Service Person of the Week Susie Betts pours wine at Sonoma Portworks on Saturday February 8. 2014.

Two jobs, twice the service

Susie Betts loves to hear people's stories - she likes to know where they come from and what brought them to Petaluma. But most of all, she likes to tell them what they should do during their visit to town.

"I get to tell people where to go, what restaurants to visit - when else can you get away with that?" laughs Betts, who greets tourists at the Petaluma Visitors' Center. She also pours samples at Sonoma Portworks.

"It all happened when the bottom fell out of my income," she says. She had already retired, but when she hit tough times two years ago, she started working at the Visitors' Center before picking up her second job at Portworks last year to make ends meet. While the double duty might be too much for many retirees, Betts' true love for her customers keeps her going with a smile.

"Being around the public, it's like heaven for me," she says. "We're full of enchanting characters here in Petaluma, let me tell you."

In one twist of fate, shortly after she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a young man came to Sonoma Portworks with his father. He told her that he was a student at UCSF, where he was studying cures for COPD.

"It was so neat talking to him," she beams. "I was just blown away by what he was doing."

Betts grew up in Menlo Park but has lived in Petaluma for half her life, save for a few years in Kauai where she moved to open a cafe. But ultimately her four children and five grandchildren lured her back to the mainland, where she again settled in Petaluma.

She is beloved by customers such as Robert Roark, who highlighted her ability to make friends with anybody. "Just walk around town with her and see how many people stop her and greet her as &‘my best friend' - it's really astounding," he says.

Betts was named Service Person of the Week, joining IHOP hostess Alexis Collins, Acre Coffee barista Namiko Morales and Hallie's Diner server LeRoy Hairston in the honor. A total of five will be recognized, and readers will vote on who should earn the title of Service Person of the Year beginning Feb. 27 at petaluma360.com.

The winner will be honored in the Argus-Courier and at the 2014 Petaluma Community Awards of Excellence on March 27.

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