UPDATE: Services for Betty Seldner will be held Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, at 10 a.m. at Eternal Valley Memorial Park, 23287 N. Sierra Hwy., Newhall.

A Celebration of Life will follow at 1 p.m. at the Santa Clarita Elks Lodge, 17766 Sierra Hwy., Canyon Country.

Original Post:
Betty Jane Seldner, the Santa Clarita Valley’s 2000 Woman of the Year and energetic volunteer for numerous local charities, has died. She was 94.

Her death was reported Tuesday by her friends on the SCV Man and Woman of the Year Committee. An adaptation of her biography from SCVMW.org follows:

Betty Seldner was born in Baltimore on Dec. 11, 1923, and grew up in many states, as her father was an officer in the U.S. Air Force. She and her husband Al moved to the Santa Clarita Valley in 1978, where he owned a successful tax and financial business. She became an executive in Human Resources with HR Textron in the Valencia Industrial Center.

Betty ran her own firm, Seldner Environmental Services, concentrating on training people in industry who handle hazardous substances and waste. She also performed environmental site assessments when commercial property changes hands. She taught two to three nights a week at a learning center in Southern California for the University of Phoenix. Her class included those in the MBA program, communications and environmental science.

During her first 25 years in the Santa Clarita Valley, Betty served on the board of the Child and Family Center. She was also a volunteer for the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, the SCV Chamber of Commerce, the Zonta Club of SCV, the SCV Boys and Girls Club, and the local Elks Lodge.

In 2000, Betty was named the Santa Clarita Valley’s Woman of the Year.

In retirement, she remained an emeritus board member of the Child & Family Center and used to write a column for the Signal on environmental updates, as well as a column for the SCV Chamber newsletter. She also found time to solicit funds for the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association.

She was active in the Zonta Club, in the Valley Industrial Association, and in the SCV Chamber of Commerce. She enjoyed working on the Boys & Girls Club auction and was an active participant in meetings of the SCV Man and Woman selection committee.

About her award as SCV Woman of the Year, Betty said: “It was a great honor to be recognized by my peers for 25 years of volunteer work. This has become an additional opportunity for me – to work with a prestigious group of volunteers, assisting in the selection of forthcoming Man and Woman of the Year! It also has meant an increased commitment to continue volunteer work in the community.

“There is no community like the SCV for volunteers,” she said. “When a job needs to be done, the volunteers line up and get it done. We are lucky to live in such a caring community.”