Our core Friedman family is made up of Aaron, Sarah, our daughter Alexia and our wise pup Marley. Aaron and Sarah met when they were young, at a quaint coffee shop called “Cool Beans” in Upstate New York. It was love at first white mocha, when Sarah was a barista and Aaron was a businessman who would pop in on evening shifts for a coffee and a chat.
Sarah got her BFA in photography from the College of Saint Rose and went on to get her teaching credential in Art at Sonoma State University. She has worked as an art teacher for the Rincon Valley Union School District at the middle school level for the last 15 years. Sarah enjoys teaching and connecting with her students at Spring Lake Middle School. For all classes, it is about teaching children to be mindful, expressive, kind and to learn to be better humans. Her yoga class “Movement & Mindfulness,” or M² as students call it, was born during quarantine. Sarah had been teaching yoga since 2015, and began teaching after school Trauma Informed Yoga classes for families and students in 2017. This was after the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa. After that, she volunteered at Chop’s Teen Center teaching teen yoga for girls. When Sarah’s principal, Hannah Bates, asked and encouraged her to create an alternative PE curriculum for students, this was an exciting opportunity. She agreed, and has been teaching M2 both over Zoom, and now in person since 2020. Children are in one of the biggest mental health crises on a global scale. There isn’t a better time to get yoga in the schools. Yoga is known to help children stay focused, reduce anxiety, and get better sleep. In Sarah’s class they learn how to use breath and movement as a tool to find relaxation and calm.
When she’s not on a yoga mat, or creating and teaching art, Sarah loves to collage, write poetry, bake, hike, paddleboard and run. She enjoys meetups with the local Healdsburg Running Company, and loves to host movie nights for her girlfriends.
Aaron attended college for Engineering and Design, but found business to be his career path. In 2012, we purchased Signarama and Aaron has grown it to be one of the area’s largest sign companies, and has mentored many other stores. In 2021 he brought on Bret Gave as COO to help expand the business even further. In 2022 Bret became a partner in the company.
From a very young age, racing mountain, road, or gravel bikes has been Aaron’s lifestyle and solace. Most days you might be able to see him training on the roads of Windsor, trails of Annadel or both when cruising on his gravel bike. Aaron’s parents love to tell the story of how he took his own training wheels off his bike when he was just a wee one.
Aaron is heavily involved with the local bike community. He works with The Bike Shop (Windsor, Cloverdale, Santa Rosa), Bike Monkey, a cycling event organizer and Red Peloton, a local cycling team and club to help promote and solidify healthy living and sports within the community.
As a part of Aaron’s “always be a part of something bigger” mantra, he has volunteered with many local organizations. He chaired The Santa Rosa Metro Chamber Board and served for almost 10 years. Along with this, he chaired and served on the Young Professionals Network Board, earned the title of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Man of the year, served on the Community Matters Board, spent time fundraising for SAY (Social Advocates for Youth), was a part of LSR (Leadership Santa Rosa) Class 32, fundraised for Chop’s Teen Club, Sutter Catwalk for a Cure and much more.
Our business, Signarama, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in signs to community events and supported many local organizations in an effort to bring the community together and through natural disasters. Always ensure you take care of the community that has taken care of you.
Our daughter, Alexia is 21 years old and a senior at Cal Poly Humboldt. Following in her mother and grandmother’s Sandra’s footsteps, she is an Art Education major. She is a former dancer in the Santa Rosa High’s ArtQuest program, as well as an incredibly talented photographer and visual artist. Some of her favorite things are to be out in nature, cuddle with animals, listen to live music, and eat ice cream. She is a former employee of Windsor’s Two Dog Night, where she thoroughly enjoyed playing chemist and creating ice cream treats for our town.
“Marley Moo”is 15 years old and a mixed breed of Maltese, Schnauzer & Bichon. We rescued him at 5 months and he’s been a loving ball of energy in our lives for all of our time here in California. Marley’s never met a sweater or hoodie he doesn’t enjoy wearing, even in the Summer. And he is more of a cat than a dog.
Our Neighborhood
We have lived in the Summertree Park neighborhood since the beginning of 2017. We moved here when we were leaving Santa Rosa for a smaller town feel. Our neighbors are friendly, quiet and kind; the type that drops off goodies at Christmas and says hello when walking the neighborhood. The types that banged pots and pans with us at 7pm during Quarantine. The types that helped our front yard graduation ceremony of 2020 be a huge success for our daughter and her friend Jalini (our “second daughter”.) Sarah enjoys bringing baked goods to her close neighbors. She’s somewhat of a baker at heart; breads, cookies, scones- a talent she learned from her mother. Treats are always better when shared!
Sarah teaches yoga at F45 in Windsor every other Sunday. This gives her a chance to share her passion for connecting mind, body, spirit and breath with adults. There is a magic of sharing yoga. It isn’t just about the physical movement, but encompasses the shared energy in the space, the music and the vibes at the end of a class. You can find Sarah on social media as @yoganorthbay to find out about local class offerings and events.
Family Memories/Stories to Share
Sarah may be part leprechaun, as she finds 4 leaf clovers like they are pine needles in the forest.
Alexia is an expert card maker. Whatever the experience, she can make a beautiful, funny or endearing hand drawn card for the occasion.
Aaron is a bike-a-holic. He rides on the road, mountain, gravel, or even stationary bike whenever he gets the chance. A professional in his teen years, this is something he has a deep passion for!
If our family had a motto to live by, it would be: Work hard, Be kind. Always be a part of something greater than yourself.
Every year our family takes a trip to the Adirondacks in upstate New York, usually in the Summer. There we visit Sarah & Aaron’s parents, siblings and extended family. We spend time in the company of our family sailing on Lake George, hiking, biking and paddleboarding.
Being Neighborly
A special message we would like to leave for our neighbors is a friendly hello. Whether you are new or old to Windsor, we greet you with kindness. We remember how hard it was moving to Sonoma County over 15 years ago, and not knowing anyone. And we remember all of the friendly faces who have welcomed us and included us along the way in their holiday gatherings, birthday parties, wine tastings, dinners, and more. We hope we can do the same for some of our community members.
A Short Poem from Sarah:
HEART MANTRA
You are enough.
You are more than enough.
You are worthy.
Open your heart-
Peel back the layers-
Let the good stuff in.
*
And then share it.
—
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