ELGIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 2016 BRICK OF THE COMMUNITY AWARD GOES TO PATSY HOFFMAN

Patsy Hoffman has had an impact on nearly every aspect of community life in Elgin over the past several years.

Elgin’s Appearance

Her 12 years of participation on the Elgin Historic Review Board has influenced the aesthetic appeal of our city and helped businesses.

Elgin’s History

Participation in the Elgin Cemetery Association and the Elgin Historical Association has helped the Elgin community maintain a sense of history. She is currently President of the Board of the Elgin Cemetery Association after serving as its Treasurer for the past four years. As a member of the Board and volunteer docent of the Elgin Historical Association she has helped bring many interesting exhibits to Elgin at the Depot Museum.

Literacy of Elgin Residents

She has been an advocate for literacy as a member of the Elgin Library Advisory Board for 12 years; as President of the Friends of the Elgin Library; and, in her work with the Advocacy Outreach Family Literacy Program.

Elgin’s Safety Net

Patsy has worked with low-income families, disabled individuals, people who are homeless and otherwise in need for 16 years as a staff member of Advocacy Outreach. She has made it possible for hundreds of children to have a happy Christmas through her management of the Christmas Gift Program and she has ensured that dozens of elderly and disabled Elgin residents had adequate heating and cooling by creating a program for the distribution of electric heaters and fans to households in need. She supervises the volunteers who maintain the Advocacy Outreach Free Thrift Store and has helped several disabled adults manage their Social Security benefits as their payee. In addition, she keeps Advocacy Outreach running by managing the office and serving as receptionist and secretary.

Elgin’s Stray Animals

For the past three years, Patsy has also been involved, as a volunteer, with the Alley Cats, a “rescue, neuter and return” program that has, as its mission, reducing the number of strays on the streets of Elgin.

Patsy grew up in Elgin and returned here when she retired from her career in television advertising so that she could do something good for her original hometown. She has accomplished change in nearly every aspect of community life in Elgin and she is a role model for the staff of Advocacy Outreach.