Thus began the tryst with destiny. In 1994, she founded Elite Connections to bring like-minded individuals together and let them experience their friendship evolve into courtship and a relationship that could withstand the test of time and hardships that life loves throwing at us. Today, twenty six later, she still thanks that matchmaker. She says, “Like my husband and I, he’s perfect for me but I’d never have met him if I’d not joined with my matchmaker. I believe my children were sent to me from heaven. So I’m sure couples find each other one way or another because they should be together. ”
With a solid foundation of love, mutual trust and how compatibility can sweeten bonds with harmony, she now runs the business with her daughter, Tammi Pickle. Tammi, the Vice President has worked alongside Sherri for half her life. Over the last 20 years, she has become the go to person for healthy relationship advice.
Their expertise reflects in the fact that despite Tinder, Grindr, Bumble and Hinge, where relationships are fragmented and treated with little respect. Elite Connections International is a private and exclusive professional dating agency that believes in going above and beyond to find the person you’ve been searching for. Ghosting is a way of life instead of a terribly cowardly act, they have stood strong. “We started off slowly. People had not heard of matchmakers and some people were just getting into the internet and online dating sites were just beginning . It took the disaster of the internet to help people realize they wanted a better way to meet singles. “
The firm currently has seven offices in Southern California alone, i.e., Beverly Hills, Orange County, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Westlake Village, Palos Verdes and San Diego. Their offices include the ones in New York, Florida, the Bay Area, Las Vegas, Memphis and Paris.
The question that has left millennials and GenZ divided is if there’s someone out there for them. Sherri says, “We feel there is someone out there for everyone. But you have to have an open mind and give people a chance. We can’t count the marriages we’ve had because of our gentle persuasion for two people to meet.
But.. of course there are conditions to every secret recipe. Prejudice doesn’t go well with romance. “Would you really pass up meeting someone that could be the love of your life over being an inch shorter than your dream person? Or they live 40 minutes away, or have a job you don’t like. Have an open mind and make a friend with each person you meet.”
When it comes down to finding the right person, there are not many ingredients except two: be your authentic self and the openness to accept the answers you receive. “You look at what they say they want. What the other person is looking for and you search someplace in the middle. Most of my marriages did not fit the list of qualities I was given. I searched for who I thought they would work out with.”