Kathy was born and raised in Springfield, MA, and attended Classical High School, followed by Springfield Technical Community College, where she earned her degree in Dental Hygiene. Most of her youth was dedicated to being a member of The St. George Olympians Drum & Bugle Corps, where the friendships and work ethic she developed have been everlasting.
She resides in Agawam, MA, with her husband, Chris, the owner/operator of Café Christo in Springfield.
They are the proud parents of Kasondra, Nikos, and Dimitri. Kathy is following in the footsteps of Chris, Kasondra, and Kasondra’s boyfriend, Jeff, all of whom have been fabulous Dancing with Heart participants in past events.
As Dimitri and his partner Erik are professional dancers, they are not eligible to participate, so that leaves Niko as the final contestant to enter in a future year to fulfill a full family of DWH’ers! Hmmm…Where in the World IS Niko?
After pursuing a career change, Kathy has enjoyed a 41-year profession as a financial advisor, assisting her clients in achieving their financial goals. As a goal-oriented person herself, Kathy started a fitness lifestyle journey 10 years ago, which developed into a passion for running. She has run one 50k Ultra and 14 marathons in the past nine years, including three of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors: Boston, Tokyo, and New York. She has her focus set on completing London, Berlin, and Chicago to earn her Abbott Six Star Award. She is also striving to run either a marathon or half-marathon in as many states as possible.
These running adventures have added destinations to her family’s love of travel, and she looks forward to exploring many more journeys together in the years to come.
In addition to her employment with Mass Mutual, Kathy is also an assistant coach for Southwick Regional School’s Cross-Country Team. Along with running and traveling, she loves the beach, hiking, swimming, dancing (freestyle, until now!), and volunteering for many causes dear to her heart.
In considering why she chose to participate in Dancing with Heart, Kathy reflected:
“Oh boy, this is finally happening! Judy and Dorsey have been encouraging me to join the Dancing with Heart crew since its debut. For one reason or another, it didn’t work out…truth be told, this is completely out of my comfort zone! But a couple of weeks ago, a request came in from the much-respected dynamic duo ‘Judy & Dorsey’ that they really needed to fill a gap…and how does one say NO to that dedicated team that has worked so hard year after year raising funds for such a worthy cause? I’m a firm believer in paying it forward, and I’m so grateful for my health and ability to do for others.
My mom, Bea Syner (aka The Energizer Bunny), was a great influence in inspiring this attitude, and she certainly had the energy and made the time to say YES! She is telling me from up above that it’s time to say YES to this—for our beloved St. Luke and the Shriner’s beneficiaries. If my participation in this event can help even one Shriner’s child have a better life, then count me in!”
