Rotarian of Action Award

The Rotary Club of Tehachapi has selected Chris Naftel as its Rotarian of Action for this year.

Chris has been a Rotary Club member for more than three years and has proven himself to be a true Rotarian of Action. During his first year in the local service club, he was Director of Community Service, where he organized and oversaw excellent service projects. He also implemented new community projects. In his second year, he served as our club president. During his term, our club membership grew and weekly Rotary meetings were attended in greater numbers than ever.

The current Rotary year finds Chris serving on the club board of directors not only as our past president, but as the current director of community service, a most important board position. While many thought it not possible for Chris to exceed his prior role experience, he has shown a tremendous skill in his planning, organizing and communicating our service projects this year.

Because of his impressive contributions and demonstrated leadership skills, Chris has been asked to be our president again, beginning July 2020. He has gladly accepted and our members are excited to have him at the helm once again. His organization skills are superior. He is an excellent planner and delegator who is respected and admired by his fellow club members. His career in Aeronautical Engineering and Management has equipped him with keen insights into how organizations function and how to put together successful projects. He is a graduate of Rotary Masters PRLS (leadership training) and applies his learning to our club programs to make them successful.

Chris is a Rotarian of Action beyond the local club level. He has attended Rotary International Conventions in Atlanta and Toronto, attended District Conferences and District Training Assemblies, and officer training meetings. He has been highly involved in the club’s International Service project in Mexico and has traveled on each of our trips to support orphaned kids below the border.

The Tehachapi Rotary Club has been enriched by Chris’ participation. He is a self-starter and a dynamic leader. We are proud participants of the two new Community Projects that Chris developed – The “Comfort Bear” which provides little teddy bears to kids at the new hospital and “The Prison Outreach” program which helps CCI inmates develop needed life-skills.

In addition to his many accomplishments, Chris embodies the ideals of Rotary in his everyday club participation. He is truthful, he is fair, he builds goodwill and friendships, and his practices and actions are beneficial to all concerned. He is truly a Rotarian of Action.

Tehachapi Rotary meets every Thursday at noon at The Shed restaurant, 333 E. Tehachapi Blvd. For more information contact Tim Trujillo at (661) 821-0086.