Gail Paserba is a self-described “tough old broad.”

Yet just the mention of a one-time troubled youth who found success with a little help from one of the many civic agencies Paserba is involved with, brings her to tears. Happy tears.

“It's all of our responsibilities to make sure life is as good as it can be for everyone around us,” said Paserba, 56, of Butler.

Paserba, who in 2012 will become the first president from Butler County of the General Federation of Women's Clubs Pennsylvania in nearly a decade, stands true to her theory that people shouldn't complain about the problems of the world, but rather take action to fix them.

“I chose to be active,” she said counting among her activities the Soroptimist of Butler County, the Butler Health Systems Foundation board, the board of directors at Mars Home for Youth and the Intermediate League of GFWC and Circle of Presidents.

Paserba attends about 20 organizational meetings a month, considers attending fundraising events “a night out with her husband,” then still chips in for other agencies when needed, including Lifesteps and the Maridon Museum.

“I've always been a person to get involved,” she said with a hearty chuckle.

Paserba is not afraid to grab a hammer for Habitat for Humanity, stand in the rain for a political candidate she believes in or help out the Butler County Humane Society even though “I don't even have a pet.”

Paserba credits her ability to be active to the support of her family, including her husband of 37 years, Tom. “I've led a very, very gifted life,” Paserba said.

She grew up in Bakerstown, Allegheny County, the oldest child of a housekeeper and a construction worker. “Your typical middle class home,” she said.

Paserba graduated Richland High School, then in 1990 she earned a degree in teaching from Slippery Rock University.

For a handful of years, Paserba worked in the field of social services at the Butler County Children's Center and Lutheran Youth and Family Services. She also was an instructor for the Butler County GED program through Intermediate Unit IV.

She quit when her husband opened his own business: International Quality Consultants on Freeport Road in Butler.

She said she loved social work, but believes “family is first.”

For the past 16 years, she's served as controller for IQC, a quality consulting company for electric, utility and transportation fields. Her husband's employment was one reason Paserba became involved with women's service organizations.

The couple followed Tom's work to Illinois for a couple of years, where Paserba was named the 1986 Bolingbrook Jaycees' Woman of the Year.

When the family returned to Butler, Paserba said she needed a constructive way to make new friends. She joined the Butler Junior Women's Club in 1989, and has been active ever since.

Although she has given much to service organizations over the years, she says she has benefitted equally, reflecting on her initial goal of making new friends.

“Truly, other than my best friend since the eighth grade, everyone of my close friends has been brought into my life through women's clubs,” Paserba said. Special among those friends, Paserba said, was the late Butler philanthropist Mary Hulton Phillips.

“She saw things in people and knew how to nurture them,” Paserba said of Phillips, a board member or contributor to almost every charity or nonprofit organization in Butler County, who died in 2009.

“She was a dear friend and my mentor,” Paserba said.

Paserba eventually aged out of the junior women's club, and joined the Intermediate League, where she was president. She also was elected the third, then second, then first vice president of the statewide organization.

Her current role as first vice president gives her automatic rights to the presidency beginning in May 2012.

Like all GFWC presidents, Paserba will pick one project that all 3,800 members of the state group will contribute to during her 2-year term.

Paserba, who will become president-elect in September, is not permitted to reveal her project topic in advance. But it's no secret that teenagers in need hold a special place in her heart.

Paserba chose to be interviewed at the Mars Home for Youth, where she has served as a board member for the past 2½ years.

“She's one of the most genuine and caring individuals I know,” said Steve Green, director of community-based services at Mars Home for Youth. “She cares about the kids and the community.”

The facility, which can accommodate up to 95 secondary students, provides an education to children who are not succeeding in a classic educational environment.

As chairwoman of programming, she said she serves as “an extra set of eyes and ears” to the people who run the day-to-day activities.

Paserba recognizes the children have no idea who she is, yet “I am responsible for them like I was responsible to my own children. ... These kids have life circumstances that aren't the best. I make sure they have the best they can have under those circumstances.”

Paserba's own children, Thomas J. Paserba and Joshua S. Paserba, are now grown men who work at the family business.

“We're very proud of her accomplishments and supportive of the help she gives this community,” said her husband Tom.

When she is not working or volunteering, Paserba enjoys spending time with her grandson, 3-year-old Dylan, and she's a season-ticket holder to both the Steelers and the Penguins.

“I'm passionate about the Penguins,” she said.

Work, family and community, Paserba said, make for a fulfilling life.

“I sleep really well at night because I'm so busy during the day,” she said.

<B>Name: </B>Gail A. Paserba<B>Age: </B>56<B>Address: </B>Butler<B>Family: </B>Husband, Tom, sons Tom and Josh<B>Employment: </B>Controller at International Quality Consultants, Inc.<B>Education: </B>Graduate of Richland High School and Slippery Rock University<B>Interests:</B> Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins<B>Quote</B>: “It’s all of our responsibilities to make sure life is as good as it can be for everyone around us.”