After retiring to Bonsall in 1986, businessman A.Q. Sanna took a second chance. He earned his real estate license, and currently works for the Real Estate Center in San Marcos.

Before arriving to north San Diego County, he started his life back in Bethesda, MD.

Sanna graduated from the University of Wisconsin in the area of chemical engineering. Pursuing an MBA in physics, he made a detour and enlisted in the Navy.

"I was assigned to the Bombs and Explosives Division and spent a year in training," Sanna said, "then I flew to Hawaii, where I was assigned to the Commander Air Force Pacific Fleet."

After leaving the Navy in 1946, Sanna decided to join his father and brothers in their successful dairy processing business.

"I was in charge of research and development and developed the first instant milk, Sanalac; Swiss Miss instant cocoa; Swiss aseptic puddings; and N-Rich non-dairy creamer," Sanna recalled. "Our forte was drying and we supplied many national food companies with instant ingredients."

When Sanna’s father passed away in 1965, he and his brothers sold the family business. Sanna stayed in a corporate capacity at Beatrice Foods and then purchased Results Food Brokers, based in Ohio, in 1976.

"After a tenfold increase in sales, I retired to Bonsall in 1986 and lucked out with a charming small home in Bonsall in the midst of a two-and-a-half-acre avocado grove and not a house in sight," Sanna said.

Not long after his move to the area, Sanna was encouraged to earn his realtor’s license. He made a huge splash in the field and has stuck with it for quite a while.

"Bonsall, Fallbrook and all of north San Diego County have grown over the past 20 years I’ve been a realtor here, but it is still able to maintain its country charm," he said. "Twenty years ago, people couldn’t even spell ‘Bonsall,’ and now look at this lovely upscale community of estate homes."

His father, Sanna says, taught him a very important principal when relocating to a new town: get involved in community service and social activities.

Taking that advice to heart, Sanna has played an active part in local organizations. He helped organize the Bonsall Chamber of Commerce and brought the Rotary to Bonsall.

He is also a member of the I-15 Corridor Design Review Group, a member of the Bonsall Sponsor Group, president of the Bonsall Design Review Group and a charter member of the Fallbrook Land Conservancy.

In between his community commitments, Sanna achieved excellence in real estate with well over 200 transactions.

"As a lifelong professional salesman, I have managed over these past 20 years to be in the top two percent of North County Realtors," he said. "My whole business life has been based on ‘performance’ and that’s what I do best."

Sanna can be reached at aqsanna@prodigy.net or by calling (760) 941-7400.

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