Sandy Goldberg during his Cox years, at 65 years old.
Next month, Sandy Goldberg, account executive at Jewish News, turns 80. If he hadn’t shared the news, no one would know. He’s always active…traveling with his wife Anne, busy with his family, entertaining, exercising at the Simon Family JCC, and working the phones and email selling advertisements for this newspaper.
About to enter his ninth decade, he’s fully embraced the first eight as apparent in this interview.
Happy Birthday, Sandy! And Mazel Tov on reaching this milestone!
Jewish News: Where are you from?
Sandy Goldberg: I am from St. Louis, Mo.
JN: Where do your siblings live?
SG: Both my older brother and younger sister live near San Francisco, Calif.
JN: Where did you go to school?
SG: I graduated University of Missouri School of Journalism.
JN: You’ve had a successful career in media sales. Was that your plan or did you just discover that you were good at it?
SG: Discovered. At the end of my sophomore year, I was washing out of pre-dentistry and told an AEPi fraternity brother who told me to go into Journalism School. I told him I hate newspapers. He told me to major in advertising because you cut things out, paste them down, write funny things next to them and they give you Bs. It worked!
JN: Please name some of the places you’ve worked and what positions you held.
SG: NBC TV network, NYC, sales service; Grey Advertising, NYC, media buyer; Radio general manager and regional vice president in Toledo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Dallas, and WGH Norfolk. I also did Cable TV ad sales at Cox Cable here in Hampton Roads.
JN: You’ve been married to Anne for 36 years. Do you keep each other active?
SG: We keep each other active by walking five miles/day and working out in a gym three to six hours/week.
JN: How many children and grandchildren do you have?
SG: Between us we have four children and four grandchildren.
JN: You and Anne travel a lot! How many countries have you visited?
SG: Nine.
JN: How many trips are on your schedule for 2023?
SG: We started the year in Mexico, a trip that began in late 2022. We have three more trips planned at two weeks each; St. Maarten, Italy with all four grandkids, and Mexico for Hanukkah.
JN: What is your favorite place to visit?
SG: Ireland, Anne was born in Dublin and has a huge and hospitable family there.
JN: You are a regular at some of the Simon Family JCC’s Fitness classes. Have you always been into exercise?
SG: No. The J has been a positive influence.
JN: Do you feel the exercise makes a difference in how you feel?
SG: Absolutely!
JN: You are an entertainer—always having people over to your home where you are known for delicious and diverse menus. Where did you learn to cook?
SG: My Mom loved to entertain, and she made me her souse chef. She said “you entertain people at your home because you enjoy it…not because you think you will get invited back.”
JN: What’s your secret to life?
SG: My father’s advice…“that which you do well you enjoy and that which you enjoy you do well…the money will follow.”
JN: Anything else to add?
SG: Retiring from full time work to part time here at the Jewish News has made the last 15 years great fun and satisfying. I have no plan to fully retire yet.
-Terri Denison