Photo by Bob Carl: Warwick’s Citizen of the Year committee leaders include, left to right, John McGloin, Neil Sinclair, Leo R. Kaytes, holding the plaque listing Outstanding Community Service Award recipients normally displayed in the Village of Warwick clerk’s office, Tina Buck with the Citizen of the Year plaque which hangs in Town Hall, and Stan Martin.
Deadline for submissions is Sept. 18; awards ceremony set for Oct. 21
By Stan Martin
WARWICK — The search has begun for Warwick’s next Citizen of the Year.
The Warwick Valley Rotary Club is inviting residents to nominate individuals whose volunteerism, leadership and commitment have made a lasting impact on the community. Nominations are also being accepted for two Outstanding Community Service Awards.
Community members are encouraged to submit a letter describing their nominee’s accomplishments and why they deserve the recognition. Nominations must be emailed to wvrcnominating@gmail.com no later than Friday, Sept. 18.
The honorees will be recognized during a special awards ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Landmark Inn.
The annual event is sponsored by the Warwick Valley Rotary Club, a service organization of approximately 70 community-minded men and women, under the leadership of co-chairs Leo R. Kaytes and Tina Buck. Retired Warwick Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton will serve as master of ceremonies for the 19th consecutive year.
“Warwick is filled with incredible individuals who generously give their time, talent and energy to make this community thrive,” said co-chairs Tina Buck and Leo Kaytes. “Recognizing a Citizen of the Year and two Outstanding Community Service Award recipients is our way of saying thank you to those who consistently go above and beyond—not for recognition, but because they truly care.”
Current Citizen of the Year Jim Gerstner will pass the torch to this year’s honoree. Last year’s Outstanding Community Service Awards were presented to Tony Cosimano and Neil Sinclair.
Proceeds from the event will benefit Rotary International’s PolioPlus campaign to eradicate polio worldwide. Donations are matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Additional information is available at www.warwickvalleyrotary.org.
A Tradition of Honoring Community Service
Plaques recognizing Warwick’s Citizens of the Year are displayed in Warwick Town Hall, documenting nearly six decades of community service and civic leadership.
Warwick attorney Lawrence Stage became the first Citizen of the Year in 1968 when the Warwick Jaycees established the award. Fifty years later, his grandson, attorney Doug Stage, received the same honor.
Only two organizations have been selected as Citizen of the Year: Warwick Against the Radioactive Dump in 1986 for its successful campaign to prevent radioactive waste from being stored near the Warwick-Vernon border, and the Warwick Chamber of Commerce in 2010.
Three married couples have shared the distinction: George and Mary Goodman (1987), Dr. Harry Sayre (1972) and his wife “Pete” Sayre (1990), and Glenn P. and Susan D. Dickes (2014).
Back-to-back entertainment figures were honored in the mid-1990s when Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Kiley was selected in 1994, followed by longtime radio and television personality Dick Wells in 1995. Local newspaper publishers have also been recognized, with Betty Jane Wright of the Warwick Valley Dispatch honored in 1996 and Stan Martin of The Warwick Advertiser receiving the award in 2017.
Following the Warwick Jaycees’ dissolution in 1999, the Warwick Valley Rotary Club revived the Citizen of the Year program in 2008. The first recipient under Rotary’s stewardship was Clayton Eurich, recognized for mentoring nearly 100 Eagle Scouts. He was followed by Frank Cassanite Jr., longtime leader of the Warwick Ambulance Corps, in 2009.
Today, the Citizen of the Year tradition remains one of Warwick’s highest civic honors, recognizing individuals whose dedication, generosity and service have helped make the community a better place to live.
Editor’s Note
As Warwick’s newspaper of record since 1885, the Warwick Valley Dispatch has had the privilege of chronicling nearly every Citizen of the Year recipient and Outstanding Community Service honoree for more than half a century. The newspaper has celebrated their accomplishments on its pages, preserving a remarkable record of the people whose volunteerism, generosity and civic spirit have helped shape Warwick.
The Dispatch is also humbled that three members of its own newspaper family have been recognized by the community. Lon Tytell, the Dispatch’s longtime advertising representative, was named Warwick Citizen of the Year in 1991. Betty Jane Wright, the newspaper’s longtime publisher, editor and guiding force, received the community’s highest honor in 1996. More recently, Jennifer O’Connor, who later became Editor-in-Chief of the Warwick Valley Dispatch, was recognized with the Outstanding Community Service Award in 2020.
Their recognition is a reminder that local journalism has always been about more than reporting the news. It is about serving the community.
As this year’s nomination period begins, the Dispatch encourages every resident to participate in recognizing the volunteers, neighbors and quiet leaders whose contributions often go unnoticed. And if we may respectfully suggest one more name for consideration, it is Evelyn Card.
At 99 years young, Evelyn continues to report for work each week as the Dispatch’s Post-Production Manager, overseeing subscriptions, delivery routes and newspaper distribution while remaining an active and familiar face throughout the community.
If ever there were someone who embodies a lifetime of quiet service and unwavering dedication, she would be a worthy name to add to this year’s list of nominees.
The Rotary Club has invited the community to nominate those who make Warwick a better place. We hope residents will answer that call. Residents have until Friday, Sept. 18, to email their nominations to wvrcnominating@gmail.com.
Past year-by-year honorees as Warwick Citizens of the Year were:
1968 – Lawrence Stage
1969 – Clifton Brown
1970 – Charles Rowe
1971 – Daniel Maxwell
1972 – Harry Sayre
1973 – George Hansen
1974 – Calvin Gilbert
1975 – Mildred Stewart
1976 – John Cox
1977 – Patricia McConnell
1978 – Fred Batz
1979 – Gearlin Logan
1980 – Joseph DeBold
1981 – Elmer C. Fry
1982 – Dorothy Sanford
1983 – Roy Barker
1984 – Bruce Sherman
1985 – George Relyea
1986 – Warwick Against Radioactive Dump
1987 – George & Mary Goodman
1988 – John S. Hicks
1989 – John Mattison
1990 – Pete Sayre
1991 – Lon Tytell
1992 – Elizabeth Van Leer
1993 – Mike Myrow
1994 – Richard Kiley
1995 – Dick Wells
1996 – Betty Jane Wright
1999 – Leo Kaytes
2008– Clayton Eurich
2009 – Frank Cassanite, Jr.
2010 – Warwick Chamber of Commerce
2011 – Ben Winstanley
2012 – John Woloszczak, Jr.
2013 – Dr. Richard Hull
2014 – Glenn P. & Susan D. Dickes
2015 – Bill Iurato
2016 – Claire Gabelmann
2017 – Stan Martin
2018 — Doug Stage
2019 – Hannelore Chambers
2020 – Frank Truatt
2021– Leo R. Kaytes
2022 – Michael Sweeton
2023 – Judy Batista
2024 – Suzyn Barron
2025 – Jim Gerstner
Outstanding Community Service Award Honorees
2013 – Denise Thibault & Joe Walter
2014 – Jeff Ahearn & Robert Sanford, Sr.
2015 – Geoffrey Howard & Michele Carter
2016 – George Arnott & George McManus
2017 – Tom Buchanan & Paul Orthmann
2018 – Marge King-Porter & Sue Gardner
2019 – Jack Ellis & Chosun Taekwondo Academy Youth Leadership Team
2020 –Jennifer O’Connor, Carmela Borrazas & Nicole McCormick
2021—Roger Gavan & Vince Poloniak
2022 – Jenna Price & Barbara Katz
2023 – Bill Lindbedrg & Wayne Patterson
2024 – Garrett Durland & John McGloin
2025 – Tony Cosimano & Neil Sinclair
