On a warm June evening in Athens, Greece, Karen Schmidt sat at the top of the Hotel Grande Bretagne overlooking the illuminated Acropolis. It was her 60th birthday, June 13, and she was celebrating life with her husband, Troy, after overcoming her second battle with cancer.
As the two took in the view on their long-awaited Mediterranean adventure, the waiter delivered a simple fig and apple salad to the table alongside what Schmidt jokingly described as a “really bad Manhattan” cocktail.
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Founder Karen Schmidt
Kenneth S Boone +1 (256) 750-3200
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