Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg
There are many words with which one could describe Margie Parolisi: kind, giving, friendly, considerate, and intelligent. Another description is a lifelong learner.
Born in Ohio in a small town near Cleveland, Margie’s father eventually moved the family (Margie’s sister and her mother) to Florida because of the severe Ohio winters. After high school, she attended a community college, which had a European work-study program. Margie obtained a Euro Pass that allowed her to go to several European countries, including Denmark, England, and Belgium, among others.
After returning to Florida, Margie married, moved to Massachusetts, and eventually gave birth to her daughter Amber Lynne. Unfortunately, the marriage did not work out, so Margie and her daughter returned to Florida, and she obtained a job with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department as an intelligence analyst. Eventually, this experience led to a position with the U.S. Customs Service where she was part of a team that worked on organized crime, illegal drugs, and vice issues such as extortion and illegal gambling. The organization also conducted sting operations. (Does the name Meyer Lansky ring a bell?)
Margie met her future husband Tony in 1986, and they were married in 1989. Tony has two sons and a daughter from his previous marriage.
Learning about the human body and taking care of her health were always important to Margie, since she sustained serious bodily injuries from a car accident when she was in her 20s. She would routinely get massages, and one day she received a massage from an Asian woman who told Margie of an Asian man who did acupuncture. The masseuse said, “He fixes everything in the body.” That peaked Margie’s interest.
On a plane trip with Tony to golf at Pebble Beach, Margie had brought along a book on acupuncture. Finding out more about acupuncture inspired her to delve further into her future trade.
Margie determined that Fort Lauderdale was home to the Atlantic School of Oriental Medicine. She applied, was accepted, then went to night school for four years and graduated as an acupuncturist in 1998. Margie also learned how to do ear reflexology.
Margie was still working for the U.S. Customs Service when 9/11 occurred. All intelligence analysts were placed in “the field,” and one of her new jobs was operating a robotic camera to inspect hulls of foreign entry ships, looking for bombs, drugs, etc. Margie decided that she wanted to devote her time totally to acupuncture, and she started seeing clients in acupuncture clinics. Tony and Margie moved to SaddleBrooke in 2005, and she continues to do her acupuncture in her home office in SaddleBrooke. Margie sees clients for many conditions, including neuropathy, sciatica, back pain, depression, insomnia, digestive issues, or anything relating to muscular/skeletal issues.
But the story does not end here. In between her stressful work with the U.S. Customs Service and her acupuncture career, Margie managed to achieve a masters and a doctorate in administration from Nova University in Florida.
Margie loves to read, cook, and, of course, golf! Margie and Tony have 16 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.