Pete and Joanie Hoffman have called Ardsley Park home for the last 13 years, and they couldn’t be happier to have found such a wonderful community. The parents of four wonderful children and the grandparents of four even better grandchildren,  the couple is excited to welcome the next member of their family in a few short months. 

Originally from Jonesboro, Pete works as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the US Army. 

The US Army describes this interesting position one as an important one to our nation, explaining, “Civilian Aides to the Secretary of the Army (CASAs) are business and community leaders appointed by the Secretary to advise and support Army leaders across the country. CASAs come from many professions including business, education, finance, industry, law, the media, medicine and public service. Each is proactively involved in the community and brings to the position an interest in the Army, a high degree of business and civic leadership and an ability to influence the public. CASAs are Special Government Employees who agree to serve as representatives of the Secretary of the Army without salary, wages, or related benefits and are afforded a 3-star protocol status. Each CASA is committed to supporting all Department of Army Civilians, Soldiers and their Families. In particular, CASAs partner with the Soldier for Life program to assist Soldiers as they transition from the Army.”

“As a military family, we moved around a lot, living and working in a number of countries around the world.  We still love to travel, as do our children.  One of our daughters is with the State Department in Rwanda and we recently visited there,” Pete explained. 

“We met in college and have been married for 43 years. We have four children to include our youngest who was adopted while we were stationed at the Embassy in Moscow. He is now 28. We have lived in Germany three times, served at Embassies in Moscow, Russia, Sophia, Bulgaria, and Abuja, Nigeria. We also lived in Belgium, while Pete was Stationed at NATO headquarters. We took advantage of living abroad to travel extensively. We continue to keep ties to the international community and have hosted a number of international exchange students in our home. The current one is from Serbia and attends Armstrong Campus,” added Joanine. 

Due to the nature of Pete’s job, they purchased their home sight unseen while living in Nigeria. A beautiful home, it was built in 1920, and the couple has spent the last decade carefully renovating and rehabbing the property. 

“I am sure other Ardsley homeowners know what a commitment it is to save these old houses,” smiled Joanie. “ We love having it filled with family, neighbors, visiting guests and even strangers. Once it was brought to our attention that a young medical intern was living in unacceptable conditions downtown so we just had her move in here for two months. It is nice to be able to help people out that way and hope others will do the same for our children or grandchildren sometime.”

As a family, they work to support military and veterans organization, and enjoy kayaking at Tybee on the weekends. They appreciate their home’s proximity to a Catholic Church, and are active members of the Blessed Sacarment community. 

This is a couple who knows what it means to live with their whole heart.