GALLERY: 85-year-old’s birthday bash a benefit for Pahrump charities

If there is one thing that Pahrump resident Willi Baer is known for, it’s her unwavering altruism and with such a philanthropic spirit, it should come as no surprise that she used one of the major milestones of her own life to give back to others.

This month, Baer celebrated her 85th birthday with a bash thrown by a club of which she is a longtime member, Soroptimist International Pahrump Valley (SIPV). Hosted Sunday, Oct. 15 at Sanders Family Winery, the event drew around 70 guests from all across the country. But rather than having a pile of presents all for herself, Baer asked that attendees make a donation toward two nonprofits that are near and dear to her heart, Living Free Health and Fitness and the Pahrump Holiday Task Force.

“The birthday party was lovely,” Baer told the Pahrump Valley Times afterward. “A perfect, beautiful venue, great entertainment by Lynn Peterson and Chuck Cassell and touching remarks by our Soroptimist President Linda Fitzgibbons, emcee Ski Censki and guest speakers Judge Kim Wanker, NyE Communities Coalition CEO Stacy Smith, Las Vegas Soroptimist Sarah Walker and and Pahrump Soroptimist President-Elect Nancy Davis. We raised almost $3,500 which will be split between Living Free Health and the Holiday Task Force! I was thrilled and honored with the generosity of my guests. At my age, I don’t need more ‘things’ and donations to my charities always make me very happy.”

Living Free Health offers addiction recovery programs and services while the Pahrump Holiday Task Force provides free community gatherings in celebration of Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. As to why she chose these two entities, Baer said it’s simply because she admires what each of them do for the community.

Of course, admiration for Baer herself is not hard to find and several her of fellow Soroptimist members took the time to recognize her.

“Willi is the diamond of our Soroptimist club. She has been the foundation of our club and a mentor to us all. We are so happy to have such a wonderful, gracious and intelligent woman as part of our community. She makes our lives so much better just knowing her,” Fitzgibbons told the Times.

Karen Holley remarked that Baer is an absolute icon on the nonprofit community.

“When looking at history, many idolize famous celebrities for their charm, ambition and leadership skills. Willi is one of those people, right here in our community. Always at the top of her game and willing to contribute to a good cause by putting others first,” Holley stated. “Even on her birthday, she was giving to others, not thinking of herself. She is an amazing woman and I am so proud to have her as a friend.”

As for Tonya Brum, she and Baer have shared a friendship for nearly four decades now and one of the most remarkable parts of that friendship has been all that Brum has learned from Baer about the intricacies of running a nonprofit and the role these organizations can play in a community.

“I volunteered to assist her with presentations for boards of every kind. I took her college classes in nonprofit management, marketing and publicity and her two books on nonprofit work are always with me,” Brum explained. “Thanks to Willi, I left the gaming industry to become the area director for Make a Wish. Because of her mentoring, we were able to create a Make a Wish of Southern Nevada, separating from the state agency.

“Years later, I became the executive director for Christmas in April and because of all that I learned from Willi, I was hired at Nathan Adelson Hospice in Pahrump,” Brum continued. “I am a better person thanks to her influence. I know the importance of giving back to our community because of her. Willi truly is a gift to Las Vegas, Pahrump, Southern Nevada and most of the rest of the country, where she has trained boards of director for many different nonprofits. To quote Willi, ‘Volunteering is the dues you pay to live in your community!’”

Baer got her start in the nonprofit sector when she first moved to Las Vegas around the age of 31, working with Nevada Public Broadcasting, now known as KNPR. Eventually, Baer added the Muscular Dystrophy Association, American Heart Association and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nevada to her resume. Baer was able to then take the knowledge she had gained and turn it into books that help others form and run their own nonprofit organizations. These books, titled The Care and Feeding of a Nonprofit Board and The Care and Feeding of a Nonprofit Executive, are both available on Amazon.

When she moved to Pahrump, Baer was originally planning to retire but the lure of nonprofit work was hard to resist and she ended up helping to found Pioneer Territory Court Appointed Special Advocates, which recently rebranded as Advocates for Children Of Rural Nevada. Baer was the executive director of this foster youth advocacy organization from 2011 to 2018.

Following her time as executive director of CASA, Baer served on the Valley Electric Charitable Foundation Committee and as liaison from that committee to the Valley Electric Board of Trustees from 2019 to 2022. She was also a state board member for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program for 2021 and 2022.

Baer is still very active in the nonprofit world today. She is currently serving terms as the SIPV Membership Chair, Soroptimist International Sierra Nevada Region Strategic Planning Coordinator and president of the NyE Communities Coalition Board of Directors, as well as acting as a consultant for Living Free Health and Fitness.

She is always willing to offer others the benefit of her experience, too, as a nonprofit and donor consultant. Baer can be reached at 702-592-5276.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com