The Elk Grove community’s 67-year-old tradition carried on this week when John and Betty Hall were declared to be the 2022 Elk Grove Citizens of the Year.
On Oct. 11, the Elk Grove Citizen of the Year committee surprised the couple at their Old Town home where they live with three formerly feral cats. Betty sensed that something was up when she saw several familiar faces in her driveway.
“Is this the Publishers Clearing House or what?” she joked when she walked out of her house.
Committee member Raelynn Springer replied, “It’s bigger than that.”
John and Betty have a resume of community service that goes back decades. They notably organized the annual Walk to Remember scholarship fundraiser for 10 years in Elk Grove. This event was created in honor of their son, U.S. Army SFC Bryan Hall who died during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009. The Elk Grove High School graduate was 32.
Last October, a large group of motorcyclists with the Tribute to Fallen Soldiers Memorial Torch Ride visited the Halls at their home during the group’s 11-day ride from Eugene, Ore. to Indio, Calif.
During this visit, Betty told the Citizen about how she copes with the loss of her son.
“The one thing I always say, always, is that Bryan was not killed in Iraq; Bryan died doing what he loved,” she said. “He always, as a child, wanted to be a soldier, and he saw the good that was being done in Iraq at that time.
“That’s what has given me comfort all these years: Not thinking about him being killed, but that he died doing what he loved.”
John and Betty were long involved with the Blue Star Moms, a support group for the mothers of military service members, and Elk Grove’s American Legion Post 233.
John humbly credited his wife for their community service, and said that he’s just there to help her whenever needed. However, the U.S. Air Force and Army veteran mentioned that he worked with local Rotarians and Lions Club members to renovate the Sacramento home of an 85-year-old U.S. Army veteran who uses a walker. They funded the project via a grant from Home Depot.
“He was so thankful that we were able to do what we did,” John said.
He met the former paratrooper at Cosumnes River College’s Veterans Resource Center where John served as a mentor.
“He’s got a memory like you wouldn’t believe,” John mentioned.
Betty stays active with the Elk Grove Food Bank Services board, the Soroptimist International of Elk Grove, and Cosumnes River College’s Emeriti Association. She is a retired manager while her husband is a retired field agent who worked for the IRS for 36 years.
Betty told the Citizen that she felt “humbled” by their new honor as the Elk Grove Citizens of the Year.
“We just do things out of love,” she said.
Her Lark Street house is around the corner from her childhood home. She said that she has lived in Elk Grove since she was 8 years old.
“And I’m not telling you how old I am,” Betty said point blank to the Citizen.
The Elk Grove Citizen of the Year Committee each September collects nominations from community members. Betty Matsui, a past president of Soroptimist International of Elk Grove, wrote a letter of support that detailed the Halls’ long history of community volunteer work.
“When you ask, they say yes,” Matsui summarized.
A dinner to celebrate John and Betty’s Elk Grove Citizen of the Year honor will be held at the Valley Hi Country Club on Nov. 7. As per tradition, they will be given a $1,000 check for them to donate to a nonprofit of their choice.