Lifelong Pittsford resident Dorothy Watson is Pittsford’s newest Citizen of the Year.
The Town Board honored the devoted community volunteer at a May 4 meeting.
Supervisor Bill Carpenter said he was honored to recognize Watson.
“I could not think of a better recipient of this award than Dorothy Watson,” Carpenter said. “Dorothy is generous, community-minded, hardworking and an asset to the town of Pittsford. For many years, we have been lucky to have her on our team, volunteering countless hours to make sure the Pittsford Senior Center is a success.”
Watson volunteers about 35 hours or more per week at the Pittsford Senior Center, where she helps with the Lunch Club 60 Nutrition Program, organizes the monthly newsletter and fills in for full-time staff.
She began volunteering at the center several years ago, accepting her first official position as assistant treasurer in 1997.
Watson also volunteers at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and is a past volunteer at the Southeast YMCA, both in Pittsford.
“Hardly a day goes by when you enter the senior center and do not see Dorothy Watson volunteering her time and helping Pittsford’s seniors,” said Deputy Supervisor Sandy Zutes. “She is a true inspiration.”
Also congratulating Watson were council members John Higgins, Jared Lusk and Karen Green. A reception, attended by lots of family, friends, co-workers and former co-workers, followed at the senior center.
Among those attending were Watson’s niece, Julie Willard, and her great-niece, Catherine, Willard’s daughter, both of Pittsford.
“I was very honored to receive this award,” Watson said. “I was pleasantly surprised. I have a wonderful group of ladies here that I work with on staff. I just love working with people.”
Watson, a 1949 graduate of the Pittsford Central School District, worked with the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Rochester until 1972, receiving many honors including the agency’s Special Life Membership Award in 1965. She was also named Today’s Woman in Business by Gannett Newspapers in 1968; was the first woman recipient of the Junior Chamber of Commerce’s Honorary Life Membership Award in 1970; and received its Presidential Award of Honor in 1973.
In 1972, Watson was appointed secretary for the executive vice president and board of trustees for the Rochester Chamber of Commerce where she worked until 1985, also claiming many honors including the prestigious Rochesterian Scroll.
