Chris Naftel receives Rotarian of Action Award
The Rotary Club of Tehachapi has selected Chris Naftel as its Rotarian of Action for this year.
Naftel has been a Rotary Club member for three-plus 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 Naftel serving on the club board of directors not only as our past president, but also as the current director of community service, a most important board position. While many thought it not possible for Naftel 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, Naftel has been asked to be our club president again beginning July 2020. He has gladly accepted, and our members are excited to have him at the helm once again. His organizational 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.
Naftel 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 the orphaned kids below the border.
The Tehachapi Rotary Club has been enriched by Naftel’s participation. He is a self-starter and a dynamic leader. We are proud participants of the two new community projects that he 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, Naftel 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.
Tim Trujillo, SHRM-SCP, is the membership chair for the Rotary Club of Tehachapi.