AVALON — Captain Cari B. Thomas, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, gave the keynote address to a group of businesswomen. She said that despite experience saving lives, commanding ships and with 25 years of military service, she is on a quest for balance.
Thomas told the women, who were assembled for that annual Women in Business conference at the Golden Inn Hotel and Conference Center, that she has lived her life as four different women rolled up into one.
The first and most noticeable, she said, was as an officer. Thomas is a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and completing an assignment as the Atlantic Area Resource Di-rector, Training Center Cape May, is her 13th permanent duty station in nearly 25 year of service.
The second and most treasured part of her life, Thomas said, was as a wife. She said she been married 23 years to her husband Gary.
The most misunderstood part of her life has been spent as a mother, she said.
“My daughter leads a life that is a bit nontraditional,” Thomas joked. “Her mom does wear combat boots.”
Thomas said that her career has taken her away from her daughter’s birthdays and first dates and that she does regret not being there during the milestone moments.
The aspect of Thomas’ life she admits paying the least attention to is living life as a woman. She told the group of women that there was a time in her life when she was hav-ing trouble with a boss and she forgot to take care of herself.
“My blood pressure was out of control, my cholesterol was way too high and my weight was too high,” she said.
Thomas said she made the decision to take up fitness and was able to complete a triathlon and half-marathon.
She told the women in that a quote by Albert Einstein best compliments her life
“‘Life is like a bicycle and to keep balanced you have to keep moving,’” she said, “And I’m doing my best to keep moving.”
The conference also featured six different seminars about how women can maximize potential in a challenging climate.
Wildwood – So Liberals here on spout off, here's a REAL question for you.
Do you think it's appropriate for BLM to call for "Burning down the city" and "Black Vigilantes" because…
