent late 1960s and ended up staying for a year. Where, you might ask, is Menorca? It’s one of Spain’s Balearic Islands nearby its more famous neighbors, Majorca and Ibiza. Vicki has also traveled extensively in Europe calling Paris, where she spent seven weeks, her favorite place in the whole world.
After returning from Europe, the native Los Angelena spent a number of years in northern California. Initially, Vicki moved to Berkeley, where she loved the small-town feel, friendliness, and politically compassionate environment. She later moved to the Montclair area in Oakland, where she was in charge of processing expense reports for Kaiser Development, a real estate subsidiary of Kaiser Aluminum. At some point, Vicki decided to leave Kaiser and be her own boss, so she
purchased two answering services catering to high-end clients. In 1990, she sold the answering services and retired to Marin. Vicki finally made it back to southern California around 2000 when she sold her house in Marin and relocated to
Laguna Woods Village in Orange County to help care for her godmother until she passed away.
Vicki came to SCSH the way many of us did — by accident rather than by design. Around 2005, her cousin in Palm Desert asked her to dog sit for a month. While here, she drove around the area looking at open houses and found SCSH. Although
she originally intended to buy a home here as an investment to rent during the winter season, Vicki never did. Instead she moved into the house herself. She now owns two
homes here and shares one with her rescue dog, Zoe Berg, a Maltese mix.
Volunteerism has been an integral part of Vicki’s life. In the 1960s, shortly after she married, Vicki began volunteering at Mount Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, the
predecessor of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. While living in Marin, Vicki
became a volunteer with Bread & Roses Presents, an organization founded by Joan Baez’ sister, Mimi Fariña, whose purpose it was to bring the healing power of music and other live art to institutionalized children, teens, adults, and elders. She also served as president of a dog club in northern California and has been a volunteer for the past five years at a local animal rescue in Palm Desert.
During the past three years, Vicki has been a member of the Design Review Committee ensuring that submitted applications adhere to SCSH guidelines. She volunteered to serve on our Board in order to continue making contributions to our
community. One of Vicki’s many goals as a Board member is to reach out to residents, listen to their concerns, and find ways to bring balance to the community. Chief among these goals is her desire to ensure SCSH has fair rules and regulations.
Vicki’s favorite thing about living here is that we have a lovely, safe, and comfortable community that offers many options and opportunities for residents. In addition to traveling, Vicki also enjoys taking Osher classes at UC Riverside here in Palm Desert, politics, and collecting art.
Vicki looks forward to meeting with residents to discuss their needs and concerns. Please say hello to her whenever you see her.