Herndon Village Network Celebrates Pat Williams

If you've been in the Herndon area for some time, you are sure to have met Pat Williams. Among other things, Pat is an Emerita Board Member with Herndon Village Network (HVN), which provides free transportation for Herndon area senior citizens so they can remain connected with the community they love. Pat has enjoyed serving others in our community for years, and HVN took a moment to ask her all about her many rich experiences. We're sure you'll find them as inspiring as we do.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

The fabulous Herndon-Reston area has been our home for 40 years. I was born in Chicago and grew up in Cuba and Costa Rica. I taught Spanish when Chantilly HS was new, and then purchased VIP Travel Agency in what was known as "the Kmart Shopping Center" in Herndon.

One day Accountant Tom Trask brought a dear lady on a walker into my office. Tom and former Herndon Town Attorney Richard Kaufman and the caring committee at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church had been visiting with her. Tom said Dorothy had lost her husband and was very sad and wanted me to plan a fun trip for her. Well Dorothy and I became friends because of our mutual love of ballet dancing. She would come in just to visit me.

One day, one of my travel agents, Don Vetter, exclaimed, "Pat, you really love old people, don't you?"

"Well yes," I replied, "Doesn't everybody?"

It brought me to the realization that he was right about me. I started dreaming about old people reaching out to me. And then the District Governor of my Rotary club asked me if I would chair a new committee called Concerns for the Aging. I felt unworthy, but accepted the challenge, and visited all the senior-serving organizations to offer help from Rotarians. The organizations, however, wanted Rotarians to help older adults during the day with rides and friendly visits, and I had to shake my head because we Rotarians were all at work. I learned that I was a dreamer and an entrepreneur.

I eventually sold the Travel Agency and pulled together the people I knew who loved grandparents and started the area's first home companion agency, and we named it for my mother, Grace. The door opened to my becoming certified and volunteering everywhere there were older adult concerns including Rotary: The Alzheimer's Association, Reston Useful Services Exchange (USE), Encore Creativity for Older Adults, Herndon Village Network, and more.

When and how did you realize that our Herndon area senior citizens needed help?

Supervisor Cathy Hudgins brought up the concern with Steve Gurney, Bonnie Whyte, and me, and we put together a 100-person forum at the Reston Community Center to take the pulse of Reston. It culminated in the establishment of Reston for a Lifetime. Actually, we originally named it Aging in Reston, but the use of the word "aging", while true, proved to be unpopular! We served to raise awareness that we wanted to keep our treasured older neighbors here instead of waving them goodbye as they all moved for Florida. We did surveys to see where possible volunteers live and what, if anything, the older folks needed. I found that the seniors in Reston, and then those in Herndon, and older adults throughout Northern Virginia all wanted the same menu of supports, starting with caring friends and rides.

What did you do to address the need? When, how, and why was HVN formed?

Next, I invited some members of the community, like Richard Downer and Gary Gepford, to help me pull together a community forum in Herndon. We wanted to spread the "village concept" where we all help our older neighbors. Our forums were well attended. Our survey also showed that the top need of our seniors was rides–rides to appointments and to the store.

We were blessed that some leaders emerged to help us formulate a plan. Barbara Glakas stepped up to begin the development, then she stepped down, and Penny Halpern emerged as our champion, HVN President, and creative cheerleader for many years. I have enjoyed serving on her Board and watching her leadership expertise that she also brings to the Girl Scouts. It was important to me to connect HVN to the other senior-serving organizations I was involved with–especially Fairfax County's Coordinating Council on Aging and Adults with Disabilities, which communicates with our Board of Supervisors.

What is your favorite thing about HVN?

Meeting younger and older adults who are HVN drivers and board members, all who are dedicated to the happiness and support of our older population

What else would you like to share?

Back to Rotary for a moment, when our own club wanted to do something for our older adults, I suggested we design a Senior Senior Prom, with lunch and live music. As our attendance grew over the years beyond what could be accommodated at the Herndon Senior Center or the Reston Community Center, we were welcomed by St. Joseph Catholic Church in Herndon and hoped to continue after we took a COVID hiatus.

As I age, I carry with me the inspiration and warmth shared by the special older people who have come into my life.

One dear woman asked me, "Your mother is no longer living, right? May I adopt you?"

And I remember the daily sage advice from a 91-year-old lady we supported. "Life is not measured by how long you live, but by the nice things you do and the happiness you give."