Judie Butterfield dove into community service when she moved to her husband’s boyhood home of Gettysburg in the mid-1990s.
Her involvement started when Judge Oscar Spicer asked her to serve on a newly-formed Citizen’s Task Force for the Adams County Prison System. She was then appointed to the York-Adams Health/Mental Retardation Board, YWCA Gettysburg & Adams County Board of Directors, Historic Gettysburg Train Station Revitalization Committee, Gettysburg Borough Citizens Committee for Recycling and the Adams County Arts Council Board of Directors. She also launched and managed the Borough of Gettysburg’s first website and was elected to the Gettysburg Borough Council.
In recognition of her service, The Rotary Club of Gettysburg presented Butterfield with its Dwight David Eisenhower Humanitarian Award during the club’s meeting on Monday.
“Day in and day out, she tries to make Gettysburg better for the people who live, work and visit here,” Chris Glatfelter, Rotary community service chair and former Adams County Arts Council executive director, said.
Glatfelter said she first met Butterfield 15 years ago and instantly thought she would be a good fit for the Arts Council board. Since then, Butterfield has served three years as president and a member of the Masquerade Party, Program, Gingerbread, Juried Art Exhibition and Book Events committees.
Dr. Michael Birkner, Gettysburg College Eisenhower historian, said Butterfield’s calm demeanor and rigorous work ethic made her a great choice for borough council.
“I think a little more kindness and Golden Rule behavior would serve everybody,” Birkner said.
The Palm Springs, Florida, Chamber of Commerce first presented the humanitarian award to Eisenhower in 1967. It was transferred to the Rotary Club of Gettysburg in 2003. The club accepts nominations for the award annually but only awards it when the selection committee believes they have a candidate who fits the criteria. Nominees must be considered for work done outside of their paid employment.
Birkner said Eisenhower was especially honored to receive the award because it is one of few times the highly-decorated Army general was recognized for his humanitarian work. Birkner cited Eisenhower expanding the availability of the polio vaccine as an example of his care for people.
“We tend to forget what a multi-dimensional character Eisenhower was,” Birkner said. “When he first accepted the initial Eisenhower Humanitarian Award with Bob Hope, he said this award really mattered to him because it was unique.”
 
Leah Krichten of Sen. Doug Mastriano’s office and Chris Kimple of Rep. Dan Moul’s office presented Butterfield with citations from the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives, respectively. Kimple also serves as chair of the Eisenhower Humanitarian Award Committee.
Anna Mae-Kobbe, Rotary Club of Gettysburg foundation chair, presented Butterfield with a Paul Harris Fellow recognizing the club donating $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation in Butterfield’s name. The Rotary Foundation helps Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.
 
When it came time to take to the microphone, Butterfield used her time to thank her family and encourage others to perform humanitarian work.
“How strange that someone should be praised for activities that bring on such pleasure,” Butterfield said.
 

Brigid Goss, a program supervisor for Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit 5, was inducted into the Rotary Club of Gettysburg on Wednesday during the club’s semimonthly meeting at Mela Kitchen.
Goss is a former Rotary Youth Exchange Student who studied in Romania during the 2007-08 school year. She credits her experience as a Rotary Youth Exchange student “as one that opened the door to many educational and professional opportunities.”
She is pictured with her sponsor, and mother, fellow Rotarian Laura Goss.