Friend of the Month

We are proud to recognize our outstanding volunteers!

Articles about a Friend of the Month are published in the the Friends' newsletter and featured
on our website each two months.
The name of the Friend of the Month is added to a plaque displayed in the theatre next to an Usher Room.

Friends of the Month are nominated and voted on by members of the Friends' Board of Directors.

1988 -2018 Friends of the Month

Friend of the Month Karen Sexton
March - April 2025

Friend of the Month Emily Sayiet
January - February, 2025

Friend of the Month Marianne Carter
November - December 2024

Friend of the Month Richard Crotteau
September - November 2024

Friend of the Month Michele Pisa-Jones
July - August 2024

Do you know that our Friend of the Month, Michele Pisa-Jones is the president of the local Rosie the Riveter Chapter?
Michele is very invested in this group of special women. Her mother was one of the women who riveted the wing section of the B24 Liberator in Highland Park, Michigan.

After attending a Rosie the Riveter convention in New Orleans and after her second retirement, Michele started the Orange County California Chapter of National Rosie the Riveter Association.

After a year’s long search, she found four of the original Rosies living nearby in a retirement community. They participate in Veterans Day events, Memorial Day events, and founding a Rosie the Riveter rose garden at a local cemetery. Along with all of this, the Rosie story has been taught in classrooms. A National Congressional Gold Medal of Honor was awarded to the group in April 2024.

What about Michele and The Playhouse? She joined the Friends in 2000. She ushers whenever she is able and has made those beautiful candy bar wrappers for the chocolate bars given out at the last FRED Awards luncheon.

Michele grew up in Michigan and while she was living there, she volunteered in Detroit at several large and small theatres as well as the Detroit Symphony and Opera House. She was working as a para-professional in a suburb of Detroit and took early retirement. As her parents had a home in California as well as Michigan, Michele always had roots here.

Michele has had so many positions since moving permanently to California. She worked for Anaheim Union High School District in Special Education as a job coach for 10 years. Because of her love of libraries, she took her students to work at two local libraries to shelve books and help with crafting events. She then retired and went to work for the Buena Park Library and now works for the Orange County Library System, both as a library clerk and assistant.

This extremely active woman is also on the board of La Mirada Theatre and helped set up the CAVORT Theatre Lovers Weekend attendees’ tour and aided with their gift bags.

We're so thankful to have Michele among us!

Friend of the Month Deborah Spector
May-June 2024

Volunteering has touched many aspects of our current Friend of the Month’s, Deborah Spector’s life. She is not only a proud Friend of The Pasadena Playhouse, but recently started working in the Volunteer Engagement Office at Los Angeles Public Library, a team responsible for over 1,000 volunteer members. She is also part of the library team that co-organizes annual festivals, including the Los Angeles Libros Festival and Los Angeles Maker Faire.

She is a native Californian. After high school, she attended UCLA and completed her Master’s degree in Library Science there as well. She has been working in the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) system on and off for 15 years.

In 2005, Deborah went to Israel to work on a Kibbutz near Elat where she packed onions along with working in the dining hall and learning Hebrew. After half a year on the Kibbutz, she stayed in Israel where she took Krav Maga, a self defense course. Along the way, she met people from England and the Netherlands and traveled there after leaving Israel.

In the Netherlands , she took Dutch, volunteered on an organic farm and lived in Amsterdam and Leiden. While there, Deborah did a five day walkthrough of 11 towns (200 km) in the beautiful province of Friesland.
Deborah thought she would try living on the East Coast, so she enrolled in an Information Management course at Syracuse University. From 2013-15 she moved to Boston where she studied User Experience Design at Bentley University in Waltham.

After each of these breaks, she came back to the LAPL. Currently, she volunteers for For Goodness Cakes, Los Angeles chapter. This organization bakes cakes for kids in the foster system. The kids are free to request the type of cake they want. The chapter is more than busy and anyone can offer to bake for this organization.

In 2019 Deborah worked for The Playhouse at the Civic Auditorium as the Candy Tree person giving out lollipops. She now can be found ushering at Beckman Auditorium for their concerts, talks, etc. She is also involved with Pasadena’s Complete Streets Coalition. They advocate for safer bike lanes and other street ideas for the city. She also is a participant in community bike rides and community walks. She likes exploring different neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area.

Currently, Deborah finds herself an avid walker goes for a walk at CalTech, near The Playhouse and all around the town. She also loves to read, do art/paper crafts and baking. She recently took a pasta making class.

Deborah Spector, our Friend of the Month, has been ushering since 2019 and enjoys seeing each and every performance at which she works.

Friend of the Month Lorrie Drogin
March - April 2024

Lorrie Drogin, our Friend of the Month is an active, athletic woman. She plays tennis four days a week, walks her daughter’s dog, and helps with her grandchildren whenever needed. This Los Angeles native attended John Marshall High School after attending Thomas Starr King Middle School. She went on to attend UCLA and graduated from CSULA, majoring in Cultural Anthropology and Spanish, earning a life teaching credential and bilingual-cross-cultural certification.

By chance Lorrie met her husband, Glen in a leadership class in junior high and didn’t see him again until she met him on a picket line protesting discriminatory hiring practices at a prominent hotel on Wilshire Boulevard. Then began a courtship resulting with marriage.

For 29 years Lorrie taught elementary school in the LAUSD system while living in Pasadena. She and Glen moved to Cathedral City where she taught ESL and were gifted another five years in the Palm Springs Unified School District. They returned to Altadena to be more involved in the lives of their children and growing grandchildren.

Lorrie’s father was a noted singer, performer and vocal coach who performed at the Hollywood Bowl with Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza, and was the first singer at the Troubadour in LA. Her life was filled with music as her father coached his students at home.
Her mother was the accompanist for his students.

To this day, Lorrie and Glen’s children and grandchildren continue the legacy of activism. Their older daughter is a parent education teacher for PCC and has a private counseling practice in La Cañada. Their younger daughter is a Deputy Director for the County of Los Angeles Office for the Advancement of Early Care and Education. Their oldest granddaughter is entering her third year of med school at Boston University and has spoken on behalf of the school at AMA conferences on the issue of preventing gun violence.

Lorrie’s sister founded a creative arts summer camp in Columbus, Ohio which specialized in drama, music and art. Her brother-in-law was the official state photographer for Ohio and was an essential photographer on the historic march from Selma to Montgomery.

In her free time, Lorrie is an active member of Friends in Deed, Planned Parenthood and the Friends of The Playhouse. She has several favorite performances that will always stay in her mind, among them: Alfred Molina in The Father and Inherit the Wind, John Douglas Thompson (made her cry), Holland Taylor as Ann Richards, John Lawson (Inherit the Wind), Lisa Gay Hamilton (Stew) and Merle Dandridge’s performance at the FRED Awards.

This special woman ushers at four performances for each show and brings hot food to the cast and crew on Hospitality days. Her aunt was an usher and introduced her to the majesty of the theater. Lorrie and Glen are patrons who applaud the creative and critical work of Danny Feldman.

We all look forward to working with Lorrie on our next shift at The Playhouse.

Friend of the Month Deborah Kelly
January - February 2024

Deborah Kelly has been a member of the Friends since 2007, and this year she joined the Friends' Board as Merchandise co-chair.

Read the full article about Deborah in January-February 2024 issue of our newsletter.

Friend of the Month
November - December 2023

Read the article about the Friend of the Month for November-December 2023 in our bi-monthly newsletter.

Friend of the Month Richard Castelum
September - October 2023

We're glad to introduce our special friend Richard Castelum. Over the years, he had jobs with Pacific Bell, the State of California, Lucky Market 's chain and Montebello Bus Lines.

Richard is an aspiring playwright who has been working on his craft after retirement. He is hoping that one of his plays will be produced in Los Angeles, and then in New York and London. He finds inspirations for his writing from his neighbors in Montebello and from the Hispanic community in East Los Angeles.

Richard's parents came to the United States from Mexico where he still have a family. His uncle served as a Secretary of Health and Welfare of Mexico. Other parts of his ancestry come from the Basque people of Spain. Richard plan to visit to Mexico and Spain and explore his family roots.

He joined the Friends and started to usher just before COVID. He is delighted to be back.

Seeing our new productions helps him to write and acquire ideas for his scripts. Richard has a wry sense of humor and likes to say that "he's single, independent and free." He also has a motto, "the man is a genius and the genius if a man."

This charming, modest and quiet man is our September-October Friend of the Month!

A column is written by Susan Zuker.

Friends of the Month Linda and Bert Glatstein
July - August 2023

Linda and Bert Glatstein are the Friends of the Months for July-August 2023. Linda is a native Californian and Bert came to California from the East coast. They met when they were serving as extras on the movie set Eating Raoul.

Linda grew up in El Monte along with her three brothers and one sister, and attended a college in California. She worked a dental hygienist and adjunct faculty of the Dental Hygiene at the Pasadena City College. Bert became a movie editor after moving to California after moving from New York city.

Linda volunteers at Reading Partners tutoring at the Longfellow Elementary school. She is also a part of the Walking group at the Pasadena Senior Center.

Linda and Bert are avid Dodgers fan and take a great pleasure following the team on the road.

They were the members of the audience at the Pasadena Playhouse for many years, and their friend Charles Hay invited them to usher. They are happy to join the Friends of the Pasadena Playhouse and usher multiple times during each production.

If you love theater, the Dodgers and good movies, you will enjoy spending time with our Friends Linda and Bert.

Friend of the Month Sue Lloyd Wright
May - June 2023

Sue grew up in East Texas and attended Texas Christian University where she met her husband Steve. She graduated with a degree in English and Sociology.

Sue always enjoyed the construction work and took 4 years of mechanical drawing while she was in a high school. Being the only girl in the class, she had to obtain a permission to study from an instructor, principal and her mother. Her interest in construction led to numerous renovation projects including rehabilitation of a cabin in New Mexico.

While her husband was a professor at the Catholic University in Washington D.C. , Sue worked for several senators. Following that, she became a Director of Technology and Administration within the Senate , and her last position was a Chief Clerk for the Committee of Rules and Administration.

Throughout the years Sue's family participated in home exchanges around the world. They lived in Amsterdam, Dalian (China), Eichstätt, Rome, Nimes and Poznan. They also lived in York, England where Sue's husband studied at the Medieval Institute as a Fulbright scholar.

Eventually, Sue and her family moved to Southern California. Now retired, Sue volunteers at the Pasadena Senior Center, the Playhouse and Museum of History.

Friend of the Month William Ferry
March - April 2023

This time we celebrate William (Bill) Ferry as our Friend of the Month. After growing up in the Midwest state of Wisconsin and starting college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Bill completed his education in dance performance at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He made his way to New York City where he hoped to become a professional dancer. While there he enrolled at New York University to pursue a degree in Arts Administration and thus his career as a manager in the dance world began with the
companies of Alwin Nikolais, Murray Louis and both of Alvin Ailey's companies.

As Business Manager for Ailey II he was traveling with the road troupe making sure there were no problems with hotels or schedules or theaters. Eventually he moved to the first Ailey company where he was General Manager for four years.􀀃

During those years he developed a relationship with managers at Columbia Artists Management who were responsible for booking touring engagements for
Nikolais, Louis, Ailey I and Ailey II.

In February of '94 he was invited by one of his CAMI colleagues to attend the opening of this new and difficult to describe show from Britain called Stomp. Little did he know that nine months later he would begin an eight year history with the show touring North America and other parts of the world.

After leaving Stomp, Bill went on to manage a variety of touring shows including Radio City Rockettes' Christmas Across America, the first national tour of Little Shop of Horrors, Billy Elliot: The Musical, Burn the Floor, Mamma Mia!, The Putnam County 25th Annual Spelling Bee and others.

Bill became a Friend of The Playhouse in January 2020.

With The Playhouse now reopened, he is helping with the Archives as well as Hospitality.
Welcome back, Bill Ferry, our Friend of the Month.

Friend of the Month Kathleen King
January - February 2023

This issue's Friend of the Month is Kathleen King. Kathleen is one of the Friends who helps with Hospitality. Living near The Playhouse she first volunteered in 1992. After years away and moving to South Pasadena, she has happily returned.

Heading toward a career in show business her first television experience was on WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina when she was five. In the '50s, she lived on Capitol Hill across from the Old House Office Building in Washington, D.C. which was an early education in media. While attending a high school in Arlington, VA, she auditioned and was the only foreigner accepted for the fall term 1966 at the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England.
Being in the audience for Broadway, Washington's National Theatre and Arena Stage prepared her to appreciate London's Golden Age of Theatre in the '60s. Returning to America,a classically trained actress her first union job (IATSE) was as an usher in a movie theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Two years later she was co-starring in a movie premiering on the same street at Grauman's Chinese Theatre and under
contract to Universal Studios.

Kathleen has earned her living in the business for 50 years and has known success as a SAG-AFTRA,
Writers' Guild, and ASCAP member.

Dr. Aldo Gucci had her photographed modeling an evening gown in the window of his store on Rodeo Drive in the '70s. In the '80s, she was the model chosen to launch Giorgio Armani perfume. In the '90s, she worked as a screenwriter for Steven Spielberg followed by the selection for a playwriting mentorship program provided by the Los Angeles Theater Alliance.
Later, her play was selected to close the Samuel French Bookshop's First Annual Summer Shorts Series.
In the 2000s, she co-wrote the theme song for Andy Cohen's show Watch What Happens Live on Bravo.

Kathleen's husband of thirty-eight years is a photographer, and they have proudly parented an assortment of rescue dogs. With him she has climbed the Great Wall twice. She says she speaks Mandarin well enough to get into trouble but not well enough to get out of it.

Still working as an acting coach one of her clients is currently starring in 1923 with Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford. A published author, Kathleen's motto: Keep Busy! She feels she owes the Playhouse a great debt as it trained many of the actors that inspired her career choice.

Kathleen's movie, television credits and more can be glimpsed on the IMDb. Getting to know this Friend of the Playhouse is a special treat.

Friend of the Month Donald Bergmann
November-December 2022

Don has been involved in working at theaters in the area for almost forty years. He and his family moved to California fifty years ago. At that time The Pasadena Playhouse was not open but as soon as they reopened he and his wife, Corinne, started volunteering from mid 1985 until today.

He grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, along with two brothers, and after high school and a spell in the Navy, he went to the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He met his wife in 1948 and they married in 1952 (remaining married for fifty-three years until her passing). The same year they moved to Lincoln, Nebraska where Don was a traveling salesman. In 1955 (when their first son was born) Don gave up traveling and went into the commercial construction business. In 1963, they along with three children, moved to Hong Kong under the auspices of the United Church of Christ where Don managed a mission hospital. They lived there where they had two more children until they located to California in 1973.

Don and his family have traveled the world including Europe, Russia, China (two trips as guides), the far East, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Africa. He still plans on doing more traveling aside from visiting family in Wisconsin and the St. Louis area.

Don then became a hospital Administrator,
which was his profession until he retired. He was at Good Samaritan Hospital. Over the years he was
responsible for general services such as maintenance, dietary, housekeeping, planning and construction. As a note of interest, all the other members of the administrative team were women!

He retired in 1990 and started his new life as a handyman. He built sets for the Sierra Madre
Playhouse and helped build homes for Habitat for
Humanity for several years.

After finally "really" retiring he began
volunteering on a regular basis. He currently volunteers at the Pasadena Museum of History every
Friday in the Archives where he has the task of going through boxes of materials about notable
persons or significant properties and organizing them into archived collections for future
reference by scholars, historians or other interested persons.

One of his hobbies is baking breads and pies. He entered contests at the LA County Fair and
won a few ribbons. He met Frank Babbitt, who was a House Manager at The Playhouse and who introduced him to the Glendale Model Railroad Society. That was twenty years ago, and he is still a very active member. His focus is on steam trains of the 1950's era.

Today, the other places you will find him are at the Pasadena Symphony and Pops, A Noise Within,
Sierra Madre Playhouse, LA Chamber Orchestra, the Pasadena Museum of History and of course, The
Pasadena Playhouse. He is a very active nonagenarian and still drives himself to all of his events. A conversation with Don is never dull. If you see him, I hope you will share your interests with him.

A column is written by Susan Zuker.

Friend of the Month Valerie Vallas
September - October 2022

Valerie Vallas vacationed in Los Angeles in 1972 and relocated to California a few years later.

She found a job at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Starting in a clerical position, she worked into a drafting position where she remained the next twelve years . Valerie prepared electro-mechanical drawings from engineering sketches and illustrations for manuals. She worked on several JPL space exploration projects, such as Voyager 1 and 2, Cassini, Galileo and Magellan.

Due to budget cuts, Valerie left JPL and went to study at California State University, Los Angeles where she earned a Bachelor and Master degrees in Psychology.

Her first job after graduation was with Eggleston Youth Center (EYC) as a social worker and in-home counselor
where she provided supportive counseling for children and parents within the Department of Children and Family Services. Valerie remained with EYC for eighteen years.

Valerie also worked and taught for twenty years at the Pasadena City College and East Los Angeles College.

After retiring, she started to look for more to do and became a docent at Storrier Stern Japanese Garden and along with Kun Gu Rinpoche wrote a book Enlighten yourself and others: A practical guide to Buddhism.

Long time Friend's member Mariann Vancura invited Valerie to volunteer at the Pasadena Playhouse where she enjoys helping with Hospitality and Tours.
Valerie joined the Board of the Friends of the Pasadena Playhouse and looks forward to come back the theatre tours.

Friend of the Month Karie Henley
July-August 2022

Karie Henley, our Friend of the Month for July/August, is a native Californian who fell in love with New England. When she is not at her home in San Gabriel, she and her husband are in Massachusetts.

Karie grew up in Sacramento and eventually moved to Monrovia. She graduated from high school and enrolled in Cal State LA where she majored in art with a concentration in art history.

Her first job, however, was not in education as she had hoped but rather was in human resources at an insurance company. She later became the Training Director at a savings and loan.

Eventually, she returned to school and earned her credentials in elementary education. She went on to have a 30 year career as a 5th and 6th grade teacher in the Alhambra School District. She had a great passion for her work with these students.

Karie always dreamed of living in New England. She and her husband enjoy taking automobile trips and being there in winter to watch the snow fall.

Going to art museums is a passion of hers and the Norton Simon Museum is her favorite. She likes to paint and considers it a hobby. Karie is a true fan of television shows featuring art and museums from around the world.

The Henleys love to travel to Europe and have spent a month in Great Britain touring England, Ireland and Scotland. They have also visited Paris twice and were hoping to travel with friends to the south of France
and Italy when COVID-19 prevented this trip. They are planning to travel as things ease up.

Karie loves live theater and in November 2019 she joined the Friends. She often ushers several times during the run of a play and enjoys working on the office help committee, giving tours and doing hospitality for the Friends. A wonderful Friend to The Playhouse, is our Friend of the Month Karie Henley.

A column is written by Susan Zuker.

Friend of the Month Beth Brooks
May-June 2022

Beth Brooks arrived in Pasadena in late 2019. Beth's younger daughter had settled in the area after college and encouraged Beth to move here when she was ending her career in commercial real estate.

Beth was already a huge supporter and fan of theater, and when she arrived she quickly found the Pasadena Playhouse and the Friends of The Playhouse.

As a child, Beth came to Southern California on vacation on many occasions and later her sister-in-law settled in area. Beth grew up in Chicago and went to Georgetown University for college and then Northwestern University Law School. This brought her back to Chicago where she enjoyed a long career and had a family. Real estate is in her DNA as she says she bought and sold a lot of it throughout her life.

To add fun to her move here from Chicago, Beth took several weeks for the drive west. This allowed her to stop in lots of interesting places along the way.

Beth has begun hiking in the area with meet-up groups and other friends. She also volunteers at Wagmor Pets, a dog rescue in Studio City and the Pasadena Museum of History.

She is looking forward to continue to engage with the community through her volunteer activities, attending theater, going to movies and hiking. Beth has been making new friends along the way.

A column is written by Susan Zuker.

Friend of the Month Sylvia Horvath
January - February 2022

Our first Friend of the Month this year is Sylvia Horvath. Sylvia was born in Hungary in 1947 and she grew up in Budapest. Her father came from a large family who all lived in close proximity to one another. After marrying, she and her husband came to Las Vegas where she lived until she moved to
Manhattan Beach, California in 2014.

After a year there Sylvia moved to Pasadena.
In Las Vegas she worked for the MGM Grand as a
Concierge and even earned Employee of the Month honors along the way. While living in Manhattan Beach, Sylvia happened to see a sign for a tour to the Rose Parade at the Joslyn Community Center. She joined the trip and enjoyed the 2015 parade while sitting at PCC along with folks from all over the world.

Sylvia spent one year working in Torrance at the Little
Company of Mary Hospital as a greeter for folks coming to visit.

After moving to Pasadena she found herself walking near Target on Colorado Boulevard and saw a sign pointing to The Playhouse District.

She walked on to El Molino and found The Playhouse with the door ajar. Two women came out and she asked what they did. They informed her about the work of the Friends and how The Playhouse
was interested in adding volunteers and brought out the promotional flyer. One week later, Sylvia became a Friend and has been ushering regularly at The Playhouse ever since.

Sylvia is a loving dog owner and walks her dog many times per day. In her downtime she is an avid reader and recommends the works of John Grisham, James Patterson, Vince Flynn and Robert Craigs.
Time to add to your 2022 reading lists!

Friend of the Month Carolyn Karpin
November - December 2021

Carolyn Karpin is our Friend of the Month for
November/December. Carolyn loves attending plays,
eating out with friends, hanging out at parks, visiting
Descanso and Huntington Gardens and the
Arboretum. She loves LA! But her real passion is
to travel the world. She is already looking forward to
experiencing the cultures of Tunisia and Algeria next
year.

Carolyn was born in Washington, DC and raised
in Maryland. After graduating from Ohio University in
Athens with a major in English, she returned to DC
and taught English in Washington for six years.
While living there, she completed a Master’s degree
in Education at the University of Maryland. Her sister
had already moved to California when Carolyn
decided to follow her because LA sounded like fun
and a complete change of coast.

As soon as she arrived in LA, Carolyn enrolled in
Cal State LA to add Business to her teaching
credential in English. She became exhausted from
grading high school students’ English papers. Even
though she was drained by “grading papers,” she got
a teaching position at Garfield High School in East
LA where she fell in love with her students, the area
and her colleagues. There, she “schooled” high
school students in English and eventually moved
into the Business Department where she covered
courses like Business Law, Computers and Typing
(yes, typing on a typewriter) starting in 1983.
In addition, she became the Yearbook sponsor
and enjoyed the change from a regular classroom
situation to a different kind of interaction with her
students. Since they were working on a project
together, the relationships were tighter. Eventually,
she became the Career Advisor and thoroughly
enjoyed this change of pace.

Six years ago Carolyn retired from teaching, but
continued to volunteer in the Garfield Career
Center where she had been working for several
years.

Carolyn is a friend of Nancy Ashcraft with whom
she shares theatergoing. Nancy introduced her to
the pleasures of ushering at The Pasadena
Playhouse, and she is eagerly awaiting the return to
live theater here. During Covid-19 shutdown
Carolyn did a lot of Zooming with friends and
groups from her association with PALAC
(Pasadena Area Liberal Arts Center). She is
looking forward to more in-person events. In
addition, she participates in book and movie
groups and attends as many exciting activities as
she can.

Carolyn grew up with quite a famous father,
Fred Karpin. He was a world-class bridge player
and teacher and he wrote the bridge column for the
Washington Post. If you are a bridge enthusiast,
you might look up some of his books.

Carolyn has been to over fifty countries,
including Russia, Myanmar, Egypt, Yugoslavia,
Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Ireland, South Korea,
Japan, China, South Africa, Australia, Thailand,
Vietnam and many more!

You can count on seeing Carolyn back at The
Playhouse as the curtain rises once again. She is
another Friend of the Month we should all get to
meet. She surely will have some interesting travel
stories.

Friend of the Month Brian Thornhill
September - October 2021

This issue's Friend of the Month, Brian Thornhill, is
a motorcycle (Harley Davidson) enthusiast. His other
major interest is participating and attending
Renaissance Fairs.

Brian works as head Internet Technician for a major corporation. He grew interested in IT through an unlikely path. He began in the stock room and moved up to production control in a medical device company and from there he began asking folks in his firm about any problems they might have with their computers and the internet. This led to his becoming part of the IT Department, eventually being named head. He has been in the IT industry for over 20 years. Retiring from IT is not in his plans at this time.

When Brian has to go in to work he rides his Harley. He has made many friends who also travel by motorcycle. He also trains new riders so they can qualify for their license. He has taken trips to Sturgis, the State Parks of Utah, and driven up and down the state of California. When he travels to a new spot he rents a motorcycle for at least one day. He has done this in Las Vegas where he met up with his mother, LuCinda Haagenson, a fellow Friend. He also took a trip around parts of the South including Biloxi, Mississippi and New Orleans, always asking a local to recommend a place for food. This has led to some delicious dining.

Occasionally the trip to Las Vegas will include working at a Renaissance Fair in the area. He became interested in Renaissance Fairs through some of his motorcycle friends who run the costume rentals at the fairs.
Brian was living in Moorpark and found the Irwindale location of the Fairs quite convenient. His Costume Rental Booth friends asked him to be their Hawker, and he has worked with them ever since. These Costume Rental folks go to 10 or 11 locations every year. The Renaissance Fairs go 6-8 weeks at a time and feature food, glass blowing, jousting, sword fights and much
more. The Renaissance Fairs were begun by two history teachers who wanted to brin British history to life for their students. Now, the Fairs include the Italian Court and Celtic Village as well as Elizabethan/Victorian themes.

Brian and his family moved to Pasadena when he was in third grade. He is the oldest of six children and is widowed. This prompted his move back to Pasadena from Moorpark where he lives with his mother, who brought him into the Friends of The Pasadena
Playhouse and ushering. He like the rest of us is anxiously awaiting our return to The
Playhouse.

Friend of the Month Sienna Salce
July-August 2021

Sienna Salce is one of our youngest members of the Friends of The Playhouse Board and the Offstage Newsletter Chair.

From the age of three, Sienna’s biggest passion
has been ballet, a passion that persists today. She
attends ballet class at Pasadena Dance Theatre
where she tries to keep up with the
professionals in the Adult Open Ballet sessions.
When she isn’t out on the dance floor, Sienna can be
found at the theatre. In high school, her love for the
performing arts led to her first ushering gig, which
was a production of Sleepless in Seattle at The Pasadena
Playhouse. As well as ushering at The Playhouse,
Sienna is a Theatre Attendant at The Hollywood
Bowl, and she is excited that they are returning to a
full season this summer.

Sienna graduated from Marshall Fundamental
(’14) prior to attending Occidental College (’18),
where she majored in English with an Art History
minor. While she was an undergraduate, she studied
for a semester at the University of East Anglia in
Norwich, England. During her stay she had the
opportunity to explore Europe and even caught a
glimpse of the back of Queen Elizabeth’s head.

Once back in America, Sienna had a memorable
college graduation ceremony. She not only received
the distinction of cum laude, but she also had the
unique experience of receiving her diploma from her
mother (one of her biggest cheerleaders).

In her free time, Sienna and her family have enjoyed exploring the hidden stairways of Los Angeles and going on neighborhood walks. Her interest in travel was fueled by the fact that her family hosted high school students from Germany, Sweden and Spain, each student staying a full school year through the EF program.

Sienna Salce

In turn, Sienna and her family were hosted by one student’s family in Germany where they were given a warm welcome. Sienna’s other travels have included trips to Morocco, China, Costa Rica, an extended stay at an acorn farm on the Greek island of Kea and a pilgrimage to Michelangelo’s art work throughout Italy. Eventually she would like to make her way to
Australia and New Zealand as well as Japan. For
the summer, Sienna and her family plan to make
a quick trip to Boston, New York City and the
New England states.

We are grateful that this Friend of the Month,
Sienna Salce, is our dedicated Editor. Like all of
the members of the Friends of The Pasadena
Playhouse, Sienna is anxious for the theatre to
welcome guests again.

A column is written by Susan Zuker.

Friend of the Month Karen Prather
May-June 2021

Karen Prather, our Friend of the Month, is a retired
attorney who worked for 27 years in Orange County as
County Counsel. She worked for various county departments, such as the Clerk-Recorder and
Social Services, and spent over 10 years advising
the grand jury in their civil investigative function.

Originally from Harrisburg, PA, she and her mother moved to Ogden, UT to be close to family and also because of her mother's desire for change. She got through her junior year of high school. Then her mother, who worked for the Forest Service, moved them to Fresno, CA where Karen completed high school.

Following high school, she went to UC Santa Barbara and majored in political science. Her next step was to
study law at UC San Francisco. After working as a Public Defender for Riverside County and as attorney for the State Bar of California, she decided on her life-long position in Orange County.

During this time she married and raised two sons. Now her children are part of a blended family with the children of her husband, Jerry Comer, brought to their
marriage. The youngest just graduated from Sonoma State University. Aside from raising her family and practicing law, Karen has volunteered in many
capacities: for her church, Mercy House, School on Wheels and recently LA IMAGINE. She also has had a long term relationship tutoring a girl since age 9 or 10.
They meet on Saturdays and from time to time take field trips. In fact, there were times when Karen brought her to The Playhouse to enjoy a performance.

Reading for pleasure occupies much of Karen's time. Pre-COVID she and her husband traveled quite a bit to places as remote as a South African safari where a
Jurassic Park experience occurred. She was chased in a Jeep by an elephant and had an even closer encounter when he placed his trunk in front of her
while she was sitting in the Jeep. She has traveled to other destinations across the world and hopes to visit Dubai when they are able to travel safely again.

She keeps her mind busy by being a Notary and
remaining active in Bar Association classes and activities.

She, like the rest of us, is looking forward to the return of The Playhouse where she ushered at least twice per show since 2015. We hope to see Karen around The
Playhouse during the week when performances return. A true Friend of The Playhouse is this month's Friend of the Month, Karen Prather.

A column is written by Susan Zuker.

Friend of the Month Charles Hay
March - April 2021

Charles Hay is a modern Renaissance Man. He has gone from a hotel and restaurant owner to foreign graduate student to government employee, whose job included FBI sting operations. Along with all of this, he loves attending theater
and ballet and traveling.

Charles' next challenge in his retirement is to qualify as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for the Los Angeles County Children’s Court. Children under the Court’s jurisdiction range in age from infant to 18 and most enter the dependency system after experiencing abuse or neglect. Currently, there are 44,000 children in the system.

Charles grew up in many places as his father worked for the Army
Corps of Engineers. He received his BA degree from Georgia State University with a major in accounting. He also attended The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a CPA and has a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. His doctoral research topic involved the impact of aging populations on the investment choice of British pension trustees. Populations in many countries are both aging and experiencing low birth rates with resultant economic consequences.

Before he joined government service, he worked as an auditor, financial analyst, and owned a hotel and restaurant in the Blue Ridge Mountains. After selling the hotel, he and his husband, Jim, moved to San Francisco where he worked for a time as the controller of a theatrical production company.

After the production company closed, Charles entered federal service. Quickly rising through the ranks, he was soon managing a team of accountants and lawyers investigating fraud allegations in private pension and health plans throughout the western United States.

Charles has enjoyed traveling in India where he has attended Ayurvedic healing clinics. He hopes to return when travel to the area is open again.

Charles' husband, Jim, passed away four years ago. They were together for 35 years before they married in 2016 in an Episcopal service held in the bell tower of the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California
surrounded by friends. After a job relocation in 2003, they bought the house in Altadena where Charles still lives.

In 2013, he won a local garden prize for his waterwise front garden. He grows camellias and other flowering plants in his yard, but not vegetables since he found that the birds and other creatures were
enjoying them before he could.

Ginny Browning introduced Charles to Friends of The Pasadena Playhouse during a conversation at the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens where they both volunteered. He loves theatre and enjoys ushering many times during a run at The Playhouse.

He, like the rest of us, cannot wait to return. This fan of movies, ballet, opera and other cultural events is enjoying his retirement and hopes, after his vaccinations, to be able to travel again and for The Playhouse to open again. A charming, well-traveled, well-educated man makes getting to know and chat with Charles a pleasure.

Friend of the Month Regina Robinson
January-February 2021

Regina Robinson

Regina Robinson, a retired school psychologist, is our first Friend of the Month of 2021. Regina has lived in Glendale for much of her married life except for a two year stint in Charlotte, North Carolina.

She and her husband, Gary Blackburn met at Cornell University where they were both students. After they were married, her husband was offered a position with Bank of America in Los Angeles, so they left their families behind in New York to begin a life out here. Both of them still have family back East in the New York area.

The night that they attended a performance of the first One Night With Janis Joplin production at the Pasadena Playhouse Regina asked an usher about what one had to do to join, and she did and has loved ushering and selling at the merchandise cart ever since. Like the rest of us, she certainly misses the camaraderie and friends at The Playhouse.

After Regina was gifted wool and other materials from her grandmother, she decided to try her hand at knitting with these items. She started slowly but is now trying her hand at more difficult items. She is using YouTube videos to help her with her projects.

Travel is one of the things that Regina loves to do. She had a Viking Cruise planned on the Danube, but it was cancelled because of the virus. She looks forward to getting on board when she can. She has travelled to Amsterdam and Bruges, Paris and Scotland and other parts of the globe.

She and her husband has been living in their Glendale house for many years and have cultivated a small garden featuring flowering shrubs. They are adding flowering perennials over time.

They have two rescue dogs that they adopted, one terrier and the other a Chihuahua. They love walking them in the neighborhood. Another pastime they miss is getting together with friends with whom they had a monthly dinner and a movie night. Dining out as a couple was a particular pleasure, but that too is on hold for now.

Regina is an avid reader and enjoys finding new books to read. She reads up on places she hopes to explore in their travels so she is prepared when the cruise makes a stop and they can do a walking tour of the area.

Regina is hoping that 2021 will permit them to visit their family on the East Coast and return to ushering and selling from the Friends' cart at The Pasadena Playhouse.

Friend of the Month Monica Kelly
November-December 2020

Monica is a native Californian whose link to the Friends of The Playhouse extends to her mother, Betty Parnell. She grew up in Covina and went to college in Santa Cruz. Following graduation Monica moved to Washington, D.C. where she first worked at the
Urban Institute and eventually took a lifelong job at the US General Accounting Office (GAO) that is defined as an independent, professional, non-partisan agency in the legislative branch commonly and referred to as the investigative arm of Congress.
After meeting and marrying her husband Bill, who was a Columbia graduate, she married and lived in Adelphi, Maryland. They met while they were biking with a group in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. They still bike for fun and pleasure. Biking while doing errands is one of her favorite ways to get exercise.
They moved back to California before their daughters were born. Both of their parents were living here, and Monica transferred to the Los Angeles GAO. Among her duties were port security, helicopter procurement, medical marijuana and working with locals. All her work, including FEMA spending was work requested by the appropriate Congressional chairmen.
She and her husband have been married for 36 years and have two grown daughters who work in the Los Angeles area: one works for Fish and Wildlife and the other is at the Museum of Natural History. Her husband worked for the Air Quality Management District before starting his own business and also worked for the California Energy Circuit publication.

Monica Kelly

Since her retirement, Monica has been growing two Moringa trees, which normally grow in India and the
Philippines. Moringa has been used for centuries due to its medicinal properties and health benefits. It also has antifungal, antiviral, antidepressant, and anti-inflammatory properties. The flowers are sold in powder form. The other plant that Monica is growing is California Milkweed. This is loved by Monarch butterflies. Even Huntington Gardens does not have
any California native Milkweed in its collection. Monica is hoping to be able to present them with seeds. She likes gardening and volunteers at the South Pasadena Nature Park and has a vegetable and flower garden.
Like the rest of us is anxious to see The Playhouse reopen. Monica has volunteered for about 10 years and loves ushering. We should all look forward to meeting this very active Friend of the Month.

Written by Susan Zucker.

Friend of the Month Umilta Joseph
September-October 2020

If you wish to be charmed by a lifting voice, just begin a conversation with our Friend of the Month, Umilta Joseph. She is a native Trinidadian who has retained that lovely speech pattern of her native land. I just wanted to keep her talking to me with her tale of coming to the United States on her own at 18.

Umilta is one of ten children. Her large family included grandparents who believed in the British system that kids should be seen and not heard. Umilta was number six in the birth order and following her came four boys. Her sisters were three and six years older than she. There are five remaining. She and a brother in California, a brother in Trinidad, a brother in Durban, South Africa and a brother in Michigan.

Umilta always wanted to travel and it was perfect that her mentor, and family friend, lived in New York so after
graduating from high school, she moved to New York where she worked in the Operations Department at Manufacturers Hanover Bank while pursuing an economics degree at Hunter College and NYU.

Umilta wanted to be an economist but the bank was offering jobs as programmers to anyone who passed an in-house test. She wasn’t interested, plus many people were failing but, on a double-dare, Umilta nervously took the test, passed it and was offered a programming job. While in training, Umilta realized that she “had found her work-calling”, so though Economics was her major, programming was what she was going to do!

Umilta continued her career in New York, married and was blessed with two boys but eventually divorced. One day after too many ice storms and too many frozen fingers and toes, she decided to look for work in sunnier climes and accepted a job offer in San Francisco. Then she really got lucky. Union Bank in Los Angeles saw her resume and contacted her because they wanted to implement the same project that Umilta had just completed at Manufacturers Hanover. Union Bank offered a generous salary and relocation package. They put her family up in a hotel while she looked for a home, and would pay for her to return to New York when her house was sold. This was a real no-brainer. Umilta accepted and moved to Los Angeles in 1980.

   Umilta lived in the hotel with her children and her Mom who came to help her with the children. After six weeks, she moved to an apartment in Alhambra while she looked for a home. She eventually found a house in Covina (where she still lives), so her children could be enrolled in pre-school and a private school in Covina.   Eventually her Mom returned home.

Umilta worked at Union Bank for just over one year when she received an offer from ARCO where she progressed through the ranks. In 1984, Umilta was added to a team formed to work on a new payment processing system called PayPoint which would allow ARCO customers to use their ATM bank card at the pump. Later, the payment options were expanded to include credit, EBT and checks. This service was then picked up by other merchants such as COSTCO and Trader Joe’s.     In 2002 ARCO sold PayPoint to First Data who offered Umilta a job. She worked from home. In 2007, she was offered a retirement package so Umilta retired.

After a few months she found new opportunities to volunteer. She volunteers at the Food Bank and manages the Clothing Department of her church’s economic recovery project called Project 29:11 (from Jeremiah 29:11). She attends Bible Study Fellowship classes, an international organization where she teaches the children.

Umilta is a regular Saturday usher at the Playhouse. She does a double shift because she says ushering for the matinee and evening is much easier to do.     She has close ties with her sons Akeel and Nikosi and their families. One lives in Covina and the other in Glendora. Her three grandchildren are truly lights in her life.

Umilta is an avid traveler and has enjoyed and explored countries on every continent except Antarctica, among them: England, France, China, Hong Kong, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Spain, India, Canary Islands, South Africa and Greece. She enjoys cruising and when we are able, she hopes to continue her travels. She is adjusting well to COVID-19 restrictions and recently went on a trip to IKEA in West Covina. On her return she realized she was just as excited as if she had jetted off to the South Pacific.

A delightful conversationalist and true Friend of The Playhouse, Umilta Joseph is our Septrember/October Friend of the Month.

                             The column is written by Susan Zucker.

Friend of the Month Edith (Edie) Hovey
July-August 2020

Edie Hovey was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to California in the 1960’s. After working for 10 years in various ministries as a Lutheran Deaconess, she decided to work in the field of vocational rehabilitation. She completed her Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at Cal State LA. Edie then worked in several office locations, including more than 15 years in Pasadena, working with people with general disabilities, spinal cord and brain injuries, learning disabilities, and people who were blind and visually limited. The goal in working with the people with disabilities is to help them be employed.

Edie was a founding member of the California State Union of Health and Social Service Professionals. She was very active in the union, serving as secretary, vice-president, chair of the occupational committee, and member of the union’s negotiating team. While she was working, Edie lived in Duarte. Ten years ago, she moved to Westminster Gardens, a retirement community, also in Duarte. Here she has been active in various leadership roles, and currently serves as the chair of the Great Decisions discussion program, which focuses on foreign policy. Edie remains active in the Lutheran Deaconess Community, as well as being active at All Saints Church in
Pasadena, where she attends.

Edie is the oldest of three. Her sister lives in the Chicago area, and her brother in eastern Tennessee. They try
to have a family visit at least once a year. If you have ever taken the AARP Smart Driving course in Duarte, you may have had Edie as your instructor. She taught it for 9 years before retiring a little more than a year ago.
After enjoying a performance of Equus at The Pasadena Playhouse, and feeling she wanted to see it

Edith Hoovey

a second time, Edie saw a brochure about joining The Friends of The Pasadena Playhouse. She was hooked. Now she tries to usher at least three times during the run of every play. Aside from that, she has contributed to the Bake Sale, done some office work, and made food for Hospitality.

A lover of travel, Edie has been to over 30 countries. These include China, Japan, Hong Kong, and most of the countries in Europe. She also likes doing road trips in the U.S., and has camped with friends over many
decades. She is now able to stay in the mountain cabin (instead of a tent), owned by one of the families at Dinkey Creek.

This devoted Friend and supporter of The Pasadena Playhouse is this month’s Friend of the Month. She is
looking forward to the reopening of The Playhouse and getting back to ushering and enjoying each performance.

Friend of the Month Bertie Duffy
May-June 2020

If you love to talk aviation and love to travel I encourage you to meet Bertie Duffy, our Friend of the month. Her love of flying and piloting goes back more than twenty years. Bertie met a man who was a pilot of a small plane and she was smitten with him and flying. Not only did she and her husband then each own their own planes, Bertie became a master mechanic who taught aviation mechanics and was a ground lesson flying instructor for Los Angeles Unified School District for 20 years in their aircraft mechanics school. Her own plane was a World War II trainer with an open cockpit.

Bertie had family in Indiana, from which she moved because of the lure of the Southern California weather, and visited them by flying leg by leg at 250 mile intervals. While visiting them she took her nieces and nephews for flights. When she sold her plane she was in touch with the person who bought it. His goal was to fly to all 48 contiguous states and he succeeded.

One night Bertie came to a performance at The Pasadena Playhouse and Helen Fareshetian, our then Usher Coordinator, was ushering, As many of you may recall Helen was an aviatrix. After a conversation about flying, Bertie immediately signed up with Friends of The Playhouse to usher. She also has volunteered at
the California Science Center, Alex Theatre, the Hollywood Bowl and with the ASPCA.

Aside from her life of flying, she has a small garden and lives in her Studio City home with her cats. Although
she had to give up piloting, she is still in contact with her women pilot friends around the world. Bertie has traveled to all seven continents and keeps her connections with her women associates who live in the far
corners of the globe. They maintain contact through Facebook.

In 1990 Bertie traveled to India to meet with fellow women pilots and stayed in Bombay with the first woman pilot to fly for Air India. Traveling is always on her agenda. Last year she did a riverboat cruise during which she met up with local women pilots who lived near the stops. Bertie looks forward to traveling again soon.

Bertie Duffy

Friend of the Month Maggie Chatman
March-April, 2020

Having enjoyed several Playhouse productions over the years, Maggie wanted to get more involved and joined the Friends in 2018; first as an usher then expanding into working in the Archives, assisting with Playhouse tours, the new database, and feeding the cast & crew through the Hospitality Committee.

Born in Centralia, Illinois, Maggie is the youngest of
five and remains close to her four older siblings who are spread across the country. Maggie she graduated in 1979 with a degree in
Theatre Arts (Technical) from St. Edward’s University Austin, Texas.) She remained in Texas working for the City of Austin and volunteering in Austin’s theatre scene where through actors and playwrights she first learned of the Pasadena Playhouse.

In 1982 Maggie loaded up her Pinto station wagon and headed west to Los Angeles where her first husband was studying at USC. In 1983, Maggie started to work for Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) as a switchboard operator. Maggie held various positions at DWP, retiring in 2014 after six years as the Power System’s Budget Administrator. At DWP, she met Kevin, her current husband and a Friends member since 2019. They were good friends for several
years, but it was a 2006 kayaking/hiking trip in Alaska that sealed the relationship.

Maggie is a member of the Tournament of Roses, ushers at A Noise Within Theatre, volunteers with Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane Association, but her greatest passion is animals, particularly dogs. She volunteers at Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley

Maggie Chatman

Humane Societies, Best Friends Animal Society, and Guide Dogs of America (GDA). In 2016, she became a “puppy raiser” for GDA. In 2017, her puppy, Vardee was moved from working guide training to GDA’s
breeding program. To date, Vardee has given birth to ten future guide/service dogs. In addition to Vardee, Maggie is owner to JB, her Chihuahua-Corgi mix, which she fostered then adopted in 2018 from Pasadena Humane Society.

Maggie resides in Altadena where she enjoys hiking the hills with her pups. She and Kevin also enjoy attending concerts, theatre productions, sporting events, summer programs at the Hollywood Bowl, and traveling the world.

Friend of the Month Lawrence Yu
January-February 2020

Lawrence Yu

Lawrence Yu is the ﬁrst Friend of the Month for the new decade. Lawrence is charming, personable, gracious and gregarious. He moved to La Cañada from San Pedro in 2017 after retiring from FIS as a Client Services Executive. Lawrence has worked in a variety of positions in Banking Operations and Bank Financial Data Processing for almost 40 years.

Lawrence’s father was with the State Department so he was fortunate to travel and live in Europe and Asia quite a bit while growing up. Lawrence’s family settled in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1973 when his father retired from the Foreign Service.

Lawrence went to U.C. Berkeley where he majored in biology intending to become a dentist after graduating in 1978. He worked at one of his uncle’s franchise restaurants, Colonel Lee’s Mongolian Bar-B-Q in Mountain View while attending college and made the decision that the food service industry was not for him. After also making the decision that dentistry was not for him he saw an ad that Lloyds Bank was hiring

a teller and decided to apply. He was, of course, hired. The Manager said he was ok for the job since he was a college graduate... no matter what his major.

Lawrence worked his way up from teller through Lloyds management program to become an Operations Ofﬁcer and worked at several Bay Area Branch ofﬁces. After six years in banking operations for Lloyds Bank, he joined City National Bank Correspondent Banking Division as Client Services Representative and Data Conversion Analyst.

In 1986, he was transferred to Atlanta, Georgia to work as Project Manager on the world’s ﬁrst internet banking product. After two years in Atlanta he returned to San Diego and then Los Angeles where he eventually met his special friend, Patrick Oliva. They were introduced through mutual friends, two of whom happened to usher at the Pasadena Playhouse. Then a meeting at Porto’s and the rest... Lawrence loves to cook and try new cuisines. Gardening doesn’t suit him but silk ﬂowers do.

Since retiring Lawrence and Patrick have traveled to many wonderful places in Europe. In spite of being away traveling, Lawrence loves being part of Hospitality in the Friends organization. But that is not all, he is also The Friends’ Treasurer. He makes sure that all the bills are correct and paid and monitors all of our money.

Lawrence is honored to be part of the Friends and ﬁnds his life enriched by being part of this incredible organization.

Friend of the Month Will Diaz
November-December 2019

During the Friends’ recent Memories event, we celebrated the 90th Birthday of Will Diaz. Will is an Alumnus of the Pasadena Playhouse and an active member of the Friends. His knowledge of the history of the Playhouse has made him a popular Tour Guide and Ambassador.

Will was born in Flushing, New York where he attended Bayside High School. The school happened to be across the street from where Babe Ruth would practice. Will and his classmates would sneak across to watch their hero and ask questions. Babe Ruth was always gracious and took time to talk to them.

His parents took him to see many Broadway productions and, as he grew older, he would take the train to the city to see shows. When he was still in high school, Will worked as an usher at the Flushing RKO theatre. They featured live performances, and he saw many stars in person. Seeing so many famous people, plays, and movies, was the beginning of his love for theatre.

Shortly after Will graduated from high school, he became concerned that he would be drafted. Since he didn’t want to be in the Army or Air Force and definitely disliked the idea of wearing the Navy uniform, he enlisted in the Marines. He was stationed in North Carolina and, although the training was tough, he loved the experience. His corps was soon sent to North Korea where Will was a Radio Operator/Communications Specialist. This group was the first to be sent out on maneuvers. The very first day, Will was wounded in the head, leg, and arm. For his bravery, he was awarded two Purple Hearts. He is proud to display in his home, a picture of the Presidential Citation given for the First Major Battle won by the Marines in North Korea. After recovering from his wounds, Will returned to San Diego and then to Virginia for three months. When his time was up to leave the Marines, his Colonel asked him if he would stay and make a career of the Marines. But Will had other ideas. He still had a love of theatre and had read about the school at The Pasadena Playhouse in Theatre Arts Magazine.

He decided to use his GI Bill, head to California and begin his education at The Playhouse. Will knew immediately that he would be happy in Pasadena and at the Playhouse.

Will DIaz

The Playhouse curriculum was challenging and all-consuming but Will enjoyed every moment. In addition to his education and knowledge of theatre and the beautiful Pasadena weather, Will also made many lifelong friends such as classmates, Lenore Almanzar and Jamie Farr.

After graduation from The Playhouse, Will went to work in the Advertising Department of Dean Witter, a Los Angeles investment firm. Unfortunately, the firm closed, and Will returned to New York. Once back in New York, he connected with many other Playhouse graduates. He was thrilled to see many of them perform on stage and in clubs. He also satisfied his love of theatre by attending as many Broadway shows as possible.

Some terrible snow storms and cold weather soon sent Will back to sunny California. In California, he went to work for Montgomery Ward and managed their photography department. That led to yet another career, photography. He photographed many weddings, parties, and special events all over Southern California.

Will also has an adventurous side. He had a cat named Baby. He and Baby drove a Volkswagen Bug across the country with Baby sitting on his shoulder. He loved traveling and went to Europe several times. He found the French people to be very friendly and helpful and saw many good plays while in London.

Friend of the Month Beth Fernandez
September-October 2019

A native Californian, Beth Fernandez, our Friend of the Month, was born in Los Angeles and spent her first 11 years (aside from some wartime moving around) in Highland Park before moving to Pasadena. She attended Pasadena public schools until her senior year. That year her mom took a job with the Long Beach Camp Fire Girl’s Council, and they moved to Long Beach. She graduated from David Star Jordan. She met her husband Bill in Long Beach, and they were married shortly after she graduated from high school.

Starting married life back in Pasadena, she had four sons in rapid succession, Bill, the twins, Bryant & Bruce and then Dan. The next few years were devoted to being a wife and mother while Bill worked in the auto industry. When her boys were old enough for pre-school, she started her career as a puppeteer, first working at Macabob Toys as “Beth the Birthday Lady,” then moving on to a theater in the Valley called Geniiland and finally working on her own
doing shows and teaching.

She served as President of the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry and Regional Director for the Puppeteers of
America often performing and teaching workshops at National Festivals. She also wrote a regular column for the national magazine, Puppetry Journal, edited and wrote columns for the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry’s publication Puppet Life and served on the Board of
the LA Guild for many years. Concurrently with raising her family and working as a puppeteer, Beth began taking classes at Pasadena City College.

After 11 years, she finally earned her AA and was accepted at Whittier College. She graduated as a “mature returning student” from Whittier
College in 1982, with a degree in Theater Arts.
Following graduation, Beth started a second career, one in Alumni Relations, joining the Whittier College Alumni Office in 1983 as Assistant Alumni Director. After ten years, she accepted the challenge of creating an alumni program at Rio Hondo Community
College, and later she took on the responsibilities of the Public Relations Officer in addition to Alumni Relations. In 1995, she accepted a position as Director of Alumni Relations with CSU Stanislaus in the Central Valley where she spent nearly five years overseeing
programs for 26,000 alumni.

When her husband passed away after more than 40 years of marriage, she was ready for retirement and moved home to Pasadena to be closer to her family.

Beth Fernandez

However, she spent the next year as Interim Alumni Director at Whittier College while the college
conducted a search for a new director.

She then volunteered at the International Puppetry Museum in Pasadena, serving as the IPM Director for several years. Her volunteer duties included photographing the puppets, data input, cataloging ephemera, preparing puppets for storage and exhibits and returning them to the collection. With the transfer of the IPM collection to Seattle and the closure of the IPM project here in Pasadena, she was looking for a new volunteer opportunity.

Beth happened to run into a friend, Patti La Marr, who suggested, she talks to Ellen Bailey about volunteering in Archives at the Pasadena Playhouse. Since she had grown up seeing plays and taking occasional classes at the Playhouse and her IPM work dovetailed
with what Ellen needed it was a good fit. She has been working in Archives for almost six years and loves the work. She and Patti La Marr are a dynamic duo that keeps the Playhouse Digitial Archive grow. She now serves on the Friends’ Board and edits the by-monthly newsletter Offstage. To remind board members to submit articles for a newsletter, she writes witty and funny poems that are always such a treat to hear! She also loves to make crafts and sew.

She says “Since I don’t usher, I don’t get to meet as many volunteers as I’d like, but I love working in Archives, being an Ambassador and working on the Friends’ projects. I have always loved theater and this feels like
home!”

We hope you'd get to know Beth better and enjoy volunteering with her at the Playhouse.

Friends of the Month Tammi and Lenny Steren
July - August 2019

Tammi and Lenny Steren

This month, our Friends of the Month are the couple Tammi and Lenny Steren.

Tammi and Lenny have been ushering at the Pasadena Playhouse since 2014. One day, they walked by and joined a tour. Once inside, they felt an instant connection to The Playhouse and asked the Friend giving the tour “How do I sign up to be a Friend of The Pasadena Playhouse?” They have been with the Friends ever since.

They are avid softball players, and met at the Advertising Softball World Series, an international softball tournament, in 1996. They started dating early in 1997, and dated cross-country for 10 months before Tammi moved to New York to be with Lenny. They married in 1999, and moved to Pasadena in 2000. They manage a softball team that plays at the Rose Bowl every Thursday night. You will find Lenny at third base, and Tammi playing first base. Lenny grew up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx in New York, then moved to the city. He graduated from the University of Hartford before working in Advertising on Madison Avenue in New York City. In addition to his job in Advertising, Lenny worked in Public Relations at Shea Stadium, for his favorite team, the New York Mets. In 1998, Lenny quit his advertising job and started his own Sports Marketing company, “Mookie’s Tickets and Sports Memorabilia” specializing in vintage baseball and football tickets. His inventory features over 300,000 vintage tickets from as far back as 1890. Lenny can be found on eBay and also has 200+ private clients.

Tammi grew up in the St. Louis area and is a graduate of St. Louis University. She moved to California after college to work in advertising. After working five years in advertising, she went to work for the Walt Disney Company where she was a Project Supervisor in Product Development in the Consumer Products division. She worked for the Walt Disney Company for 13 years. Luckily, during this time, she was able to transfer to New York to be with Lenny, working at the ESPN Magazine. Since leaving Disney, Tammi has been instrumental in helping Lenny’s business. She also is a Paralegal at a law firm in downtown Los Angeles a couple of days each week, has her own eBay business specializing in Disney items, ushers at the Dolby Theatre (she has worked 14 Academy Awards and has attended several Governor’s Balls), and is a screenwriter. Tammi’s favorite team is the St. Louis Cardinals.

Both Lenny and Tammi volunteer several times each month with the Disney VoluntEARS. Baseball is a major part of their lives They have been to every ballpark, except Detroit. They also attend sports memorabilia conventions across the country and love to travel. Some of their favorite cities are Paris, Venice, Rome, Quebec City, Montreal, Las Vegas, Nashville and, of course, New York City. Lenny still has family in New York, and they visit frequently, seeing as many Broadway shows as possible. And they always have to fit in a Mets game or two! Neither Tammi nor Lenny cook, but they love good food and going to the movies. Tammi’s favorite movie is Casablanca, and Lenny’s favorite is Caddyshack. They love being members of the Friends, and this year they will be co-chairing the Friends Bazaar. If you do not have the opportunity to work with this charming couple beforehand, please be sure to meet them when you are helping with the Bazaar in October.

Friend of the Month Annelies Kischkel
May - June 2019

Annelies Kischkel made her way to Pasadena from Silicia, Germany to Leipzig to Chicago to Southern California. Her father was killed in World War II. After the war, Annelies got separated from her sister. Eight years later, she found out through the Red Cross, that her sister had married a GI and was living in Kansas. She had a simple childhood under the communist system and escaped East Germany in August 1961. Her brother in law’s family sponsored her to come to live in the United States in 1962.

Since she did not speak English, she took jobs as a babysitter and maid. Six months later, she took a position as a dental assistant in Chicago. In 1965, Annelies traveled Route 66 to sunny Southern California. Through the kindness of the American Consulate, her mother came to visit from East Germany in 1972. Eventually, her mother left everything behind to start a new life in West Germany and was able to travel freely. After that Annelies’ mother came here every Christmas for three months until she passed away in 1983.

When the Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989 Annelies cried. Each year since then on October 3, German Unification Day, she celebrates it and also coincidentally the anniversary date she immigrated to the United States. She enjoys being a citizen in The Land of the Free and never takes it for granted but works hard with discipline and determination, luck and coincidence.

She has worked as a dental assistant, Beverly Hills Hotel waitress, manicurist at the Jonathan Club and at the Beverly Hills Hotel, a guide for German tourists in the Southwest and on the Rhine River. She is now retired from the tour business.

Annelies Kischkel

Recently, she did zip lining in Costa Rica. Her next trip will be to Eastern Europe to visit her birthplace and Leipzig where she had her schooling including the Trade School for dental assistant.

She is a member of the Sierra Club, German American Clubs, Ski Club and Emblem Elks in Glendale. Annelies learned about Friends of The Pasadena Playhouse while ushering at the Alex Theatre. She loves theatre and music, nature, dancing, fitness programs, traveling the world and being a Friend of The Pasadena Playhouse.

Annelies would like to close her interview with the following: “Now I live in the Land of the Free counting my blessings and never taking things for granted. I am a proud U.S. citizen in the land of opportunity.”

Friend of the Month Mary Walsten
March - April 2019

This month our friend is Mary Walsten, a retired high school teacher. Mary was born in Tokyo as her father, who was in the military, was stationed there after World War II. When she was five her family moved to California, and she hasn’t lived anywhere else since.

After completing her education at UC Santa Barbara, Mary got a job teaching English, a little history and math at La Cañada High School where she taught for 35 years. Teaching gave Mary the opportunity to apply for and receive National Endowment for the Humanities grants which included studying black literature, kids’ literature and using music to teach.

She has driven alone to the East Coast to places like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. where living history was all around her. Mary enjoys singing and playing her guitar and besides being in her church choir she sings with the FAVA chorus that entertains in the area. Their programs range from Mostly Mozart to At the Movies with a Christmas program each year as well. Formerly, she sang with the Sweet Adelines.

She worked at a Girl Scout camp and then for many years was a counselor, hike leader and guitar player at a private girls camp in Sequoia National Park. That camp is now a resort open year round. Mary made many lifelong friends there, and they still see each other up north in the San Francisco area.

Travel is another opportunity that Mary enjoys. She has recently been to Ireland, Australia and New Zealand; Egypt and Africa are coming soon. While away she takes photographs and writes a blog for her family and friends to follow. While she is traveling, the daughter of a friend takes care of her now 19-year-old cat. She has watched these neighbor kids grow up, and they have become like family.

Mary Walsten

One important part of Mary’s life is her Womens’ Bible study at her church. She is preparing to talk about the parable of the Good Samaritan with this group.

This Friend of the Pasadena Playhouse has been a regular usher for more than ten years. While Mary was teaching, she would be found in the Lobby reading her students’ papers. Now, she assist the Playhouse patrons with headphones and ushers at least twice for each show.

A subscription holder at the Ahmanson and the Pantages, Mary enjoys attending theater performances with friends. Among her favorite shows this year are Come from Away, On your Toes and Beautiful. She also spends time walking and lunching with her long time friends from different parts of her busy life. When she cooks, she always includes her friends and neighbors in the equation so they can share her specialties. We salute our Friend of the Month, Mary Walsten, and wish her well in her well deserved retirement years.

Friend of the Month Donna Bryar
January - February 2019

Donna Bryar

I’m sure we shouldn’t measure the dedication of our volunteers by the length of their commute, but if we did, Donna Bryar would be right up there at the top of the list as she drives from Tarzana to Pasadena several times during each show to volunteer as an usher. The House Managers report that she is very good with people and are pleased when she is able to volunteer.

Let us introduce you to Donna... Born in Chicago, Donna moved to California with her family when she was a year and a half old. Now a true Valley Girl, she grew up in Burbank and Encino and attended Northridge State College, which later became CSUN. As a young woman, she worked for her father in his insurance agency, as bookkeeper and collections agent, which she laughingly says, “Honed my people skills”. She has also worked as Manager of a physical therapy clinic and in accounting at Northridge Pharmacy. Being the proud mother of a son, Erik and a daughter Nickie, Donna truly enjoys her family.

Nickie, who lives near her in the valley, is a Voiceover Actor. Donna’s son works for Mercedes Benz in the Seattle, Washington area and his very own son is expected in April - a good excuse for Donna to travel. Donna sang Baritone in a Sweet Adelines Barbershop Chorus from 1995 until 2008. It was hard to give up, but life just got too busy for her to give it her ALL.

Donna says that when her job at the pharmacy ended in 2005 when the company was sold. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. One day while playing on the ﬂoor with her granddaughter, she expressed to her daughter that she would love to just do this all day long. One thing led to another, word got out that she was available and her “Nanny” business began. Thirteen years later, Donna still takes care of many families on an “as needed” basis.

When she is not helping our patrons at The Playhouse, helping out the families that rely on her and enjoying her own family, Donna can be found knitting for proﬁt and for pleasure. During the 3-month ﬁg season, she can be seen climbing ﬁg trees to pick the ﬁgs and then in the kitchen making amazing jam. She enjoys going to the movies, watching TV and she loves live theater.

Her love of the theater is what brought her to be one of our volunteers. At lunch one day with her good friend Mark Walter, knowing her love of the theater, he asked if she would like to usher at the Pasadena Playhouse, and with very little persuasion she became a volunteer in 2011. We are delighted to have Donna as part of the Playhouse family and to recognize her for her outstanding service to our theatre as our January-February Friend of the Month, 2019.

Friend of the Month Patricia Bell
November - December, 2018

Pat Bell is not only a native Californian, but she was born at Huntington Hospital as were her father and her children. Her mother came to California from Connecticut. After living many years in Pasadena, Pat moved to Sierra Madre.

She was educated in the San Marino schools and went off to Salem, Oregon to Willamette University then for a ﬁfth year at San Francisco State. After a year of subbing in various districts, she taught in San Marino for ten years. In 2009 she ended her career in the Pasadena Uniﬁed School District after teaching there for18 years.
Pat was a fourth and ﬁfth grade teacher to large classes of students, but had a special method of keeping them amused when the school year was about over...they did plays! These 30-minute plays were written especially for the children by Bad Wolf Press which is based in Santa Barbara.

Pat is the mother of two children. Her son Jonathan is on his way to a degree in geography. He has a great love of the outdoors and wants to continue with an outdoor life. Her daughter Heather works in Sacramento and is employed by the State Department of Mental Health.

Pat’s husband worked for many years in Sales and Marketing for a television post production company. Bruce wanted to be his own boss, so they bought a ﬂooring store in 2006. When Pat retired from teaching, she worked at the store until Bruce’s death.

Four years ago, she joined the docents at the Norton Simon Museum, who work with ﬁfth grade students from Pasadena Uniﬁed. There she met her fellow docent Lenore Almanzar. She told Lenore about her love for theater, especially musical theater, and thus she became a Friend of the Pasadena Playhouse. She ushers several times each show.

Pat Bell

Pat is so fond of theater that she volunteers at Parson’s Nose, a small non-proﬁt theater in Pasadena, by baking cookies and making caramels. Lance Davis, founder of Parson’s Nose, rewrites classic plays to ﬁt with their small space at The Abbey on the corner of Holly and Marengo. They do six shows per year, some as reader’s theater and some full-production. They have been around for18 years, and Pat has supported them for the past six years.

She is a member of the San Marino Congregational United Church of Christ, where she went as a youngster. She is currently Moderator, sings in the choir, and is on the Missions Committee. When she had her house in Linda Vista, she loved to entertain and garden, but in an apartment it is a bit harder to do. She currently tutors two students during the school year. She enjoys traveling whenever possible, including helping chaperone a trip to Germany with 43 high school students. Her most favorite trips involve special friends from the Netherlands, whether it be visiting them in Europe or their visits to the United States. An avid reader and crossword/Sudoku player, she also walks with two different groups, one around the Santa Anita Mall and the other around the Rose Bowl. Although she hasn’t been a Friend as long as some, Pat is a devoted Friend to the Playhouse and enjoys meeting new people on the different dates she ushers.

Friend of the Month Burton Friedricks
September - October, 2018

Burton Friedricks is a most wonderful example of how to spend time after retiring. Burt has many interests: he plays golf, visits his family, ushers at the Playhouse...and more.

He met his wife, Virginia, who was from Indianapolis, when they were both students at Indiana University. They married in 1950, the year after graduation. They were drawn to New York City as Burt grew up in the Bronx and was a graduate of Horace Mann School. They moved to a garden apartment in Flushing.
Burt was called to the Service, so they moved to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma where he received a commission in field artillery. After that, they moved to Ft. Sam Houston, Texas where he received acommission in the Medical Service Corps. He then served at Camp Polk, Louisiana in the Medical Services Corps.

Burton and Virginia came to Los Angeles to visit because her brother was at USC. They decided to stay. She worked at a telephone company and then at a brokerage firm while he first worked at the May Company but left to work at Associated of Los Angeles, a wholesale electric company, where he remained for 40 years winding up as Operations Manager and Vice President of the company. The family lived in Glendale where he had an extensive garden.

They eventually adopted a son and daughter. His son, Bill is a history professor who has written seven books including one about the Huntingtons which is quoted in the introductory film at the Huntington Library and Gardens. His daughter Katherine, is an outstanding musician who lives in the area. She performs and sings with several groups and teaches ukulele.

Burt has always been a competitive athlete. He was outstanding at baseball, tennis, and handball. He has played golf with a low handicap since hip surgery at the age of 50. Upon retirement, he joined the Southern California Golf Association and served as a rules official. He still does handicap reports for two different golf groups. He is a friend and cheerleader for Mo Martin, an LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association), who is from Altadena and who won the British Open. Among his other friends is the late Vince Lombardi who he met when they worked at a camp in New Hampshire.

Burton Friedricks

Burt has always been a competitive athlete. He was outstanding at baseball, tennis, and handball. He has played golf with a low handicap since hip surgery at the age of 50. Upon retirement, he joined the Southern California Golf Association and served as a rules official. He still does handicap reports for two different golf groups. He is a friend and cheerleader for Mo Martin, an LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association), who is from Altadena and who won the British Open. Among his other friends is the late Vince Lombardi who he met when they worked at a camp in New Hampshire.

Burt has always been a theater fan. Since moving to his retirement apartment in Pasadena, he has joined the Friends. He likes to go to Theater West and has recently become a huge opera fan. In fact, he enjoys going to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion where he has seen Tosca, The Pearl Fishers and more. He also runs a “Night at the Opera” on the third Wednesday of the Month at 7 p.m. in the residence community room. Learning more about music is one of his favorite activities, and he enrolled in a 10 week class in music appreciation that meets in Montrose.

Burt is still fond of playing golf and spends time at various courses in the area including Industry Hills and Brookside Park. He also enjoys visiting his son’s family in Iowa.

He is a lively, entertaining, joke telling Friend. If you are lucky enough to work with Burt you will enjoy it.

Written by Susan Zucker.

Friend of the Month: Magda Manigque
July - August 2018

Magda Manigque

The Friends of the Pasadena Playhouse have the most interesting members and Magda Manigque is certainly a prime example.

Magda came to the United States from Philippines when she was 28 years old. Her older sister was already here and Magda came to be with her. Shortly after her arrival, her sister heard from a long time boyfriend, and she went back to the Philippines but Magda was enjoying her new life here, so she stayed. Eventually Magda’s mother came to live with her until her death.

Among the jobs Magda’s had are as a Girl Friday, transcriber of medical records, legal secretary and file clerk. Magda took computer classes at Santa Monica College and worked at Security Bank after completing training. She retired from Kaiser Permanente after 17 years.

She lived in West Los Angeles for a number of years. In 1986, she bought a home in Pasadena. She has a yard, but alas, no green thumb.

As a member of St. Andrew Church she sings, in the choir. This is a very busy choir which sings each weekend and on Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter among other services during the year.

Magda loves to travel. She has been to Machu Pichu and the Galapagos, Rome, Australia and New Zealand, Namibia and just returned from a wonderful trip to Japan. She returns to the Philippines to see her family every 3 years or so. She loves to cruise as well and feels she enjoys all these trips as she is an adventurous eater.

When she is not traveling the world, Magda packs and delivers Meals on Wheels, which she has been doing for the last eight years. The other activity she truly enjoys is taking tap and ballroom dancing. She has recently started water aerobics and loves walking to the 24 Hour Fitness Center to take these classes. Her tap dance buddy is Nancy Ashcraft.

On Wednesdays, you can find Magda scanning documents, reviews, programs and photos at the Archives. She said she is currently scanning the Playhouse programs from the 1930’s. Along with working in the Playhouse Archives, Magda is a Friend who loves to work at Showcase House and a very active usher, working about three times per play.

If you want travel tips about OAT/Grand Circle trips, Magda is the person to ask.

Written by Susan Zucker.

Friend of the Month Aggie Pitts
May - June 2018

There are not too many of us who could say that they have been close to lifetime friends of our President, Carolyn DiPane, but this Friend of the Month, Aggie Pitts, has known Carolyn since they were very small.

Aggie and her family moved to California from Rochester, New York, when she was 4 or 5 years old. Aggie's family ... her father a barber, and Carolyn's family ... her father a chef, met through mutual friends and later joined the Italian American group called Sons of Columbus. They got together for family gatherings and although they did not live near each other or go to the same schools, their families always found a way to get these girls together.

Aggie grew up in Monterey Park and did all of her schooling there. Her father worked in East Los Angeles and her mother was a fine seamstress. Her father came to American from Italy and met her mother in Rochester. After they moved to California her grandparents followed.

She met her husband during her senior year in high school. After marrying, they moved to El Monte and then to San Gabriel. They had a
daughter and son. Her son has passed on but her daughter lives nearby, and she and her husband have a nine year old son. He was the apple of his grandfather's eye, but six years ago after 53 years of marriage Aggie's husband died. He had worked for 35 years at PAC Bell. In the meanwhile, Carolyn got Aggie to join the Friends of the Pasadena Playhouse and become an active participant. Aggie helps out with our shifts at Showcase House and has worked at our fundraising bazaar in the past.

Aggie worked at a savings and loan out of high school and later was a teacher's aid. She loves gardening and traveling. As a member of the Arcadia Travel Club at the Community Center,
she has been taking day trips and goes to their monthly

Aggie Pitts

Aggie worked at a savings and loan out of high school and later was a teacher's aid. She loves gardening and traveling. As a member of the Arcadia Travel Club at the Community Center,
she has been taking day trips and goes to their monthly meetings as well as the senior lunches and talks. She and her sister in law are traveling buddies, and they have cruised and will be going to the Bowers Museum in Fullerton.

She and Carolyn have lots of stories to tell about their growing up separately together. Just ask her and she will be happy to tell you about Carolyn's wedding and more times they have had together and continue to have together. If you are a weekend matinee usher you have probably worked with Aggie as those are the times she likes to usher.

Written by Susan Zucker.

Friend of the Month Enola Darnell
March - April 2018

Enola Darnell

Enola Darnell, our Friend of the Month for March/April, is a Southern Belle from Louisiana. She still has roots there including a house, which she has the opportunity to work on when she visits the family members who still live there. She and her family moved to southern California when her daughter decided to come here for college. Her son was already here living with other family members working and attending Cal State LA. She has lived in Altadena for the past 31 years.

Before retiring from Wescom Credit Union in 2005, she worked in
customer service, money management and financial management for
several other credit unions. Prior to moving to California, she studied at several universities. She then attended LA City College, PCC and Mt.
Sac here in southern California.

Enola is a very social person who loves volunteering. She not only volunteers at The Pasadena Playhouse helping out doing office work with Doris Arima and others, she also helps with the feeding of the cast and crew and has trained to work at the merchandise cart. Enola is on the Board of Directors of the Altadena Senior Center, volunteers with AARP, and is a member of St. Vincent De Paul. She is also an honorary member of the Red Hatters and the Ladies Auxiliary of St. Peter Claver.

Even though she had a stroke that left her blind in one eye, she continues to sew, write short stories and travel when possible. She recently enjoyed a shopping trip with her younger sister and friend Edna to find a dress for her niece’s upcoming wedding. She is looking forward to seeing family and her niece’s friends coming to Los Angeles from Louisiana, Texas , Florida, New York and around the world in March.

She has two children and three grandchildren. One grandson is a junior in high school, looking forward to college in the fall of 2019. The younger grandson just took his high school placement test. Her granddaughter is employed as a student counselor at an area college. Her mode of travel now is on the train, and she is looking forward to a trip to Utah and North West Canada this summer.

Friend of the Month

Friend of the Month

​Friend of the Month Karen SextonMarch - April 2025

​Friend of the Month Emily Sayiet​January - February, 2025

​Friend of the Month Marianne CarterNovember - December 2024

​Friend of the Month Richard Crotteau​September - November 2024

Friend of the Month Michele Pisa-JonesJuly - August 2024

Friend of the Month Deborah SpectorMay-June 2024

Friend of the Month Lorrie DroginMarch - April 2024​

Friend of the Month Deborah KellyJanuary - February 2024

Friend of the Month November - December 2023

​​Friend of the Month Richard CastelumSeptember - October 2023

​ ​Friends of the Month Linda and Bert Glatstein​July - August 2023

​Friend of the Month Sue Lloyd WrightMay - June 2023

​Friend of the Month William FerryMarch - April 2023

Friend of the Month Kathleen KingJanuary - February 2023

Friend of the Month Donald BergmannNovember-December 2022

Friend of the Month Valerie VallasSeptember - October 2022

Friend of the Month Karie HenleyJuly-August 2022

Friend of the Month Beth Brooks​May-June 2022

Friend of the Month Sylvia HorvathJanuary - February 2022

Friend of the Month Carolyn KarpinNovember - December 2021

Friend of the Month Brian ThornhillSeptember - October 2021

Friend of the Month Sienna SalceJuly-August 2021

Friend of the Month Karen PratherMay-June 2021

Friend of the Month Charles HayMarch - April 2021

Friend of the Month ​Regina RobinsonJanuary-February 2021

Friend of the Month ​Monica KellyNovember-December 2020​

Friend of the Month ​Umilta JosephSeptember-October 2020

Friend of the Month ​Bertie DuffyMay-June 2020

Friend of the Month ​Maggie ChatmanMarch-April, 2020

Friend of the Month ​ Lawrence YuJanuary-February 2020

Friend of the Month ​ Will DiazNovember-December 2019

Friend of the Month ​ Beth FernandezSeptember-October 2019

Friends of the Month ​ Tammi and Lenny SterenJuly - August 2019

Friend of the Month ​ Annelies KischkelMay - June 2019​​

Friend of the Month ​ Mary WalstenMarch - April 2019

Friend of the Month ​ Donna BryarJanuary - February 2019

Friend of the Month Patricia BellNovember - December, 2018

​Friend of the Month Burton FriedricksSeptember - October, 2018

Friend of the Month: Magda ManigqueJuly - August 2018

Friend of the Month Aggie PittsMay - June 2018

​​Friend of the Month Enola DarnellMarch - April 2018

Friend of the Month Karen Sexton
March - April 2025

Friend of the Month Emily Sayiet
January - February, 2025

Friend of the Month Marianne Carter
November - December 2024

Friend of the Month Richard Crotteau
September - November 2024

Friend of the Month Michele Pisa-Jones
July - August 2024

Friend of the Month Deborah Spector
May-June 2024

Friend of the Month Lorrie Drogin
March - April 2024

Friend of the Month Deborah Kelly
January - February 2024

Friend of the Month
November - December 2023

Friend of the Month Richard Castelum
September - October 2023

Friends of the Month Linda and Bert Glatstein
July - August 2023

Friend of the Month Sue Lloyd Wright
May - June 2023

Friend of the Month William Ferry
March - April 2023

Friend of the Month Kathleen King
January - February 2023

Friend of the Month Donald Bergmann
November-December 2022

Friend of the Month Valerie Vallas
September - October 2022

Friend of the Month Karie Henley
July-August 2022

Friend of the Month Beth Brooks
May-June 2022

Friend of the Month Sylvia Horvath
January - February 2022

Friend of the Month Carolyn Karpin
November - December 2021

Friend of the Month Brian Thornhill
September - October 2021

Friend of the Month Sienna Salce
July-August 2021

Friend of the Month Karen Prather
May-June 2021

Friend of the Month Charles Hay
March - April 2021

Friend of the Month Regina Robinson
January-February 2021

Friend of the Month Monica Kelly
November-December 2020

Friend of the Month Umilta Joseph
September-October 2020

Friend of the Month Bertie Duffy
May-June 2020

Friend of the Month Maggie Chatman
March-April, 2020

Friend of the Month Lawrence Yu
January-February 2020

Friend of the Month Will Diaz
November-December 2019

Friend of the Month Beth Fernandez
September-October 2019

Friends of the Month Tammi and Lenny Steren
July - August 2019

Friend of the Month Annelies Kischkel
May - June 2019

Friend of the Month Mary Walsten
March - April 2019

Friend of the Month Donna Bryar
January - February 2019

Friend of the Month Patricia Bell
November - December, 2018

Friend of the Month Burton Friedricks
September - October, 2018

Friend of the Month: Magda Manigque
July - August 2018

Friend of the Month Aggie Pitts
May - June 2018

Friend of the Month Enola Darnell
March - April 2018