Get to know your TSTI Co-Presidents, Elise Joy and Marjie Terry!
What would be the title of your memoir?
Elise: Elise Joy: Moving Too Fast to Write a Word
Marjie: This is Why I’m Always Smiling
What’s your favorite family tradition?
Elise: When Emma was born I was sentimental about every last thing. When her first birthday rolled around I thought a lot about something I could do that would be meaningful, and the start of a special tradition for us. I took a large white tablecloth and spent hours stenciling around the edges, and then I put the tablecloth out, with a bunch of colorful markers, for our friends to sign at her party. I made one for Quinn too and each year on their birthdays we use the tablecloths and ask everyone who is with us to sign and date them. It’s very sweet to see, year after year, who has been with us, and to remember some of the people we’ve lost, who got to be there for milestones.
Marjie: My family loves Hershey Park and pre-Covid, for ten years in a row, we met my parents, my siblings, and their families in Hershey, PA for an action-packed weekend of roller coaster-ing, swimming, poker playing, and great meals. We can’t wait to get back there in Summer 2022!
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
Elise: The premise of this question is absurd; there is no such thing as a favorite ice cream because there are too many to love. If I’m on Martha’s Vineyard (my happy place), it’s carrot cake, cinnamon or chai from The Scoop Shack. If I’m in Maplewood, it’s Cappuccino Crunch by Hershey’s. And if too many things catch my eye, I tend to go for mint chocolate chip. That gets us started….
Marjie: Unlike my co-pres, I have a very clear answer to this question: chocolate peanut butter. I like the Baskin Robins’ version and the Hershey (no relation to the park) brand sold at Village Ice Cream Parlour is a more-than-acceptable alternative.
What was the last TV show you binge-watched?
Elise: New Girl. I’m still very sad to be done with it. Those friends cracked me up.
Marjie: Maid on Netflix. Margaret Qualley and Andie MacDowell, her real-life mother, are excellent.
If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Elise: I wish I could sing really well. Or at all. More seriously, I would want to be invisible. Anyone who knows me knows I move at a million miles a minute; I’m always throwing out ideas, trying to solve problems, get things done. It’s built into me from 20+ years in tv news. If I were invisible I think I might be able to observe all the things I miss by running so fast. And I could just listen, and reflect more than I allow myself.
Marjie: I would calm people down (including myself) so they could have level-headed, open-minded, creative conversations 100% of the time.
Who would play you in the movie of your life?
Elise: A friend of mine is obsessed with calling me Amanda Peet because she thinks we are twins. But if I can dream, I’m going with Meryl Streep!
Marjie: This question is very hard for me to answer, but I love Anna Kendrick so I’ll go with her.