Sally Pavia – October 2023
I have talked a lot about different volunteer contributions over the last year.
This month we have another long-time volunteer, 29 years to be exact. Her first notice in Tidbits was in October of 1994 when she was noted as a new member. Her last notice was last month as she helped with the Nominating Committee.
“Helped with” is the term she uses, she doesn’t want to be in front of a group, she wants to do whatever needs to be done to get a project moving or completed.
She’s been mentioned in Tidbits 135 times in the years since that first mention.
She was on the Board more than once, a few years as Director of Membership then many years as Director of Special Projects, and now as co-Director of Fundraising. She manned booths at off-site events and kept the mailing list of members until it got computerized. And she’s been info@azwvgs.org for many years.
She helped with SIGs (as coordinator for many years), the Parking Lot Sale, trips, and the seminar, and kept the display cases in the library filled with stuff for as long as I’ve been around. She also coordinated Research Night for many years. She’s an Aide now every chance she gets.
Sally was born in Kansas City, MO but grew up in Long Beach, Lakewood, and finally Whittier, CA where she graduated from high school.
Her first job was as a telephone operator – the kind you see in old movies – pulling out cords and connecting calls by getting the cord to the right spot.
She got married in 1957 and she and Jerry (her SEABEE husband) raised three boys. They moved to Arizona in 1992 to take care of her mom and stayed. She has one grandson.
She got interested in genealogy in a class at the Library in Whittier but didn’t have much time for research until she got to Arizona. Sally is a great storyteller and has been published in Desert Tracker.
She also has a signature personal style – a love of all kinds of jewelry and the willingness to wear any costume and she’s contributed to WVGS for the last 29 years, we thank you, Sally.