Dunkirk honors Person of the Year
By JOEL CUTHBERT
POSTED: October 13, 2008
POSTED: October 13, 2008
Town officials nominated the late John Kall as the 2008 Person of the Year in Dunkirk.
The Dunkirk Town Board will host a special dedication ceremony for family and friends of Kall - a longtime employee of the town and active member of the community - Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the town hall with the regular meeting of the town board to follow at 7 p.m.
The Person of the Year recognition award was started as a town of Dunkirk tradition in 1996, with a brief hiatus from nominations in 2005 before being resumed.
"When we started Person of the Year we didn't want it to be an elected official," Supervisor Richard Purol said. "We wanted it to be someone who was instrumental to the town, and John Kall was certainly that ... Even though it's been a few years since he passed, he's not forgotten."
Kall worked as a police officer in the town of Dunkirk for 26 years, beginning in 1979 and serving until his death in 2005. Although he worked on a part-time basis, Purol said, he was always on call, and despite serving as law enforcement for the township, maintained friendships with all town residents. In addition, Kall worked as a police officer for the town of Pomfret, village of Fredonia and city of Dunkirk.
Kall exemplified a truly civic-minded mentality, and embodied a healthy dedication to his community and love of his fellow community members.
Among his many services to the community, Kall was a member of the Chautauqua County Deputy Sheriff's Association and a helicopter pilot in the DWI unit of the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department; a member of the Northern Chautauqua County Catholic School Board and former Eucharistic Minister at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church; a volunteer for the Catholic school fundraiser, Summerfest; a volunteer for the United Way Day of Caring for years; worked bingo twice a week; was a local baseball umpire; and assisted local fire departments when he had free time, to name just a few of his many selfless activities.
"He just did so much for the community," Town Clerk Jean Crane said. "He was a great guy."
Family, friends and past town officials will be in attendance for the Person of the Year dedication ceremony in which a tree will be planted in the memorial garden next to the town hall in Kall's name. A short reception will be held in the town hall following the dedication.
We are so proud of him!
