Elsie Williams, an 87-year-old member of the Meadow Vista Church, was recently selected and honored as the Placer County Senior of the Year. She was chosen because of her outstanding commitment to serving others.

Spending much of her time working at the Auburn Community Service Center, Williams hands out food and clothing to the poor. She searches garage sales and thrift stores for fabric and notions to sew for children in third world countries and has sent numerous boxes of clothing to Mexico.

Recently, she and other women of the Meadow Vista Church sent eight boxes of clothes, shoes, toys and dolls to poor children in Cambodia. In addition to these gifts, Williams is responsible for collecting used Bibles and books to send overseas to African lay pastors and church members and has sent a box of Bibles to an Adventist English-speaking school in Cambodia.

She is continuously bringing before the church different people that need prayer, encouraging the members to send cards and notes to people in nursing homes and to those who are sick.

Williams is an inspiration to the younger women of her church and doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word "retired." As she approaches 90 years of age, she outshines most of the younger members with her energy and service for others.

While being honored at the banquet for Placer County Senior Citizen of the Year, Williams was able to share her testimony of good health through a vegetarian diet and trust in God.