Marlene Enmark as she is named 2012 Citizen of the Year, photo courtesy of Catherine Adde
Posted 1/4/2013 –Marlene Enmark was named Citizen of the Year (COTY) today by the Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce, adding to the specialness of the day, which happened to be her birthday. According to former Civic Club president and former COTY Amy Putnam, Enmark was “instrumental in many of the things that Civic Club has accomplished. She’ll take charge when need be and does a very good job of accomplishing what needs to be done. She has worked with the Friends of the Library Tasting, she really helped it grow to be what it became. I would attribute a lot of the growth of the event to Marlene. She’s a great gal.” Ms. Enmark was given an honorary lifetime membership in the Civic Club at their May 28, 2009 meeting, in recognition of more than twenty years of service to the organization, including serving as president and as chair of several committees.
According to her longtime friend Joan Crow, “Marlene has done a lot of things not just through a club, but helping people when they need food or a ride somewhere, organizing events, she was awfully good to Mary Tumulty and Shirley MacGillicuddy in their later years when they could use the help. If you need anything, you can call upon Marlene, and she’ll do it. She’s a wonderful gal, and a lot of fun.”
This is at least the third year that Ms. Enmark has been nominated for the award, with former COTY Jan Reed spearheading this year’s push. Ms. Reed was unavailable for comment as we go to press, but we will be adding her perspective to the article soon. Stepdaughter Catherine Adde, former chair of the Library Board of Trustees, when asked if she had anything to say for this article, said “To quote Marlene…”I was shocked. Flabbergasted.” Enmark’s daughter Valerie Workman was quoted as saying “Congratulations to my Mom, Marlene Enmark, just voted citizen of the year for Sierra Madre! So proud of her. And it’s her birthday. Happy birthday Mom. I love you.”
Ms. Enmark will be honored at a dinner in the Sierra Madre Room on Friday, January 25. More details on that to follow.