League of a Lifetime

by Jill Cousins

Marilyn Crotty was a young mother living in San Francisco in 1968 when she wandered into her local post office and noticed a table set up by the League of Women Voters. Marilyn, an Orlando native who was living in California while her husband completed his residency in ophthalmology, was already familiar with the organization, having grown up with a mother who was actively involved in the League since the 1940s. So, not only did Marilyn register to vote that day, she decided it was time that she joined the League, as well.

That was the beginning of Marilyn’s more than 50 years of involvement with the League of Women Voters and a lifetime of public service and community engagement.  She and her husband, Dr. Garrett “Garry” Crotty, moved back to Central Florida in 1971, and by 1972, Marilyn joined the Seminole County League of Women Voters. Just one year later, she became the League’s president. This past year, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the League’s annual meeting.

“When I joined the League of Women Voters in San Francisco,  I thought the women were just brilliant,” says Marilyn, 79, who lives with her retired husband in the same Altamonte Springs home they bought in 1972. “I was 26 or 27, and I was in awe.  I went to these meetings and learned a lot. I was afraid to open my mouth, but they pulled me in and got me involved in committees, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Marilyn enjoyed it so much that, instead of pursuing a career as a nurse (she graduated from the University of Florida in 1963 with a nursing degree), she devoted herself to helping others in the community through her volunteer work. While her husband built his ophthalmology practice, Marilyn kept busy raising sons Jonathan, David, and Kevin and working tirelessly to make life better for the citizens of Seminole County, particularly women and children.

“When I joined the Seminole County League of Women Voters, we had only 20 or 30 members, but we had a lot of influence,” Marilyn says. “There weren’t a lot of organizations in the area fighting for issues, but our League was very engaged.”

During those early days, the Seminole County League was instrumental in putting both the county’s library system and parks and recreation system in place, as well as getting Seminole County Public Schools accredited and working hard to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed.

After she became president of the League, Marilyn was appointed to a variety of boards and councils, accumulating expertise and knowledge in government and environmental issues. After serving two years as Seminole County League president, Marilyn was appointed to the state League of Women Voters board for six years. During that time, she gained experience in managing and running statewide programs, ran state conferences on different issues, and even chaired Florida’s first televised debate for governor and the United States Senate.

Head of the Class

In 1982, after 10 years of active involvement in the community, Marilyn contemplated going back to college to earn an additional degree. Instead, she had an epiphany.

“I realized I loved local government,” says Marilyn. “I had all these skills I had gained and connections I had made, so I decided to see what I could do with them.”

At a conference Marilyn attended along with other community leaders, she met with the president of Valencia Community College, which led to her establishing the College’s Center for Community Leadership, where Marilyn would teach newly elected officials and government workers how to increase their effectiveness in office. Eight years later, Marilyn was recruited by the University of Central Florida to be director of its Institute of Government. It was a position she would hold until her retirement in 2018 – after a 36-year tenure at VCC and UCF. During that time, she worked throughout the state assisting local governments with strategic planning, charter reviews, and organizational development.

“I loved what I did,” says Marilyn, who worked as a consultant for a few years after retirement, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I was one of the few people I knew who was able to take her volunteer work and turn it into a paid job.”

Their Roots Run Deep

Marilyn’s parents would be proud. Leon and Beatrice (Bornstein) Ettinger set an early example of community service for their children. Originally members of Congregation Ohev Shalom, the Ettingers were part of a group that started Temple Israel in 1954. Marilyn, in fact, was the third girl to have a bat mitzvah at the new synagogue.

“I grew up with a family of people who were engaged and active in the community,” says Marilyn, who has been a member of the Congregation of Reform Judaism for the past 20 years. “To me, that was just normal. That’s what grown-ups did.”

Along with her family’s influence, Marilyn credits the League of Women Voters for giving her all the tools she needed to make a career out of something she loved.

“In the years that I was a stay-at-home mom, the League was my intellectual stimulation,” she says. “I learned that with knowledge and persistence, it is possible to make a big difference, bring about change, and improve the quality of life in the community.”