Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award, Past Recipients

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David R. Elleman, CNY RPDB's 2007 REC Award Recipient

David R. Elleman (left) receives the CNY RPDB's Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award from County Executive Nicholas J. Pirro at the Board's 2007 Annual Meeting

David R. Elleman was named the recipient of the 22^nd Annual Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award at the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board's (CNY RPDB's) Annual Meeting held on Wednesday, December 12, 2007, at the Syracuse Wyndham.

Mr. Elleman has been a resident of the Syracuse community for over 50 years. During this time he has served both as an elected official and an active citizen volunteer. As an elected official he served as the Onondaga County Comptroller from 1967 to 1995, during which time he was a founding members and president of the NYS Municipal Finance Officers Association. In addition to his official duties Mr. Elleman has been a strong supporter of community planning efforts in our community for many years. As part of his community service Mr. Elleman served as ex officio member of the Onondaga County Planning Board during his tenure as Comptroller and as a volunteer member of the CNY RPDB since 1967. As one of the original members of the CNY RPDB, Mr. Elleman worked closely with Rhea Eckel Clark during the formative years of that organization.

In addition to his strong support for planning initiatives in our community, Mr. Elleman has served numerous other civic organizations in CNY including the United Fund, American Cancer Society, and the Optimist Club of CNY.

Born in Richmond, Indiana, Mr. Elleman is a graduate of Purdue University and a veteran of the USAF where he served in active duty during the Korean War. He flew over 50 bombing missions during this military campaign and was recognized for his service to our nation with the Distinguished Flying Cross Award. Following his active duty service, Mr. Elleman returned to Syracuse and served for many years as a member of the 174^th Reserve Unit where he rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel. As a retired citizen, he remains active in our community and continues to lend his support to all of us—both elected and appointed officials—in our efforts to serve the citizens of CNY.

Past Recipients