A proud Arizonan for 40 years, Pat and her family moved to Sierra Vista in 1969 where she began to make personal and professional ties in the community. In 1981, she began working as an Army Department civilian at Fort Huachuca. She then learned how to manage complex government resources during her career with the Army as a budget analyst and a manpower allocations analyst. In August 2005, Pat retired with more than 24 years of service to the Army.