FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Chini Johnson-Taylor

Public Relations/Marketing Chair

323-683-8304

PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE FOR THE ARTS (PSHA)

ANNOUNCES 2013-14 BENEFIT CHAIR: MARY ANN CLAYTON

PASADENA, Calif. Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts is proud to announce Mary Ann Clayton as its 50th Benefit Chair for 2013-14. As Benefit Chair, Clayton is responsible for overseeing the entire Annual Benefit, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, known to the public as Showcase House, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a spectacular 1915 English Country Estate designed by Stiles O. Clements. This year’s Showcase House will be featured, along with the 49 past Showcase Houses in a commemorative book, 50 Years of Pasadena Showcase Design Houses.

Clayton shares her thoughts about this milestone event, “this year, I have the amazing honor of guiding our organization through the process of putting together a Showcase House for the fiftieth time. This is the Golden Anniversary of the Pasadena Showcase House of Design. I have been very fortunate in getting to know most of the strong, creative women who have gone before me in heading up this project. They are, indeed, a dynamic group.”

In 2001, Clayton became a member of PSHA when she was invited to join the organization by a good friend. During the intervening years, she has held many prominent positions on the Benefit Committee, including: Interior Co-chair, Exterior Co- chair, Tickets Co-chair, Restaurant Co-chair, Shops at Showcase Co-chair, Special Evenings Co-chair, Shops at Showcase Treasurer and Tickets Marketing Chair. She has served on the Board as Provisional Chair, Secretary, Benefit Treasurer, Season Tickets Chair and Instrumental Competition Chair. She has also served on the Policies and Procedures, Gifts and Grants, and Membership and Finance committees. All of this has helped prepare her for facilitating the most widely recognized and successful Showcase House in the country.

Speaking about the gratification of being Benefit Chair and part of PSHA, Clayton says “no one is looking forward to opening day 2014 more than I. The designers have presented wonderfully creative ideas for the interior and exterior spaces. We are all excited to see these designs come to life, and then to share the finished estate with the public. For me, the best part is getting to know the other wonderful members of this group of very focused, hard-working people. Each year we undertake a seemingly impossible project to earn money in order to fund our music programs and support arts throughout our community.”

Clayton’s own musical background endears her to PSHA’s award winning Pasadena Showcase House Music Mobile™ Program, the Pasadena Showcase House Annual Youth Concert, and Pasadena Showcase House Annual Instrumental Competition. “I identify with PSHA's mission statement, having studied music since the age of 5, starting with piano, then trumpet, French horn and flute. I have fond memories of participating in the annual instrumental competitions in Northern Ohio in grades 9 through 12, and working to earn a coveted ‘excellent’ rating as a solo contestant, or as part of a duet or trio.”

Clayton lives in Altadena with her husband, Rob, and their amazing tri-color Cocker Spaniel, Roxie, while their two grown children reside in New York City. Clayton holds a PhD in Geophysics and has worked for the United States Geological Survey, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a small oil exploration company. In her free time, Clayton enjoys sewing, quilting, hand weaving and skiing. She is also a member of the San Marino League and Altadena Guild of Huntington Memorial Hospital where she has served as Benefit Chair and President.

ABOUT PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE FOR THE ARTS: This is a milestone year for PSHA as it celebrates 65 years of volunteerism, the 50th Anniversary of the Pasadena Showcase House of Design and, since 1948, the generous awarding of over $19 million in gifts and grants in support of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walt Disney Concert Hall, numerous non-profit organizations and local symphonic, cultural and educational musically-oriented programs for youth and young adults.

An all-volunteer organization, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts (PSHA) is a non-profit California Corporation whose members donate their time and talents to produce the annual Pasadena Showcase House of Design. Founded in 1948, and formerly known as The Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Committee, PSHA adopted the Pasadena Showcase House of Design as its annual benefit in 1965. It is one of the oldest, largest and most successful house and garden tours in the nation. PSHA volunteers are united by their belief in the power and beauty of music. Their collective desire is to fund programs that nurture the study and appreciation of music, utilize music as a vehicle towards health and healing, and ensure that music is available to a broad range of audiences.

The 2014 Pasadena Showcase House of Design will be open to the public Sunday, April 13 through Sunday, May 11. For more information about PSHA, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, or to pre-order 50 Years of Pasadena Showcase Design Houses, please visit www.PasadenaShowcase.org

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