Rotarians seek nominations for Warwick Citizen of the Year
WARWICK — Who should be Warwick’s next Citizen of the Year? You might have the answer.
Local Rotarians are seeking nominations for the coveted award.
A letter outlining the accomplishments and reasons for the nomination can be mailed to the Warwick Town Supervisor, 132 Kings Highway, Warwick NY 10990 or e-mailed to stanmartin@hvc.rr.com. Deadline for nominations is Friday, Sept. 15.
Members of the Warwick Valley Rotary Club, a service organization of local community leaders, business and professional men and women, are excluded from being nominated. Leo Kaytes and Stan Martin, both former Warwick Rotary presidents, are co-chairing this year’s event, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Pine Island Hall of the Polish Legion of American Veterans (PLAV).
“We encourage community input on candidates for the -2013 Warwick Citizen of the Year,” said Kaytes.
“There are so many local residents who deserve recognition for making the Town of Warwick a quality place to live,” added Martin. “We are looking for volunteers who have demonstrated a commitment to community service over an extended period of time.”
Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton is on the Warwick Citizen of the Year Committee along with Doug Stage, Susan Ronga, Diana Ferrero, Frank Truatt, Souzie Miller and Rotary President John Buckley.
Previous citizens of the year
Lawrence Stage was the first recipient of the honor in 1968 when the Jaycees inaugurated the program. The Warwick Jaycees, a local chapter in what had previously been known as the Junior Chamber of Commerce, continued the awards dinner until 1999, when the club went inactive because of decreasing membership.
Individuals were honored in all but three of the 33 years. Two years ago the Warwick Chamber of Commerce was selected. In 1986 the organization Warwick Against the Radioactive Dump was saluted for its successful battle against New Jersey placing radioactive waste near the Warwick-Vernon border. The following year the husband and wife team of George and Mary Goodman was honored.
Another couple also made the select list. Dr. Harry Sayre was chosen Citizen of the Year in 1972 and his wife, Pete, was honored in 1990.
Entertainers won back-to-back awards when Tony and Emmy award winner Richard Kiley was selected Citizen of the Year in 1994 and radio and television personality Dick Wells captured the award the following year.
Betty Jan Wright, long-time owner and publisher of The Warwick Valley Dispatch, was honored in 1996.
There were no recipients in 1997 and 1998. Auto dealer Leo Kaytes was chosen in 1999 for his decades of community service.
The Warwick Valley Rotary Club reactivated the Citizen of the Year program in 2008.
Clayton Eurich, who has helped more than 85 Boy Scouts become Eagle Scouts, won that year. The following year Frank Cassanite, Jr., head of the Warwick Ambulance Corps, was chosen. In 2009 the Warwick Chamber of Commerce was honored. Last year Ben Winstanley received the award for his decades of service to Greenwood Lake, Warwick and Orange County.
A plaque honoring recipients Citizens of the Year hangs in the Warwick Town Hall.