Culver City Honors 'Senior Of The Year'

CULVER CITY, CA — Dr. Janet Cameron Hoult was named “Senior of the Year” during the Culver City Council Meeting this month.

Culver City recognized Dr. Hoult for her efforts to encourage local seniors to stay active and engaged. Hoult has lived in Culver City since the 1970s, sharing 25 of those years with her late
husband Charley. In addition to teaching poetry at the Culver City Senior Center and volunteering for the Culver City Arts Foundation, Hoult has also been active in the city government. She has served on the Culver City Disability Awareness Committee, the Landlord-Tenant Mediation Board, the Culver City Sister City Committee, Friends of the Library Board, and the Culver City Centennial Celebration Committee.

She edited Culver City’s Centennial Poetry Collection, published in 2018. She was Culver City’s Artist Laureate for Poetry from 2015-2019, and now holds Emerita status.

Hoult's father was a foreign services officer and she traveled the world from a young age and graduated from high school in Iran. She received degrees from USC (Ed.D. in 1980), UCLA (M.A. in 1972), Universite de Grenoble in Grenoble, France (C.E.S. in 1963), and the University of Washington (B.A. in 1958). Hoult was also a Fulbright Fellow and Lecturer in France. She taught for 17 years with the Los Angeles Unified School District and then trained language teachers around the world. She later became a professor at CSULA, where she taught for 14 years and served as Director for the CSULA Center for Effective Teaching and Learning training new faculty members and also served as Acting Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs for two years.

While at CSULA, she received the Distinguished Service Award, Distinguished Woman of the Year Award, and the Outstanding Professor Award.

Hoult has published numerous volumes of poetry. Proceeds from her books go to several charities, including the Boneyard (Culver City’s only dog park), Friends of the Griffith Observatory, and a scholarship endowment for biology in memory of her son. She reads her poetry at each regular session of the Culver City Council Meetings.

"I'm honored to represent Culver City as an Older American,” Hoult said in a statement. “This has been my home base, my place to find support and peace for over fifty years. I look forward to continuing to write and encourage our Older Americans."

Hoult currently resides at Palm Court, a senior living community in Culver City. She read the following poem she composed at the awards ceremony:

As you grow older

You have to be bolder

When taking care of yourself

Keep using your mind

And you will find

You can better maintain your health

Community is key

And you can take it from me

Culver City is filled with a wealth

Of activities to enlighten

And very much brighten

Each of your days which is great

So without hesitation

Or undo contemplation

A truth I will definitely state

Is my love for this town

Which brings me a smile, not a frown

And always finds ways to stimulate