About Cindy Shanks

When you first meet Cindy Shanks and her husband Paul Smyth you can’t help be confronted with how open and genuine they are.   These innate attributes probably explain Paul’s success in the pharmaceutical and medical industry and Cindy’s successful 25 years in real estate in Toronto.  Their lives are still very busy, yet they took the time to invite me into their home and allow me to learn a little more than an online magazine profile would allow.  Very early  in our conversation it became evident that the two have a fine tuned sense of community and what that means to the betterment of everybody lives, not just their lives, but everybody’s life.

Paul and Cindy now reside at Cobble Beach where Paul still works part time in his former vocation but loves his times with his new found co-workers manicuring the fairways and greens at the Links at Cobble Beach.  Cindy has continued her love of sales in real estate working with Century 21 in Owen Sound.  They recently married (2013) and found each other via an online dating service.  

Make no mistake, this couple knows exactly what they want from life and live by a motto of work hard and play hard!  Cindy started in real estate as an office assistant, gradually became a licensed office assistant graduating to full real estate sales agent and flourished in the Beaches area of Toronto.  Paul has an engineering background and was constantly involved with innovation in his field.   Above all of their accomplishments, what stands out is how inviting and “laid back” they conduct themselves.  As part of the new community at Cobble Beach, they thoroughly enjoy hosting events at their house and being involved in the community.   Cindy now hosts a Crokinole League at the Seasons Retirement Home.

I had to ask “why” Owen Sound?  The response was interesting indeed.  They “accidentally” found the area through a friend.  Like some people from the GTA they love the city, but become tired of the pace of play…traffic, light pollution at night, and a lack of real personal friendliness on a daily basis.  However, they could have chosen any golf community in our lovely province as there are lots of golf communities everywhere.  For this couple, it was the scenery of our area and just as importantly the people of this area.  They both fondly talked of how Owen Sound and its area has a special feel to it, people respect each other, help each other.  A fond memory comes from a Super Bowl Party held last year when Cindy ordered some balloons and was shocked that she didn’t have to provide a down payment on a $30.00 order…and they delivered..on time!

It takes a certain dedication to travel to Owen Sound from Toronto every weekend to oversee the build of your house, but this is exactly what took place.  Perhaps the next most obvious thing about Cindy and Paul is their attention to detail.  A certain amount of commitment that very few possess would do the research into the design and construction of their home.  Cindy probably knows more about every grade and type of hardwood flooring than most that are in sales of that industry.  They both were integral in creating their kitchen, designing the bannisters for the stairs, adorning the walls with Paul’s father’s painting, even down to the in-house dog shower for their two dogs Skye and Ali.  The house is filled with artifacts from Paul’s grandfathers General Store in Guelph from a time long past: clearly family and memories of said is everything to them both.  At time of print, Thanksgiving is here and the combined five children and families are on their way to Owen Sound to gather and celebrate an adventurous life… and adventurous are those lives.  All five children and parents are avid skiers or snowboarders.  All hold various degrees of certifications of coaching in skiing.  The life of a couple that work hard and play hard include hobbies of golf, skiing, hiking, cycling, and following just about every sport team that exists.

Again, “Owen Sound?”  “Everything we want is in our backyard!”, says Cindy.  “Everything”.

You can tell a lot about a person by their vernacular.  Both talk about life as work, play enjoyment, community,  but they both “embrace” everything in their lives.  Paul said “if you live here, you have to embrace the weather, make the most of it, enjoy it. Cindy’s favourite season is summer, but winter provides skiing both downhill and cross country, it provides an opportunity to play with the dogs outside and enjoy their community and host Super Bowl parties.

Cindy had seen a version of our publication in the GTA.  When approached to be spotlighted with her husband locally she welcomed the opportunity.  We are grateful for her enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm is an infectious thing.  It brings a community together, it can be a glue, an ally, a crutch in bad times.  Enthusiasm needs to be celebrated.   Sometimes it takes a new neighbour to say “this is such a great spot to live, so just keep doing what you are doing and keep it great!”, to rekindle an enthusiasm for all that our area has to offer.  To you both: welcome to your new community!