In bestowing the Woman of the year honor on Rita Elshout for 2017, Pasadena’s former Mayor, Bill Thomson, was on hand at a luncheon on recently at the Women’s City Club to honor Elshout’s service to him and to the community.
Elshout and her husband, Ray, raised three children here in Pasadena; Sheryl, Kevin and Kristin. They have two grandsons; Giovanni and Marcello. Ray, Sheryl, Kristin and Elshout’s sister, Diane Agard, were at the luncheon to celebrate with Elshout as well along with League members and guests.
Every year since 1944, the Woman’s Civic League has honored local women for their notable contributions to their fields and their community. Highlights listed here of Elshout’s involvement in the Pasadena Community in work and volunteer capacities show why she was so deserving of the Woman of the year honor.
In 1981, she became Field Representative for Bill Thomson, who represented District 7 on the Pasadena City Council. She held that position for 16 years, including the two years Bill was Mayor, an honorary position at the time. As Thomson had limited time to cover all the demands on a council member’s time, his Field Rep handled the many requests for his appearance at ribbon cuttings and other events and handled forwarding constituents complaints to the right department and following up to be sure they are handled in a timely manner.
After Thomson retired from the Council, she went to Cal Tech where she became Coordinator of The Friends of the Beckman, a vital support group helping cover costs of a variety of events. In this capacity, Elshout brought in many new members and an exciting line up of well attended programs at Beckman Auditorium.
Upon retirement she joined the Woman’s Civic League in 2006. In 2009 she volunteered to chair the League’s Ways & Means Committee and has continued in this position to this day.
She and her Committee are responsible for The Holiday Boutique, the major fundraiser for our grants. It’s a great deal of work and very stressful so the League is very fortunate she has been willing to do this year after year.
She is also in charge of the “Be and Angel” donation request forms to members. A very expensive program in the past funded by the Leagues’ general fund, the donations raised each year cover the entire cost for the annual The Middle School Girls May acknowledgement luncheon with wonderful gifts for the young ladies from seven Pasadena schools.Other memberships include the Shakespeare Junior’s Club, League of Women Voters, Assistance League and she also does fundraising for Pasadena City College.
