Rotarians named Rookie of the Year

Each year, the Rotary Club of Canfield recognizes the individual who best exemplifies the spirit of Rotary in their first full year as a Rotarian. The official title of this award is the Outstanding First-Year Rotarian, but everyone knows it as the Rookie of the Year award.

This year, two Rotarians were recognized: Chris Bland and Twila D’Amico. As part of their award, Bland and D’Amico were awarded Paul Harris Fellowships, which involved a donation of $1000 in each of their names to the Rotary International Foundation.

Bland joined the Canfield Rotary Club in late summer of 2011. He is a CPA and Investment Advisor and a partner at Baxter and Associates. He was on the board as the Community Avenue of Service chair, and he took major leadership roles in both the annual Golf Outing and the Pancake Breakfast fundraisers. He was also involved in more than a half-dozen other projects, including the Fly-the-Flag project, the Chevy Cruze raffle to support Hospice of the Valley, the annual Fireworks Fest and Fourth of July Parade, the Lighting of the Green and the Rotary tent at the Canfield Fair.

D’Amico joined the club in late winter of 2012. She is a state hearing officer and has served on the planning committees for the Fireworks Fest and the Lighting of the Green, and was the chair of the VIP Building at the Fireworks Fest. She is currently the chair of the Community Funding committee, took a major leadership role for the Rotary Tent at the Canfield Fair and co-chaired the Changeover dinner. She has been actively involved in the Fly-the-Flag project, the bi-annual clothing drives and road cleanup, the Pancake Breakfast and the Fourth of July Parade. Her Paul Harris Fellowship will be her third, as she has donated extensively to the RI Foundation since she first joined.

For more information on the Canfield Rotary Club, visit its website at CanfieldRotary.com or email CanfieldRotaryInfo@gmail.com.