I.E.A. - Pontiac - 1019 - Citizen of the Year

Pontiac Lodge Honors Their Citizen Of The Year
Reprinted with permission from pontiacdailyleader.com - 2011

Brent Harms, Past Exalted Ruler of Pontiac Elks Lodge #1019, presents Ruth Schlosser with a plaque honoring her as the Lodge’s 2011 Citizen of the Year.

Ruth Schlosser, a teacher in District 429 for 34 years and a community volunteer, was recently honored as the Pontiac Elks Lodge “Citizen of the Year.”

“I am very honored to have received this award as a distinguished citizen for the volunteer work I do,” said Schlosser. Brent Harms, Past Exalted Ruler of the Lodge #1019, said of Schlosser, “she epitomizes what it means to be an active volunteer in our community. I nominated Ruth because I knew of her volunteering through our church and I also worked with her at Central School and saw how much she does every day.”

Schlosser talked about how she first became involved in volunteering. “My gift from God was to be a teacher. I promised God that I, in turn, would do things for children of the community,” she said. It was recently a commitment she made to children that led her to have her head shaved. In her dedication to working with Relay for Life and finding a cure for cancer, she committed to shaving her hair off if her school could raise $1,000 for cancer research. When not only was the $1,000 raised but it was surpassed by more than $200, Schlosser honored her pledge earlier this year and had her head shaved.

She has been president of the Livingston County Community Pantry since 2007. She works at this location on Saturdays during the school year and throughout the summer. In 2003, she helped initiate the Randy Spires Memorial Fund. This fund is in memory of the late Judge Spires and provides personal items to needy children in the community. “Her volunteered time at the First United Methodist Church goes over and beyond what any pastor could ever dream of having in his congregation,” said Harms. Schlosser is a member of the church’s Education Committee and teaches a second grade Sunday school class. She also works with several different youth groups and is a mentor for confirmation classes. In the summer, she also teaches Bible School to two separate groups.

“If there is anything that needs assistance, Ruth is there to offer help before being asked,” said Harms. Schlosser said she is already looking forward to an event she is helping coordinate for the summer of 2012. “It is known as Summer Teen Serve and is a group of more than 400 teens that will be coming to Pontiac in 2012. This is something that Pontiac Police Chief Dale Newsome has been involved in and is coordinating for our community,” said Schlosser. “These young people come into a community to help fix-up and paint homes of underprivileged residents.”