The Rochester Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, held a luncheon to present awards to members of the community for outstanding community service. This year, to coincide with Patriot's Day observances, the luncheon was held on Saturday, April 29 with 63 persons attending. For the first time in its 106-year history, the Chapter recognized a member of the deaf and hard of hearing community. Compatriot Robert Fuller, a member of the Chapter's Board of Managers and himself a deaf person, worked with the deaf community to organize the luncheon. The first honoree was Eagle Scout James Myers, winner of the Chapter's Annual Eagle Scout Scholarship competition. His mother was on hand to pin the SAR's medal to his shirt, and Eagle Scout Committee Chairman Dana Johnson presented him with a $200 U.S. savings bond. The Chapter's winner of the George and Stella Knight Essay Contest, Utsav Bansal, read his essay, "Thomas Paine: A Sublime Visionary." Bansal is a junior at Brighton High School. Chief Daniel Azzolina of the Spencerport Fire District received the EMS Medal and certificate for his years of volunteer service as an EMT, teacher of auto extrication techniques and a winner of a Unit Commendation Award for airplane crash and rescue training. Azzolina works at the county's 911 center and is employed with the Ridge Road Fire District as a dispatcher and EMT. Chief Harold "Bud" Phillips of the Ridge Road Fire District received the Fire Safety Medal and certificate. Phillips has been a professional firefighter since 1968, served as founder and team commander for the Monroe County Hazardous Waste Response Team, is one of the first fire officers in the state to obtain the distinguished title of executive fire officer from the National Fire Academy and the National Emergency Training Center in Emmetsburg, Maryland. He also has extensive training in coping with weapons of mass destruction. In August 2005, he led his Fire District to the completion of the accreditation process to have the Ridge Road Fire District accredited as an Internationally Accredited Fire Department, the first in New York state and only the 100th in the country. The firefighters and EMTs that he leads respond to more than 7,000 calls per year. Steven DeBotis, a man with an impressive list of service credentials, was presented with the Silver Good Citizenship Medal and Certificate. His work for the deaf community is so far-reaching, that Alan Hurwitz, vice-president of the Rochester Institute of Technology and Dean of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, introduced him. DeBottis's accomplishments range from serving as president of the local deaf people's social club to organizing, directing and playing in a series of dramatic performances in American Sign Language for a deaf audience. He was also the first person to "sign" for a local TV station. May 7, 2006 |
