Jorge Yarzebski from the Rotary Club of Westborough was honored with this year’s “Rotarian of the Year” award, and the Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland once again was recognized as “Best Club” at this year’s District Conference.Clubs and Rotarians who demonstrated a commitment to Service Above Self were acknowledged for their contributions.
Our Clubs received awards for their overall efforts in several areas including Membership, Foundation, Community Service, Public Image, Environmental Action, Youth and more. Individual Rotarians were recognized for their contributions to our Avenues of Service.
Thank you to PDG’s Klaus Hachfeld, Victor Tom and Bob Cassidy for their assistance with this year’s awards. Read further for a complete list of our 2023 - 2024 recipients
Rotarian of the Year
Dr. Jorge L. Yarzebski from the Rotary Club of Westborough took home the Rotarian of the Year award for his efforts to develop and execute a global grant which resulted in the planting of more than 15,000 mangrove seedlings in a remote coastal area of Guatemala. Jorge secured the grant, which took more than two and a half years from concept to approval, to support the District Governor’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
Ten Rotarians and friends, ranging in age from 21 to 86, traveled to Guatemala in March to restore a mangrove forest that was destroyed by fire. Our team worked with the local Rotary Club of Coatepeque-Colomba, four NGO’s including the Rainforest Alliance, and many local residents to repopulate the area with mangroves.
The mangrove trees will help contain erosion, provide a habitat for wildlife, and capture and store CO2 from the atmosphere. Jorge has also been instrumental in a number of other global and district grants during his tenure as a Rotarian, and has recently accepted the position of International Service Chair for District 7910.
Best Club of The YearFor the fourth consecutive year, the Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland was recognized as the “Best Club” in District 7910.
This award is given based on an objective analysis of club activities, membership development, Foundation support and other criteria for which each club accrues points.
The Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland once again demonstrated excellence in programming, member engagement, community service and youth service which led to their recognition for this Rotary year. Congratulations to Club President Katya Portnaya and all members of the Club for this outstanding accomplishment.
Here is a list of the award recipients for the 2023 – 2024 Rotary year:
Best Club
Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland - Gold
Rotary Club of Leominster - Silver
Rotary Club of Framingham - Bronze
Club Service
Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland - Gold
Rotary Club of Leominster - Silver
Rotary Club of Framingham - Bronze
Community Service
Rotary Club of Framingham - Gold
Rotary Club of Westborough - Silver
Rotary Club of Leominster - Bronze
Rotary Foundation
Rotary Club of Brookline - Gold
Rotary Club of Westborough – Silver
Rotary Club of Brookline Bedford - Bronze
Youth Service
Rotary Club of Bedford- Gold
Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland - Silver
Rotary Club of Concord - Bronze
Public Image Awards
Outstanding Public Relations Work, Promotional Efforts & Materials
Rotary Club of Bedford - Gold
Rotary Club of Brookline – Silver
Outstanding Web Presence Award
Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland – Gold
Rotary Club of Bedford – Silver
Outstanding Social Media Presence
Rotary Club of Hudson - Gold
Rotary Club of Westford – Silver
Exemplary Public Image Presence
Rotary Club of Bedford – Gold
Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland – Silver
Environmental Awards - Gold
Rotary Club of Brookline
Northborough/Southborough Interact Club
Environmental Awards – Bronze
Rotary Club of the Brookfields
Rotary Club of Westborough
Blackstone Valley Rotary
Environmental Awards - Honorable Mention
These clubs engaged in at least one environmental project this year but did not submit an award application. Some were one-off events, but many are on-going. These clubs also deserve recognition for their enthusiastic embrace of environmental projects:
Acton-Boxborough Ayer, Shirley, Harvard & Devens Bedford Changemakers Charles River Fitchburg Framingham Hudson Marlborough Merrimack Valley Milford Natick Needham | Nashoba Valley Newton Northborough Shrewsbury Southbridge Sturbridge Tyngsborough-Dunstable Wachusett Area Waltham Watertown Wellesley Westford Weston-Wayland |
Significant Service Awards
The Significant Service Award is designed to give districts an opportunity to recognize club projects that address a significant problem or need in the local community. Clubs nominate members for these awards, which are then approved by the District Governor.
Significant Service Award Recipients
Rotary Club of Weston Wayland – Seedling project
Rotary Club of Westborough – Trex Plastic Collection
Avenues of Service Awards
The district Avenues of Service Award recognizes Rotary and Rotaract members for outstanding work this Rotary year in one or more of Rotary’s five Avenues of Service: Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, International Service, and Youth Service. Clubs nominate members for these awards, which are then approved by the District Governor.
Avenues of Service Award – Youth Service
Sharon Herman – Rotary Club of Brookline
Linda Langevin-Zonia – Rotary Club of Sturbridge
David Zonia – Rotary Club of Sturbridge
John Marchiony – Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland
Mark Messina - Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland
Avenues of Service Award – Community Service
Carl Guyer – Rotary Club of Southborough
Sharad Mehta – Rotary Club of Westborough
Richard DeVito – Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland
Rob Mosher - Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland
Avenues of Service Award – International Service
Anupama Sehgal – Rotary Club of Southborough
Avenues of Service Award – Club Service
Brenda DeVito – Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland
Jan Luchetti – Rotary Club of Weston & Wayland
Janine Gorman – Rotary Club of Southborough