Chamber Names Newton as Citizen of the Year

LUNENBURG – “Rodney is the definition of a true public servant. He steps up whenever possible  to serve the community and promote quality of life in Lunenburg County.”

These were the words from Tracy Gee on Friday night as she was introducing Rodney Newton as the Lunenburg County Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year award winner.

Mr. Newton has been at the forefront of many different news stories lately as he has helped in search efforts for a local woman, was re-elected as Chief at Victoria Fire and Rescue, and he has been hired by Victoria officials as town manager and has helped with numerous recent events locally.  All of those things give a brief look at his many roles and his importance to the county.

Mrs. Gee went on to state, “Rodney and his wife, Stacey, embody the traits that attribute to their own daughters inclinations to public services.”

She continued, “If I could nominate them both at once I would. You would be hard pressed to find two people in one family that give so much of their time to others and the community as a whole in both Victoria and Kenbridge.”

Mr. Newton joined Victoria Fire and Rescue in 1981 as a junior member and was named a Life Member in 2001. He continues to serve as chief of the department and has been integral in helping grow that organization.

He is a 1984 graduate of Central High School and holds an Associates of Science Degree in Paramedicine from J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College, along with studies in business management and emergency management.

He retired after nearly 26 years service with Department of Defense Fire and Emergency Services having worked at Fort Story, Fort Lee, Fort Pickett, and Defense Logistics Agency Richmond (formerly DGSC or Bellwood) during that time. In addition, he has spent the last 15 years of his DOD career at DLA Richmond where he retired as a Supervisory Captain. He also serves as the program manager for one of five communication caches for the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Outside of his accomplishments in the field of emergency services, Mr. Newton has been hugely important locally as he has served as a Lunenburg Health Services Board representative, he is a Deacon at Victoria Baptist Church, a Lunenburg Historical Society member  and served as an instructor for numerous area courses and drills.

He also has been integral in helping coordinate local events such as National Cowboy Day, Autumn Day, the Lunenburg Christmas Parade and Small Town Christmas.

He and Stacey have three children with their oldest, Erica, also working in the emergency services field as she is employed as a Basic Life Support provider with Brunswick EMS as well as part time with LifeStar Transport agency.

Their middle daughter, Taylor, is currently studying criminal justice and homeland security at Longwood University and working as a telecommunicator with Farmville 911.  Their youngest daughter, Emma, is currently a 5th grade student at Kenbridge Elementary School and is present and helps at many of the local events that the family helps organize and participates in throughout the year.

With such a long list of volunteer work and overall accolades it is evident that Rodney Newton was a great choice for being named “Citizen of the Year.”