Betty Thomas is Named Monrovia’s Older American of the Year

By Susan Motander

Since May is Older American’s Month, Monrovia honored four local seniors for the hard work they do for the community. Honoring one, Betty Fisher Thomas, as the city’s Older American of the Year. The announcement came at a luncheon at the Community Center on April 25.

Mrs. Thomas is a lifetime resident of Monrovia and has always been an active member of the community and of her church, Second Baptist. She is a member of several outreach programs at the church including being a “Set for Life” board member for over 10 years. This program is a health awareness program supporting Monrovians. This is only one of her activities at the church. She has also been a Monrovia Area Partnership (MAP) leader for over 10 years as well, volunteering at almost all programs.

She is a semi-retired Registered Nurse, but still works and teaches nursing on a part-time basis. This ties in well with another of her volunteer activities: She is a Civilian Emergency Response Team member, having gone through the extensive training given by the Monrovia Fire Department. (She could probably have taught some of the classes herself.)

She is a Monrovia Duarte Black Alumni Association (MDBAA) board member. On behalf of MDBAA she organizes the readers for every Monrovia elementary school during February’s Black History Month. She represents the group at the monthly meetings of the Monrovia Coordinating Council. For Mrs. Thomas, the Coordinating Council is also a way to learn more about her community and what she can do for it.

This year’s other nominees were Sandy Burud, Steve German, and Patricia (Pat) Dunlap.

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