Perseverance Personified

 

To everyone in TOPS 9463, Betty Cirotski was an inspiration.  We all recognized and understood the power her influence had. Everyone loved to hear her story.  This lady, Betty Cirotski, was the personification of perseverance and grace, who affected everyone in our chapter.  Throughout her life since joining TOPS, bearing children, fighting cancer, four hip replacements and other illness, she always came back to TOPS to began anew. Betty made trying and failing, not something to be ashamed of, but rather just a pot hole in the climb up the TOPS mountain.

Betty first joined TOPS in 1963, in Syracuse, NY.  She reached KOPS status.  When her family moved one of the first things she looked for was a TOPS chapter.  If she couldn’t find one, she started one.  So it was in Green River, Wyoming in 1967. 

Since moving again and again, Betty joined chapters in Rock Springs, Wyoming WY0039, Lake Hopatkong, New Jersey, and Hackettstown, NY, 0073.  She started a chapter in Ridgecrest, CA in 1980, (CA 1121). 

Upon coming to Massachusetts, Betty joined a chapter in Medfield, MA.  It was very small and eventually closed. That’s when Betty began a chapter in the town she lived in, Franklin, MA 9463.  She started meeting in Franklin’s Senior Center and stayed with the Senior Center even when a new one was built.  The Senior Center considers TOPS one of their health and wellness programs. Here Betty lost 100 pounds and didn’t tell anyone. Fortunately, her husband Leo snitched on her.  We had a surprise celebration for Betty’s “Century Pounder Loss,” where TOPS’ area coordinator, Gail Lewis, honored her with a trophy.

Once again, Betty achieved KOPS status. And she kept that status to the end in December 2022.

Everyone in Franklin 9463 chapter was so awed by her perseverance that we are planning to have an annual award to a member who exemplifies Betty’s will, loyalty, and perseverance. We celebrate her strong will to succeed to this day.  We owe it to her to succeed in becoming KOPS.