Pat Irot, a member of the Placentia Round Table Women’s Club, is an inspiration to many for her tireless volunteerism.
At 94, she has been nominated for the General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ “Jennie Award,” which honors one club member from each region for outstanding commitment to club, community and family.
Raised in Philadelphia, Irot enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps at 21 and was stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where she met her husband, Pete. As a mother of five, Irot went back to school with the help of her GI Bill to study education. Her husband’s job relocated the family several times before they eventually settled in Placentia.
Irot went on to earn a master’s degree from Cal State Fullerton.
“I was 40 years old when I got my B.A. in education and school administration,” she said.
Her volunteerism in Placentia began with the Friends of the Library while she raised her family and worked as an elementary school principal in Placentia’s school district.
Irot said her parents inculcated in her the importance of helping others. “I can remember they said you should honor your family and help others.”
After retiring in 1986, Irot helped create the Placentia Library’s History Room, a collection of articles, photographs, yearbooks and other items that depict a chronology of Placentia’s past.
“It was one of the most interesting things that I was involved with,” Irot said of the 17-year project. “I’m very, very proud of it really.”
Irot joined the Placentia Round Table Women’s Club in 1996 and has been instrumental in executing many of the club’s projects, including a project which identifies elementary and middle school students in need of shoes and jackets and a scholarship program which will give out $18,000 this year to graduating seniors. She has also volunteered as the club’s Federation Veteran’s chair.
“She is active in almost every project and fundraiser our club takes on,” club member Laurie Arroyo said. “She is a giver from the heart and doesn’t expect anything in return.”
The Jennie Award, named for GFWC’s founder Jane Cunningham Croly, who worked as a journalist using the pseudonym “Jennie June,” honors club members who epitomize a spirit of independence, courage and persistence in their roles as volunteers.
Irot will represent Placentia among the other chapter nominees in California. If she wins, she will represent California at the national level.
“I think her motto was just to keep busy,” said her daughter Barbara McHugh. “She goes out every day and does something. She is very inspiring to everybody.”