Pat Rittscher, left, was named Woman of the Year 2024 by Linda Bowers, right of Delta Upsilon chapter of Beta Sigma Phi Monday night. The yellow rose is a traditional symbol of the worldwide sorority.

Beta Sigma Phi Sorority voted Pat Rittscher its Woman of the Year for 2024, an honor given annually to mark the organization’s Founder’s Day celebration.

A resident of Webster City since 1991, Rittscher is a wife, mother, grandmother and retired nurse, and has an outstanding record of public service.

Her association with 4-H spans more than 40 years. She’s been a member, leader, camp counselor, chaperone, photographer, and served on the Hamilton County 4-H Foundation board of directors.

As a 4-H club leader, she helps students develop programs and projects that conform to 4-H standards. While these vary according to the type of program selected by the student, they must employ best practices and demonstrate the 4-H values of belonging, generosity, independence and mastery. She helps 4-H members run meetings according to parliamentary procedures, which teach young people how to hold effective meetings, not only in 4-H, but throughout their adult lives as well.

As a 4-H Foundation member, Rittscher helps raise money for camper scholarships to the Iowa 4-H Annual Conference. The much-anticipated event takes place on the campus of Iowa State University each year in early June. The schedule is packed with workshops, speakers and public service opportunities. Evening dances and a banquet are highlights. Any student who’s completed eighth grade may attend, and for many, it’s a chance to experience campus life, and think about a career path, perhaps for the first time.

Church has always been important to Rittscher, and she’s been an active member of Asbury United Methodist Church for decades. If the church is sponsoring a charitable outreach event, its members know they can count on her to help see it through to success. She’s actively worked on the three ongoing missions of Asbury, including Red Bird Mission, which helps improve the lives of residents of rural, Southeastern Kentucky. Specifically, this has meant repairing and rebuilding homes, and several sewing projects.

Rittscher and her husband, Tom, have traveled to Louisiana five times in support of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the first only months after Hurricane Katrina left a path of destruction across the state. She sewed school bags, baby gowns and other items essential for daily life, ensuring residents knew others cared and wished to help them.

Rittscher has also assisted in packing rice meals for Mid-West Missions, a charity supported by the United Methodist Committee on Relief. The basic “blessing bag” holds white rice, dehydrated vegetables and a vitamin/seasoning pack that feeds six people. The meal kits require no refrigeration, are easily transported, and can be prepared with minimal facilities. Volunteers who help pack these meal kits also pack and ship kits made up of personal hygiene items, baby layette items, and clothing kits for boys and girls. All these kits are in constant need, going to places hit by extreme weather, flooding and natural disasters.

An unusual program at Asbury is the making of sleeping mats for homeless people from plastic grocery bags, so even if they must sleep outdoors, it won’t be on the ground. Working with others in the congregation, Rittscher has collected, folded, cut and woven the bags into mats. Thus far, 70 mats have been completed at Asbury.

Locally, she is a regular volunteer at All Cultures Equal (ACE). She collects egg cartons, works in ACE’s food pantry, and fills in wherever ACE staff need extra help.

As her record indicates, Rittscher exemplifies the qualities Beta Sigma Phi looks for in making its annual Woman of the Year award. The sorority takes much pleasure in honoring her.

Beta Sigma Phi, with chapters in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, was founded in 1931 during the worst years of the Great Depression. In an average year, BSP members volunteer more than 200,000 hours and donate more than $3 million to local charities. The sorority is non-collegiate, non-sectarian and non-political, and is focused on providing friendship and support to its members worldwide.