Cindy Sakala

"I wear a lot of hats. I'm a wife, a mother, business owner, and humanitarian," These were Cindy Sakala's opening remarks when I asked her to tell me about herself. And as we talked, I was amazed by her selfless commitment to excelling in all these areas of her life.

Her family's focus is to lead a life centered on God with everything else emanating from that. I believe it is this mindset that has allowed her to accomplish all she has. First, she is a wife of nearly 25 years with a husband, Paul, who is helpful and supportive of all her endeavors. She is mother to 15-year-old Allison, part owner of Sakala Stone Products, and a woman dedicated to serving those in need.

Recently, Cindy took her humanitarian efforts all the way to Nicaragua. And it wasn't the first time either; this was her fourth trip to Central America on related missions. With the help of nine area Rotary Clubs, Rotary International, the Brother's Brother Foundation in Pittsburgh, and several local organizations, Cindy and another Rotarian were able to supply impoverished hospitals with medical supplies. Cindy explained that the two hospitals in the Chinandega, Nicaragua area were in such dire straights that one doctor could not even care for three patients that came in with broken arms - a considerably minor problem.

Cindy did an amazing thing for these people, but she gave most of the credit to the people in Rotary and the organizations who donated supplies. She gave an example of the swift and efficient attention given to this project by other Rotarians. The day she was leaving for Nicaragua, it was discovered that neither hospital had blood bags, and they needed to do a transplant operation. Cindy didn't know how to go about getting the bags, so she called a friend in the Rotary and within an hour he had 12 bags for them. She also requested learning aides for special education schools down there and received very specific tools for Spanish speaking disabled children. "That's how the Rotary works," she said. "It's a wonderful resource if you want to get in touch with good people. Some of the best people I know [are in the Rotary]. And when you do find Rotaries in other countries, you've found some of the best people there too."

Seven years ago, Cindy's insurance agent invited her to join the Rotary. She was unsure, but decided to give it a try, and is now very thankful to him for getting her involved. She said, "It helps fulfill the vocation of being a better Christian." She's able to help other people and contribute to those less fortunate when she probably wouldn't have those opportunities outside of the club. Her future plans with the Rotary are to expand on the efforts in Chinandega, Nicaragua, and to get more clubs involved. Cindy's family has been very supportive of her charitable efforts. She gave credit to her husband, Paul, for helping out and, "holding down the fort," when she was away.

Paul and Cindy own a great deal of property that they used to farm, but 10 years ago they started a business together. Sakala Stone Products was born after they attended a franchise seminar and "just jumped into it." Cindy's husband does all the manual labor while she does the bookkeeping and paperwork. Together they work on the sales and marketing. They also employ two full-time production people. To help with her new career, Cindy went back to school and received degrees in Business Administration from Penn State and Business Management from Pitt.

One of the challenges of having the business in their home was learning to set boundaries. It's vital to Cindy to keep the business aspect of life out of the house as much as possible and keep the house for family time. For example, they do not answer business calls after 5 pm and conduct absolutely no business on Sunday. "We take our day of rest seriously." The upside is that she can be answering business calls while doing laundry or cooking dinner, and she's always home when her daughter gets home from school.

When Cindy has spare time she enjoys gardening and taking care of their property and she laughed, "Cutting the grass is a three-day affair." She also belongs to the Pieceful Patchers Quilt Guild. Her house is decorated with her imaginative quilting creations. The family has three pets, a bird, a cat named Sqeakers, and a dog named Fuzzy McGinnis. They live in Lower Burrell and attend Mt. St. Peters Church in New Kensington.

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