Beverly Marksbury (Photo by Walt Mancini)
ARTS AND CULTURE
Beverly Marksbury loved touring the Pasadena Showcase House of Design each year, and decided it would be fun to get a look at it behind the scenes.
So in 1993, she joined the Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Committee — that was the name of the group at the time — and took dozens of challenging volunteer assignments that come with presenting the designer showcase houses for the next 19 years. In that time, she wrote a handbook for docents, invited other nonprofits to help staff the 62 docent shifts during the run of the house tour; and one year was even in charge of the portable toilets.
“I learned so much,” she said. “Where else could I have been in charge of porta-potties?”
This year, Marksbury is serving as president of the group, now called the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. She recently retired from her job as a court administrator in Los Angeles County and is using the time to enjoy some of the music her group has helped to support all these years.
The Showcase group has donated $18 million to music programs to date; The year Marksbury was in charge of the house (2010), the group donated an all-time high of $750,000.
“We’re all hard-working,” Marsbury said of the Showcase volunteers. “We’re not ladies who do tea.
“But the best part is that it’s a lot fun.”
– Catherine Gaugh
