Pat Thomas practices with dance instructor, Ivan Rivera, 22,
at Fred Astaire dance studio in Boca Raton. They will be partners
in the Boca Ballroom Battle. Photo by Tim Stepien
By Mary Thurwachter
As the pros at Fred Astaire Dance Studio assessed contestants for this year’s Boca Ballroom Battle, they determined which dance would best suit each contender. For Pat Thomas, they selected the cha-cha, a lively, flirtatious dance full of energy and passion — much like Thomas herself.
Thomas had never taken a lesson before, although she is no stranger to the dance floor.
“I’ve attended at least 25 hospital balls over the years,” Thomas, a tireless hospital volunteer, said.
Contestants have already completed five weeks of group lessons and have been paired with a professional dancer as they continue with 15 individual lessons.
The Boca Ballroom Battle, a Dancing with the Stars-type competition benefiting the George Snow scholarship will be held on Aug. 19 at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.
Thomas has nothing but praise for her Fred Astaire partner, Ivan Rivera, who she says is “an excellent teacher who makes learning fun.” In fact, it’s been so much fun, she may even take more lessons after the competition, regardless of the finish. But make no mistake about it; she is “in it to win it.”
Besides being fun, Thomas says dancing is really good exercise.
“I’m very energetic anyway, but this has made me feel like getting out walking more and has improved my stamina,” she says.
It didn’t take a lot of coaxing to get her to compete, she says, because the event is for a good cause — the George Snow Scholarship Fund. She knew George Snow and one of his daughters, who was an ER nurse.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Thomas moved to Boca Raton 50 years ago when she was in her early 20s. Boca was a sleepy town back then, she recalls, but then IBM came and everything changed. The town grew up around her.
She cherishes the time she spends with her four children and nine grandchildren, most of whom live nearby. But she always makes time for her other passion — volunteering.
On Tuesday evenings during the season, she volunteers at the emergency room of Boca Raton Regional Hospital. “It’s a kind of concierge service,” she said. “I go into the waiting room to see if someone needs a warm blanket, for example, and make sure everyone has what they need.”
She has been a volunteer with the Debbie-Rand Memorial Services League, auxiliary to the hospital, since 1983 and was the organization’s president from 1995 to 1997 and again from 2001 to 2005.
Thomas has served on the Hospital Board since 1997 and serves on the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation Board. In 1999, she was chosen Woman Volunteer of the Year.
She helped to found Boca Raton’s Promise for Youth and Caring Hearts Auxiliary 10 years ago and was president for four years.
A recent walk-in-the mall fundraiser she helped organize raised $150,000 for the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at FAU, which offers innovative programs of care to help people with mild and moderate memory loss to maintain their cognitive and social interactive skills.
Thomas is president of the Wellness Center as well as the Friends of the Conservatory at Lynn University.
In 2002 she was chosen as a Woman of Distinction by the Boca Raton Soroptimist Organization, in 2003 the Boca Raton Historical Society inducted her into the Walk of Recognition and in 2008 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I have a wonderful circle of friends from my volunteering,” Thomas said. “I appreciate everything, everyday.” Ú
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