DOWNEY - Joan Frey, a longtime Downey resident and community volunteer, was installed as president of the Assistance League of Downey for 2011-12 at a recent luncheon at the Rio Hondo Event Center.Also installed were Adele Alexander, first vice president; Charlene McCluskey, second vice president; Charlene Roche, third vice president; Beverly Young, recording secretary; Jackie Vinckier, corresponding secretary; Judy Faust, treasurer; and Beverly Mathis, liaison to Gypsy Johnson Auxiliary and Assisteens. Newly-installed chairmen include Ida Stallcup, buildings and properties; Peggy Farnham, bylaws; Lynn Hutchinson, education; Mary Lou Schmidt, H.O.M.E.; Marge Lewis, Operation School Bell; Martha Sodetani, orientation; Willie McFarland, public relations; and Florence Towers, thrift shop. Joan Frey and her husband, Chuck, have raised three children in the Downey schools. She served as president of Price Parents Club and on the governing boards of both Griffiths Middle School and Warren High School PTAs. During that time she chaired the DUSD district-wide Early Childhood Education committee and was active at Price on the ECE and SIP committees. She received honorary service awards from Price and Warren. Frey taught adult school home economics subjects for the Whittier, Norwalk-La Mirada, Downey and Orange County school districts, and one semester at Cerritos College, for a total of 32 years. She still does some substitute teaching. Frey served on the city of Downey's Environmental Health and Sanitation Committee from 1976 until 2010 and now serves on the city's Public Works Committee. She has served on the Keep Downey Beautiful Committee since its inception in 1978. She received the Downey Coordinating Council's volunteer award for her work with Keep Downey Beautiful in 2000. In 2005 she received an award for Outstanding Community Involvement sponsored by the city of Downey and Waste Management, one of 52 such honorees in Los Angeles County. In 2006 she receive the "Woman of Distinction" award from Soroptimist International of Downey. A church elder, Frey has been an active member of Assistance League of Downey for 10 years. The Assistance League of Downey, a chapter of National Assistance League, is a nonprofit organization of volunteers who, with their many philanthropic projects in the Downey area, provide support for the community. For more information, visit their thrift shop on Downey Avenue in Downtown Downey or call (562) 869-0232.

********** Published: June 23, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 10