Teri and Fred Cassell had always enjoyed their visits to the Marblehead Peninsula, especially the annual Halupki Festival at Holy Assumption Orthodox Church each summer in Marblehead, and dreamt that one day they’d like to live along the beautiful Lake Erie shoreline.

“We finally had the chance, moving here in the fall of 2016,” said Teri Cassell. An engineer, Fred is now retired, and earlier this year Teri was furloughed from her position at a Westlake, Ohio group travel company.

It was time for change, she said, and with her skill set, the perfect landing area has been to accept a position as director of the Marblehead Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.

“Our kids — Trisha, Craig and Kristen — are all grown now, and this is the perfect lifestyle for us,” said Cassell, who lives in the West Harbor area. “We moved up from a pontoon boat to a cabin cruiser, and we love being on the water.

“We’ve met so many wonderful people since we’ve moved here,” she said. “One of the first places we discovered was The Erie Social Shuffleboard Club just up the street, and many of the friends we’ve made are also members there.”

The Cassells had lived in the Lorain County area, where she had been active in the community, including school activities, volunteering at a soup kitchen and as a board member on her church council.

Cassell had attended Lorain Community College and studied computer science, becoming a computer programmer for a manufacturing company. Looking for a more exciting life, she became a travel planner for an incentive travel company in the Cleveland area, working with corporate clients to implement unique travel programs for 20 years.

Cassell is anxious to sell the Marblehead Peninsula experience to visitors, and to continue the momentum the Chamber of Commerce has gained in recent years.