Weston town clerk receives Weston-Wayland Rotary Club award
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“Service above self” is the worldwide motto of Rotary International. On Feb. 25, the Rotary Club of Weston and Wayland presented its first Weston-Wayland Rotary “Service Above Self” award to Weston Town Clerk Deborah Davenport.
The award “celebrates outstanding contributions to our communities through exemplary service that demonstrates the ideal of ‘Service above self,'” according to Rotary Club President John Marchiony.
The celebration was recorded and can be seen on the WestonWaylandRotary.org website.
Richard DeVito nominated Davenport, noting her generous contributions despite unprecedented challenges created by the pandemic.
“This year had three elections and was particularly challenging. Due to COVID and the stay-at-home orders, her work multiplied exponentially! The physical issues with social distancing were challenging, made more complex by the tenfold increase in absentee and mail-in ballots. A typical year may have 200 to 300 ballots. The last election cycle had over 5,200 mail-in ballots cast. Each had to be validated, assembled, sent out and then on return, logged in, validated, and put into precincts for recording on Election Day.”
Weston Town Manager Leon Gaumon concurred, “Davenport’s thoughtful approach to this tremendous undertaking was a sight to behold during an extraordinarily difficult year, balancing all the local and state level requirements.”
Marchiony credited conversations around the firepit at the Christmas Tree & Wreath Sale as the starting point.
“We talked about the way our Rising Youth Leadership Award recognizes sophomores who serve our communities generously and wondered about doing the same with generous adults,” Marchiony said. “That was the starting point, and it followed the elections, so we simply decided to find a way to get it done. Thursday’s celebration was the first of many celebrations of service.”
The Rotary Club of Weston and Wayland looks forward to recognizing people of both towns regularly and seeks compelling nominations of sufficient length and detail. Nominations may be submitted to the Rotary Club president, vice president and past president by emailing president@westonwaylandrotary.org.