PORT ANGELES — Soroptimist International of Port Angeles-Jet Set has honored eight people as Women of Distinction.
The women were recognized on Thursday for making a difference in Soroptimist programs and service areas.
Here are the women, and their awards, as reported by the soroptimist club:
She serves on the boards of Child Haven, Port Angeles Downtown Association Regional Chamber of Commerce and YMCA.
She created the “Elegant Gourmet” Coupon Book for Soroptimist of Port Angeles, organized and raised money for parking lot and roof repair at the Community Players Playhouse and worked on the YMCA Building Committee.
For the past 40 years, she has been a substitute high school teacher in the Port Angeles School District.
She was appointed and served two terms on the Peninsula College board, and served more than 35 years on the Clallam County Park board, which oversaw the restoration of Camp David Junior and many other projects.
She is a charter board member of the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, is active in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and works in the gift shop at Hurricane Ridge.
She has designed courses in hiking and kayaking to encourage women to appreciate the natural environment on the North Olympic Peninsula.
She and her husband, Bruce, donated an easement to the North Olympic Land Trust on five acres of their land in Port Angeles.
As the Healthy Communities coordinator for United Way of Clallam County, she interviewed community stakeholders about what makes for a healthy community. She reported that basic literacy skills and access to basic health care were common threads.
She complied data for the first Community Report Card, which is now used by service agencies, governmental entities and schools to develop programs.
She spent three years in Zambia where she volunteered for health projects near the capital city of Lusaka. Now at home in Port Angeles, she volunteers as clinic receptionist and secretary for the Volunteers In Medicine of the Olympics.
She has served as member of the United Way of Clallam County for several years, working on many of the committees.
She is an advisor to the Rainbow Girls and is actively involved in her children’s schools.
An active member of the Port Angeles-Jet Set Venture Club, she is the secretary of the Northwest Regional Venture board.
She was the first president of the Global Family Alliance, a nonprofit humanitarian organization that arranges six-week health respite visits for children growing up in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown.
Perlwitz travels to Belarus to screen potential visitors and makes presentations to business, philanthropic organizations and church groups to generate support for the organization and recruit host families.
She arranges travel for 50 to 100 children and chaperones each summer, coordinates preparation for the visit and is available to guide host families through the experience while also serving as a host mom.
Crouse was instrumental in bringing Anthony Kearns, one of the Irish Tenors, to the Peninsula, the Soroptimists said, and more than $50,000 was raised over the course of three years and five concerts to make it possible for the high school orchestra to perform at Carnegie Hall.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the high school auditorium, she helped change the name to the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center.
She helped raise another $20,000 through the Shamrock Series, which included the Irish Tenors and Irish Rovers.
She has planned, coordinated, fundraised and chaperoned 15 to 30 youth at a time to World Youth Day, when young people travel to such places as Denver, Paris, Rome, Cologne and Toronto.
She has organized several trips to Tijuana, Mexico to build houses and visit orphanages and nursing homes.
She also heads the John Bosco young adult group, which takes food and blankets to the homeless in Seattle, through St. Vincent de Paul.
