Kiwanis Club honors retiring Windsor health director

Dr. Charles Petrillo thanks the Kiwanis Club for honoring him for his volunteer efforts with the club and his 38 years of work for the town. Photos by Colin Rajala.

The Kiwanis Club of Windsor gathered for dinner at the Whistle Stop Café on Nov. 8 to honor a man that is Windsor through and through, working for the town for well over three decades while serving on a multitude of committees and spending his spare time volunteering and helping the town with various organizations like the Kiwanis Club and the Rotary Club. The Kiwanis Club commended Dr. Charles Petrillo for his service to the town as a two-term president of the club and as the town’s health director, a position that he has held for 38 years and from which he will soon be retiring.

“It’s very humbling because I’ve known all these people for many years, and there are so many good people in the town that should be recognized, I almost feel guilty,” Petrillo said. “I think that all the civic clubs in town do a tremendous job. It takes a lot of commitment on the part of their members, and I am proud to have been part of an effort to bring the community together and support whatever is needed.”

Former Town Council member and current Kiwanis member Robert Christensen presented Petrillo to the group, speaking about his volunteer and professional efforts in town through the years, including cleaning Rainbow Brook, organizing the town’s first flu clinic, controlling and abating various mosquito outbreaks, regulating the town’s septic system and - Petrillo’s pride and joy - the Windsor/Bloomfield Landfill. The landfill is one of two municipal landfills in the state and Petrillo played a vital part in establishing an enterprise fund for the venture. His role in the fund made the landfill a self-sustaining operation that has a $30 million reserve to pay for the operation's closing costs.

“You brought to this town a level of honesty and sincerity that I don’t think we will ever see again,” Christensen said. “I wish we could have named a building after you. While you spend your years in Florida, remember there are a lot of folks back here in Windsor that appreciate everything you did. You served the town and its people well.”