Charlestown's Pat Kasuda and Kathy Crouse are Hall of Fame Inductees

Charlestown residents Patricia (Pat) Kasuda, a volunteer philanthropic project manager, and Kathy Crouse, a humanitarian honky-tonk piano player, will be inducted Thursday, October 23, into the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame. They will be honored during a luncheon ceremony at Michael’s Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, MD.

-- Pat Kasuda is a role model for people of all ages. A former healthcare administrator with a Master’s Degree from the University of Maryland, she has dedicated her personal and professional life to serving others by providing visionary leadership and enlisting men, women and children with diverse abilities to work with her.

As the former President of the Charlestown Retirement Community Residents’ Council, she helped to improve relations between the residents and the administration. She led her 14 committees and residents in developing and changing policy, making suggestions for organizational efficacy, and improving daily lives of residents and staff.

Kasuda introduced the Annual Putter Land Golf Competition to Charlestown to raise funds for the Benevolent Care Program that helps those with financial difficulty stay at Charlestown. While partnering with the Rotary Club of Glen Burnie, she worked with the members to build and host a putting green of 18 holes; she suggested a similar program for Charlestown. Coordinating help from several community groups and with cooperation from the Philanthropy Department, she turned her vision into an annual intergenerational Winter Putter Land.

She invited Charlestown Woodshop Craft members and resident engineers to design, build, and create the holes and decorations. She also approached businesses to donate and sponsor the Winter Putter Land. The event raises thousands of dollars for the Benevolent Care Fund each year and includes many members of the community to work together to make it a success.

For the last three years, Kasuda has envisioned, chaired, and executed a Catonsville Kite Flying Contest for residents, their families and schoolchildren from surrounding elementary, middle, and high schools. She coordinates resident participation in registering the children, emceeing the program, helping the students fly their kites, talking with members of all communities, and pursuing her own senior’s kite flying championship. This fun-filled, goodwill event is free to all.

A native of Pennsylvania, Kasuda is married to John, has three sons, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

-- Kathy Crouse uses her musical talents to consistently bring happiness to others. She plays honky-tonk piano and also sings -- in kindred spirit with her muses Patsy Cline, George Jones and Hank Williams -- weekly at Charlestown. She also volunteers in the community’s continuing care neighborhood.

She plays the organ at her church, Full Gospel Church in Ellicott CIty, MD. She also plays the accordion and the drums at various events. Incredibly, she has never had formal musical training.

Crouse, who writes poetry, once worked as a car hop, a box factory associate and a cook. She and Edward, her late husband of 62 years, operated a nine-acre farm in Carroll County, MD.

She cared for three people from Spring Grove Hospital Center for 22 years. She also helped to raise four foster children -- in addition to her two sons and one daughter -- in her home. She has two grandchildren.

Crouse, a native of Catonsville, MD, presently volunteers with the Gideons International, giving Bibles written in Spanish to Hispanic student workers at Charlestown.

About the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame:

The Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame was incorporated in January 1987 to recognize, acknowledge, and honor the volunteer civic and humanitarian accomplishments and achievements of individual Maryland senior citizens.

Each year nominations are accepted and reviewed by the Selection Committee. Maryland senior citizens who are 65 years of age or older and who have made outstanding volunteer contributions affecting the lives of people in the State of Maryland are eligible. A maximum of 50 qualified nominees are inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Recipients are presented at the Annual Awards Luncheon held in October. All inductees receive a membership certificate, the official MSCHF lapel pin, and are featured in the annual coveted Blue Book. A copy of the book is presented to each honoree; and a copy is placed in the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame archives section of the University of Baltimore’s Langsdale Library.

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Caption for above photo: Charlestown’s Pat Kasuda (r) and Kathy Crouse are Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame 2014 inductees (photo by Mel Tansill).

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