Glendale Arizona Historical Society
Governing Board
Gary Sherwood | President
Gary Sherwood is a native of Michigan, and has lived in Glendale since 1979. Gary holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, emphasis in marketing from Grand Valley State University in Michigan and a Master’s degree in Industrial Management from Western Michigan University, and has a strong background in program development, finance and marketing.
Currently Gary is Vice President and the Special Events Coordinator of the Glendale Ambassadors, and a Board Director of Glendale Sister Cities organization. In the past Gary has served his community as Glendale City Councilman of the Sahuaro District, served on the Board of Directors of Valley Metro Reginal Public Transportation Authority (RPTA), Vice Chair on the Valley Metro Rail Board of Directors, and chairman of Valley Metro’s Budget and Finance subcommittee. He is also active in the Arizona Town Hall organization.
Additional previous volunteerism with the City of Glendale includes serving as chair of the Personnel Board, and as chair of the Planning Commission; as an evaluator for From the Heart; a member of Glendale’s Water & Sewer Task Force; and a graduate of both Glendale University and the Glendale Citizens Police Academy.
On a national level, Sherwood served on the National League of Cities Transportation Infrastructure and Services Steering Committee in addition to serving on the NLC’s First Tier Subcommittee as Vice Chair.
Kathy Hoynes-Goreé | Vice President
Kathy Hoynes-Goreé, a Chicago native, has resided in Glendale since 2006. She currently volunteers in the GAHS archive library, administers the GAHS website, Facebook, and Instagram pages and also assists with the newsletter.
Martha Noble Pitts Cole "Marty" | Treasurer
Marty was born and raised in Glendale. She attended Unit 1 (Landmark Grammar School), Glendale High School, Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University. Years ago she was the co-owner of the original Glendale Floral, which is no longer in existence. Marty loves to fill her time with travel, spending time with her family, and actively volunteering in Glendale's community. In addition to the time she donates to the Historical Society, she often volunteers to the Glendale Pride Ambassadors and the Glendale Women's Club.
A long time Historical Society volunteer, she was elected to the Board of Directors as Treasurer in 2012. She helps conduct tours at Sahuaro Ranch's Guest House on Sunday afternoons and special events, such as the Folk & Heritage Festival and Tractor Days. Marty also helps facilitate Rose Garden weddings and helps with the set up of the Guest House's exhibits, including the military and wedding gown displays.
Jessica Koory | Secretary
Jessica was elected to the Board of Directors as Secretary in 2012. She moved to Glendale many years ago and immediately fell in love with the people and the history of Glendale. Jessica generously donates her time to the Historical Society, she serves as the Accessions Chairman, keeps the Board of Directors' meetings minutes, acts a docent at Manistee Ranch, clips and compiles GAHS's obituaries and distributes name tags at the Historical Society's meetings. Jessica enjoys collaborating with other people who also want to preserve the history of Glendale for future generations.
Brenda Bartels | Director
Brenda has been a part of the Glendale community since 2002. Since that time, she has passionately given of her time to those causes she cares deeply about. Thanks to a "teaser" tour of Manistee Ranch back in 2019, she quickly joined GAHS and began volunteering at Manistee. Every conversation with fellow GAHS members as well as guests, givers her a broader picture of Glendale's past.
Brenda currently serves on the Glendale Elementary School Board, the Glendale Arizona Historical Society, and is an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Glendale.
Jodi Decker | Director
Jodi Decker is a long time Glendale resident, retired college teacher, and a family historian.
She is passionate about family history writing and historic preservation. She is a contributing writer to Poems From the Asylum, a biography, and writes for the Glendale Arizona Historical Society newsletter. Her hobby is touring historical societies and museums wherever she travels.
Martha Dennis | Director
Martha was born and raised in Glendale. She attended Unit I (Landmark Grammar School) and Glendale High School and graduated from Arizona State University. She taught in the Washington Elementary District until retiring in 1995. Martha and her family have always been involved in Glendale activities and preserving Glendale's history. She joined the Glendale Historic Society in 1982 and became more active when she joined the Board as a Director in 1995.
Martha conducts tours at Sahuaro Ranch, helps facilitate weddings and works with the City on special events and school tours. She works with members to showcase the history with displays. Martha is also a member of the Glendale Civic Ambassadors and the Glendale Woman’s Club. The City of Glendale awarded the Ruth Byrne Historic Preservation Award to Martha in 2016.
Randi Turk | Director
Randi LeGendre Turk is a third generation Arizonan from a pioneer ranching family in southern Arizona. She was born in Tucson and moved to Glendale when she was three. She graduated from Glendale High School, as did her grandmother, great aunt, her two brothers, her two children, and three of her nephews.
She attended Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri, then traveled the world on Word Campus Afloat, now Semester at Sea. She finished her bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Art at the University of New Mexico. She attained her Master’s degree in Secondary Education from Northern Arizona University.
While in New Mexico, she met and married Tom. They have two children and one grandson, and in retirement they enjoy traveling.
Randi taught English, Newspaper, and Student Government at Central High School in Phoenix. She served as vice president on the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association Board, and in 2007, she was Central High School’s Teacher of the Year. She is an active member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, where she serves on two committees at the state chapter level, and she serves on the Board of Directors of the Cottey College Alumnae Association. In her spare time Randi enjoys reading, painting, and playing bridge.
Carlos A. Vargas
Carlos is a native of Central America who fell in love with Historic Downtown Glendale, where he now lives. He graduated from Glendale Community College and has business and administration degrees from The University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University. He volunteers with the City of Glendale serving in the Community Development Advisory Committee, and the Marketing Committee of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce.
Carlos is also an agronomist and enjoys cultivating and making the earth beautiful. He grows everything the Sonoran Desert allows and is a firm believer that a beautiful community improves the quality of life of its residents. Though he is running out of space, he likes collecting Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern artifacts and tools.