“This year’s recipient grew up in Greenwich, CT and attended Manhattanville College, before marrying her childhood sweetheart and settling down in Washington in 1982 to raise a family.  Once her children grew older, our winner increasingly began to find ways to contribute to the community that had welcomed her so warmly.

Our award winner’s contributions to Washington’s community are incredibly numerous and diverse.  I don’t have time to detail all of them, but I would like to highlight a few:

Her early efforts included volunteering for the VNA, serving as a coordinator at the Parks & Rec association, and as a coach and later president of the Washington-Gunnery Hockey & Skating Association.

One of our recipient’s most important contributions not only to Washington but to our nation has been her deep involvement in the Soldier’s project.  This extremely worthy endeavor has been spearheaded by our winner and the rest of the famous Town Hall Gang to send 2 care packages every week to soldiers in harm’s way since the Afghan and Iraqi wars started in the early 2000s.  They have sent over 1500 packages since they started and you can see how well-received these care packages have been by the dozens of thank you letters from soldiers on display in the Town Hall. I can only imagine the impact of receiving such a care package makes in the life of a soldier.

Another one of our award winner’s very meaningful contributions to Washington has been her work with the Judea Garden in Steep Rock’s Macricostas Preserve.  A project that began in the wake of the 2008 recession, it started as a church project to provide fresh, locally grown food to members of the community with limited financial resources.  Over the last 9 years, it has evolved into a full-blown Town project that continues to feed those in need, serves as a classroom for students and citizens, and now offers two paid summer internships.

Our winner has also been a very long-standing supporter of the Gunn Memorial Library and Museum.  Whether volunteering at the Library and the Museum or at the many fundraisers, she has been dedicated to the preservation of the Town of Washington’s history and culture, as well as the education of its citizens.

We always frame our award around Stephen’s four best attributes, Character, Leadership, Service, and Achievement.  Our award winner has demonstrated those qualities over the last 35 years of her endless and selfless contribution to Washington and our community.   Across all her accomplishments, she has always sought ways to improve our town, help others in need, and do as much as she could without seeking recognition or the spotlight.  It is exactly this call to citizenship that embodies Stephen’s call to serve.  And it is one of the qualities that makes Washington exceptional.

I am proud to announce the winner of the 2017 Major Stephen Reich Award for Exceptional Citizenship is Denise Arturi.”