Rakoff to be Honored as Community Champion

Reston's Stuart Rakoff will be recognized by Volunteer Fairfax and Fairfax County at the 21st Annual Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards on Thursday.

Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins nominated Rakoff for this award on behalf of his service to the community. Rakoff, a Reston Patch blogger who has been chronicling his battle with ALS, has lived in Reston since 1974.  

Some of Rakoff's volunteer efforts: He has served as President of Chadds Ford Cluster Association three times; held positions on the board of the Greater Reston Arts Center; and ,chaired the Fine Arts Festival Committee, and, along with his wife, co-chaired the Festival Opening Gala.

Rakoff has also served two stints on the Board of Reston Interfaith, the first from 1984 to 1993. During this time he served as Vice President and championed an effort to improve the organization's fundraising capabilities, culminating in the 1991 Channel 9 award program and the original Best of Reston awards and dinner, says Volunteer Fairfax.

During his second term on the Reston Interfaith Board, from 2008 to present, Mr. Rakoff chaired a number of task forces with goals ranging from the reinvigoration of Reston Interfaith messaging and marketing to improving board performance.

Through his positions as a volunteer instructor in the Men's Violence program for the Fairfax County-Falls Church Community Services Board, as an at-large member of the Fairfax County Police Retirement System Board of Trustees, and as a member of the Budget Advisory Committee for the Hunter Mill District, Mr. Rakoff's service has impacted not only Reston, but also Fairfax County as a whole, says Hugdins.

Each year, Community Champions are nominated by their district supervisor. Every member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is granted the honor of selecting one volunteer within their district to be recognized with this award.

This award recognizes volunteers who are committed to improving Fairfax County through their dedicated efforts of bringing the community together in order to work towards a common goal of addressing the concerns of County residents.

In addition to Rakoff, other individuals from the region are being honored for their accomplishments as Community Champions. This year’s full list of Community Champions includes:

Stella Koch, At Large

Cherilyn Murphy, Springfield District

Shep Crow, Mount Vernon District

Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, Providence District

Amy Gould, Braddock District

Suzette Kern, Lee District

Bill Sudow, Dranesville District

Yom Chu Kim, Sully District

Ken and Camille Mittelholtz, Mason District

For more information about the Community Champions or to purchase tickets, visit www.volunteerfairfax.org.