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Staying In The Game! Age Has No Limit
Former Rock N Roll Publicist Carol Klenfner ( Rolling Stones, Elton John, The Who, and more) is a table tennis champion now rocking the table tennis circuit. She's got stories up the wazoo about all 50+ great rock n roll acts she traveled with and repped back when, but her own latest act is a pretty darn good story too. Carol was a gritty NY gal who worked her way up through the Rock N Roll PR world and worked as a top executive for 4 decades at a prestigious firm in NYC. She married, had two daughters, and a solid career. But in 2009, when she was 64, her life started to fall apart. Right after recuperating from back surgery, Carol lost her husband. Then the recession hit and she was shockingly laid off from her job. At her age, she knew finding a comparable position would be difficult if not impossible. She had to move to find a more affordable place to live and admits it was a horrible time of grief and what felt like solitary confinement, while trying to launch her own PR business from her dining room table. She was struggling and knew she had to get out of the house and do something for her sanity.
"Depression is not my thing, but I did feel terribly lonely and isolated. It was like solitary confinement. I wasn’t sure what was ahead for me, but I knew I needed to get out of the house."
Carol happened to catch a documentary on PBS that profiled seniors in a table tennis tournament, and it sparked old memories of having fun playing ping pong as a kid.
She grabbed her friend Stephanie Palewski-Brumbach, who she grew up with and they went to check out Spin, the ping pong club and restaurant owned by Susan Sarandon. They liked it, thought they were good enough to try out for the women’s league and thrilled they were accepted.
Carol who got tired of losing, hired a coach and worked her way up into league play and went on to compete and rock the national tournaments!
Del Moon Dir. of Communications & Media for The National Senior Games did a feature story on Carol. "She wonders if table tennis saved her life in a way, and she feels like a rock star among her age peers who marvel at her renewed passion for life and dedication to pursue a sport." Carol is a great inspiration for staying in the game! Any game! At any age!She's passionate others should find their own way to “move a muscle, change a mood.”
Carol's really bummed she'll miss the National Championship of Table Tennis in Las Vegas and The National Senior Games this year because she hurt her hand, but she's learning how to play the game with her other hand.
Luckily she wasnt too bummed to come have some fun talking with me. Carol found her Personal Best, and hopes she is an inspiration for others to pursue theirs.
Go Carol!
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By Debbie Nigro
4
44 ratings
Former Rock N Roll Publicist Carol Klenfner ( Rolling Stones, Elton John, The Who, and more) is a table tennis champion now rocking the table tennis circuit. She's got stories up the wazoo about all 50+ great rock n roll acts she traveled with and repped back when, but her own latest act is a pretty darn good story too. Carol was a gritty NY gal who worked her way up through the Rock N Roll PR world and worked as a top executive for 4 decades at a prestigious firm in NYC. She married, had two daughters, and a solid career. But in 2009, when she was 64, her life started to fall apart. Right after recuperating from back surgery, Carol lost her husband. Then the recession hit and she was shockingly laid off from her job. At her age, she knew finding a comparable position would be difficult if not impossible. She had to move to find a more affordable place to live and admits it was a horrible time of grief and what felt like solitary confinement, while trying to launch her own PR business from her dining room table. She was struggling and knew she had to get out of the house and do something for her sanity.
"Depression is not my thing, but I did feel terribly lonely and isolated. It was like solitary confinement. I wasn’t sure what was ahead for me, but I knew I needed to get out of the house."
Carol happened to catch a documentary on PBS that profiled seniors in a table tennis tournament, and it sparked old memories of having fun playing ping pong as a kid.
She grabbed her friend Stephanie Palewski-Brumbach, who she grew up with and they went to check out Spin, the ping pong club and restaurant owned by Susan Sarandon. They liked it, thought they were good enough to try out for the women’s league and thrilled they were accepted.
Carol who got tired of losing, hired a coach and worked her way up into league play and went on to compete and rock the national tournaments!
Del Moon Dir. of Communications & Media for The National Senior Games did a feature story on Carol. "She wonders if table tennis saved her life in a way, and she feels like a rock star among her age peers who marvel at her renewed passion for life and dedication to pursue a sport." Carol is a great inspiration for staying in the game! Any game! At any age!She's passionate others should find their own way to “move a muscle, change a mood.”
Carol's really bummed she'll miss the National Championship of Table Tennis in Las Vegas and The National Senior Games this year because she hurt her hand, but she's learning how to play the game with her other hand.
Luckily she wasnt too bummed to come have some fun talking with me. Carol found her Personal Best, and hopes she is an inspiration for others to pursue theirs.
Go Carol!