Foundation honoring Gotowka, Sen. Young, and Fredonia Rotary May 5

Members of the Fredonia Rotary Club, some of whom are shown here, will be honored. From left to right in back row are Wade A. Weatherlow, Donald P. Lang, Richard Ketchum and Richard Prince. From left to right in middle row are Roger Britz, Linda S. Niedbalski, David Zambotti, and Cody Britton. Left to right in front are Charlotte Herlong, Chad Rizzo and David L. Larson.

Walter J. Gotowka, state Sen. Catharine M. Young and the Fredonia Rotary Club will receive the 2007 Fredonia College Foundation Distinguished Service Award, a prestigious honor bestowed upon area citizens and organizations that make significant contributions to society through business, government, education and the arts.

The awards will be presented during a special dinner/dance on Saturday, May 5, at the Williams Center.  Reserved tickets for the event are available by calling 716-673-3321.

Proceeds from the 2007 Distinguished Service Awards dinner/dance will benefit the Keeper of the Dream Scholarship and Leadership Program at SUNY Fredonia.

Guests will have the opportunity to meet the honorees during a pre-dinner reception. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by the Fredonia School of Music.

Walter Gotowka

Mr. Gotowka’s career in the insurance industry spans more than 25 years and includes service with Nationwide Insurance, the Heppell Robinson Insurance Agency, The Tradition Agency and Lawley Tradition LLC. He was president of two of those firms. SUNY Fredonia has benefited significantly from Mr. Gotowka’s business experience. He served as chairman of the Fredonia College Foundation Board of Directors in 2000 and 2001, providing effective leadership during the public phase of the “Traditions and Transitions” comprehensive fundraising campaign. Mr. Gotowka has continued to provide exemplary service as a member of the board of directors.

Commitment to his alma mater was demonstrated when he and his wife, 1980 alumna Carol Kaminski Gotowka, created the Walter Gotowka Family Endowment of the Fredonia College Foundation for scholarship development and cultural enrichment.

NYS Senator Catharine Young

His community and professional involvement has extended to the following organizations: Fredonia Rotary Club, Allegheny Highlands Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Chautauqua Country Rural Ministry, Independent Insurance Agents Association of New York, Chautauqua County Workforce Investment Board, Erie and Niagara Insurance Industry Advisory Board, American Red Cross, Brooks Memorial Hospital and the Michael C. Rockefeller Arts Center. The SUNY Fredonia grad, class of 1981, was named the Business Person of the Year in 1998 by the SUNY Fredonia Business Club and received a Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship and numerous insurance industry awards.

Sen. Young, who represents the 57th Senate district, serves as chair of the Senate Agricultural Committee, co-chair of the Administrative Regulations Review Commission and as a member of the Higher Education, Health, Insurance, Housing, Construction and Community Development, and Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities committees. She was a member of the State Assembly from 1999 to 2005, where she was Assistant Minority Leader Pro Tempore, and held the leadership post of Majority Whip as a member of the Cattaraugus County Legislature.

She has been a steadfast supporter of SUNY Fredonia throughout her legislative career, working to secure approval of the SUNY 5-Year Capital Construction Plan and supporting funding for major construction projects that include the central heating/cooling system and University Commons, as well as the new science/technology building, child care center and soccer/lacrosse stadium.

Sen. Young has served as a major in the Civil Air Patrol and member of the advisory board of the Western New York Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. She has received the Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship, the Outstanding Citizen Award from the Olean YMCA, the Distinguished Graduate Award from St. Agnes School and National Catholic Education Association and has also been recognized by the New York State Farm Bureau for her support of agricultural issues.

The Fredonia Rotary Club is being honored for 80 years of leadership and service to the citizens of the village of Fredonia and Northern Chautauqua County, along with dedication to its Four Avenues of Service – Club, Community, Vocational and International.

The organization supports education initiatives through its scholarship and Student of the Month programs, the Reading Rotarian program, distribution of dictionaries to children and 2006 benefit that assisted Literacy Volunteers of Northern Chautauqua County. Local students have visited other countries and local families have hosted international students through the Rotary Youth Exchange program.

Rotary’s community involvement includes support of renovation projects at Brooks Memorial Hospital and Chautauqua County Rural Ministries, local blood screenings, a home and garden show and distribution of holiday baskets to the needy. Other Rotary-sponsored projects include a pavilion in Russell Joy Park and gazebo in Barker Commons.