TOWN OF COLTON CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARD
THE VIRGINIA SMITH OUTSTANDING CITIZEN AWARD 2024 Winner - Mary S. Rutley
The Colton Historical Society is pleased to present the 2024 Virginia C. Smith Colton Citizen of the Year award to Mary S. Rutley with a plaque, and a name plate to be hung in the Colton Town Hall.
Some of Mary’s many accomplishments in the Town of Colton include the following:
Within the County, Mary's accomplishments include:
The Colton Historical Society is pleased to present the 2024 Virginia C. Smith Colton Citizen of the Year award to Mary S. Rutley with a plaque, and a name plate to be hung in the Colton Town Hall.
Some of Mary’s many accomplishments in the Town of Colton include the following:
- Mary taught Sunday school at the Colton United Methodist Church in the ’60’s.
- In 1972 she became a founder and active member of the Colton Citizen’s Committee for land Use, which instigated much of how our town is shaped today.
- Colton’s Town land use plan, which includes the planning Board and zoning board of Appeals. Mary served on both boards for several years.
- The Town of Colton's Neighborhood Center, the Colton Historical Society, and the Raqueteers Senior Citizen Club came to fruition because of Mary's Committee efforts.
- Later when the DEC ordered the town dump to be closed, Mary, still on the Colton Citizen’s Committee, strongly supported formation of a transfer station.
- A ‘bug’ committee was formed when the town decided to spray against black flies and mosquitos. Mary wrote a course to train people about the use of BTI as an alternative to spraying, and worked until Andrea Malik took over. Today other towns are copying what Colton does.
Within the County, Mary's accomplishments include:
- Other accomplishments include being appointed to the County Board of directors of St. Lawrence County Soil and water district, where she was also Treasurer.
- In 2022, Mary received The St. Lawrence Academy medal for making significant contributions in professional fields.
- She taught nearly 40 years at SUNY Potsdam and published several articles. She has been known to work for her town by sending forthright letters to the newspaper editors.
- She was an active member of the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Board of trustees.
The annual Citizen of the Year Award honors a Colton resident who is an active volunteer that exemplifies the adage ‘neighbors caring for neighbors.’ Each year the award is given by the Colton Historical Society to a resident who has provided outstanding service to the Town of Colton Community. Award recipients, listed below, are identified on a plaque in the Board Room of the Colton Town Hall.
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2004 VIRGINIA SMITH IN MEMORIAM
2005 GEORGE SEAVER 2006 MARY MCKINLEY 2007 BARBARA WHEATON 2008 EDWARD DEUGAW IN MEMORIAM 2009 HENRY "HANK" FORD 2010 KATHERYN HAYES 2011 BRUCE AMES 2012 SALLY SWIFT THOMAS 2013 MARY A. LONG 2014 EDWARD & JUDY FUHR 2015 EVELYN DICKIE RIEHL 2016 JEROME "JERRY" WILSON |
2017 CYNTHIA HENNESSY
2018 SHARON ANDREWS 2019 JAMES CAYEY 2020 LORRAINE GOWING 2021 MARY JANE WATSON 2022 GRACE HAWLEY
2023 DENNIS EICKHOFF
2024 Mary S. Rutley |