Dottie Lyons suprised with Santa Maria Elks Citizen of the Year Award
May 13—The Santa Maria Elks Lodge named former Minerva Club President Dottie Lyons its Citizen of the Year on Wednesday, surprising her with the award in front of nearly 200 people.
Born in a small town in Oklahoma, Lyons moved to California when she was 10 years old, settling outside of Bakersfield. Her first job was as a farm laborer before becoming a single-mother of three and a bookkeeper. She then moved to Santa Maria to run an automobile dealership until her retirement.
"Each year, the outgoing Exalted Ruler picks someone they feel goes above and beyond, the unsung heroes of the community," said Exalted Ruler Wes Brown. "As Elks, we go to other events to show support, and Dottie is one of those people you see out there at every event."
Lyons was nominated for her work as a board member for the Santa Maria Country Club and the Santa Maria Fairpark, and as president of the Minerva Club, a post she has since retired from.
The Minerva Club of Santa Maria is one of the oldest women's clubs in California, opening in 1894. To this day, the organization helps raise scholarship funds and holds community gatherings, among other community work.
"It is very, very, very well-deserved," said Mayor Alice Patino, who was at the banquet to help present the award. "Dottie is one of the neatest women in town. She always wants to do things for others, and when she sees something needs to get done, she steps up and does it. I'm proud to call her a friend. Everything nice you could say about a person applies to Dottie."
Besides Brown and Patino, 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson helped to present the award. Lyons was unaware she had even been nominated when they called her name. According to Brown, it was about four sentences into her biography that Lyons began to realize they were talking about her.
"She was so surprised. It was just wonderful," Patino said. "The whole event was so nice."
Brown's dedication to Lyons also noted that she is a cancer survivor, pilot, gourmet chef and avid golfer. Some of the other local organizations she's supported include Shoes for Students, Cruzin' 4 Life, the Santa Barbara Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club, among others.
Several students from around Santa Maria also were honored as Student of the Month, Student of the Year and MVP Students.
"This year, we had 65 candidates for Student of the Month and 14 winners," said Eva Macias, who is in her first year overseeing the Elks student awards. "It's really hard to choose; we have so many amazing students here."
Over the last school year, the local lodge has rewarded 14 students as Student of the Month, giving them each a $300 scholarship donation. During the ceremony, the students were informed they each would receive an additional $500. The lodge raises the funds for scholarships largely through its weekly bingo nights.
Also announced were winners of six scholarships from the Elks National Fund. The winners were chosen from among a statewide pool of 21,000 students, receiving scholarships of more than $1,250. Sebastien Telo Galindo and Deisy Sanchez Aguilar, of Pioneer Valley, were both statewide first-place winners, receiving nearly $2,000 each in scholarship funds.
"The SMJUHSD would like to thanks the Elks for their generosity in supporting our students to pursue their aspirations," Superintendent Antonio Garcia said.
The Santa Maria Elks Lodge is the seventh-largest lodge in the nation. Besides large events like the Elks Rodeo and Parade, the lodge holds regular bingo nights on Tuesdays, among other activities.
To learn more about the lodge and its events, visit www.santamariaelks.org.
