Gretchen Cordy

Gretchen Cordy is a contestant from Survivor: Borneo.

A likeable leader and strong survivalist, Gretchen's refusal to form alliances on the basis of ethics led to her becoming the victim of the first major blindside in the history of the series at the hands of the Tagi Alliance, setting in motion the downfall of her Pagong tribemates. Gretchen's elimination would set up the modern game where people are voted out for strengths over weaknesses after the merge.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Name: Gretchen Cordy
Age: 38
Marital Status: Married
Occupation: Homemaker
Hometown: Clarksville, TN
Survivor Quote: "There is no failure except in no longer trying, and I don't plan to fail!"
Luxury Item: Toothbrush

Originally from New York City, Gretchen attended Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She spent six years as a survival instructor for the US Air Force where she earned the Cadre Award from her survival instructor training class (for being the person who most exemplifies the spirit of survival).

Gretchen describes herself as strong-willed (stubborn), compassionate and open-minded. The two things that she is most proud of are her children. She enjoys camping, hiking, canoeing and swimming. Gretchen's hobby is working in her yard, and she likes listening to alternative music. When describing her perfect day, it would be camping with her family in the Hoh Rain Forest in Washington State.

Gretchen currently works part-time at a preschool in Clarksville, Tennessee. Happily married for 14 years, she and her husband have two children, one dog and a ferret. She is a member of Amnesty International and her children's PTA. Her birth date is Feb. 7, 1962.^[1]

Survivor[]

From the beginning, Gretchen was second-in-command in Pagong. B.B. Andersen became the tribe's leader due to his work ethic. Immediately following B.B.'s elimination, Gretchen took over the leadership position over the Pagong tribe. Her first move was to create a new shelter because the hut that B.B. made beforehand was deemed uncomfortable to sleep in. Despite some misunderstandings, Gretchen's leadership was more well-liked and accepted than B.B.'s abrasive personality. This was also in part due to Gretchen knowing how to pace herself whereas B.B. worked too hard, ultimately leading to his near unanimous vote out at Pagong's first trip to Tribal Council. Gretchen would see herself remain in a comfortable position for the entire pre-merge, as the other women, particularly Ramona Gray, were seen as weaker links, and Gervase Peterson and Joel Klug made themselves targets through their sexist behavior.

After the Day 20 merge, Gretchen was pleased to have the opportunity to meet the Tagi members. She entered the merge firm in her belief that she wanted to get far in the game through her merits rather than alliances. Richard Hatch was intrigued by her stance, similar to that of Sean Kenniff, to which Richard replied in confessional by saying playing this game with alliances has nothing to do with morals. After Greg Buis won the Immunity Challenge, the majority of the Rattana tribe went into Tribal Council with various individual agendas. Gretchen cast her vote for Rudy Boesch, citing some personal issues. However, she fell victim to the Tagi Alliance of Richard, Rudy, Susan Hawk, and Kelly Wiglesworth. They deemed her as a threat to win the show, and since she was the leader of the Pagong tribe, Gretchen was ousted from the game after a capricious 4-1-1-1-1-1-1 vote.

Episode	Tribe Affiliation	Challenge	Challenge Type	Sit-Out?	Result
1	Pagong	Quest for Fire	Reward/Immunity	No	Won
2		Water Torture	Reward	Unknown	Won¹
2		Buggin' Out	Immunity	No	Lost
3		Treasure Chest	Reward	No	Lost
3		Rescue Mission	Immunity	No	Won
4		SOS Signal	Reward	No	Lost
4		Buried Treasure	Immunity	No	Lost
5		Choose Your Weapon	Reward	No	Won
5		Shipwrecked	Immunity	No	Won
6		Abandoned Barracks	Reward	No	Won
6		The Obstacle Course	Immunity	No	Lost
Tribes Merged, Day 20
7	Rattana	Snake Island Relay	Immunity		Lost
Voted Out, Day 21
Notes: ^1 An unaired Reward Challenge was held on Day 4.

Episode	Gretchen's Votes	Voted Against Gretchen
1	Pagong Tribe Immune
2	B.B.	-
3	Pagong Tribe Immune
4	Ramona	-
5	Pagong Tribe Immune
6	Joel	-
7	Rudy	Kelly, Richard, Rudy, Susan
Voted Out, Day 21

Post-Survivor[]

In 2001, Gretchen appeared on a Survivor edition of The Weakest Link along with Borneo castaways Richard Hatch, Susan Hawk, Sean Kenniff, Joel Klug, and Ramona Gray. She lost to Ramona in the final round. She received a house minimum of $10,000 for her charity.^[2]
In 2019, Gretchen and a few of her old Pagong tribemates met up in Clarksville.^[3]

Trivia[]

Gretchen's luxury item was a toothbrush.
Gretchen is the first contestant to reside in Tennessee.
Gretchen is the oldest woman of Pagong.
Gretchen is the first castaway to be voted out of a merged tribe.
Gretchen is the first castaway to be voted out by a plurality, being voted out with less than half of the total counted votes.
At the Reunion Show, her last name was mistakenly listed as Klug, which is the last name of her fellow Pagong tribemate, Joel.
Despite her elimination being confirmed after Jeff Probst read the third vote cast against her, he still read the fourth and final vote.