The Sodus Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce Sandra Hamilton as the 2022 Citizen of the Year.  Sandra is the epitome of someone who leads a life of volunteer work. 

In 2009, when Sandra retired after teaching high school English for 37 years, she continued to substitute teach for 6 years in Gananda where she had been for 30 years. Eventually, she found the time to get more involved with her local community, and it seemed, as she said quite often, one thing led to another.

 Tom Miller asked her to join one of the committees involved with the renovation on the Sodus Community Library. She also joined the Friends of the Library and helped to organize book and bake sales. Sandy served as the president of the group until December of 2022.

After retirement, Sandi became involved in the Sodus United Third Methodist Church where she had attended during her childhood. She was  a weekly liturgist, and  started helping in the second-hand thrift store during the summer Sodus Farmers’ MarketShe also became a member of the market team in charge of the vendor information and  coordinator for the EBT/SNAP program at our local market.

She has been involved in Sodus village government, serving on the planning board, then as a village trustee in 2016 and continues to serve in that position. “This was sort of “in my blood’ because my mother served as village clerk from the late 1950s to 1976.” As a trustee, Sandi also serves on the Climate Smart Task Force.

 A few years ago, Sandi joined the Sodus Chamber and served on the board. She has been a part of the Harvest Fest committee and is vice president.

 As a lifelong resident of the Village of Sodus and the third generation of her family to live on Mill Street, Sandi has a passion for our local history. She and Jim Hopokins founded the Town of Sodus Historical Society in June 2015, and Sandi became the first president of the group, and Jim was named vice president. Both still serve in those positions today. This role led her to many “side Jobs.” She was one of the co-chairs for the organization of the Village Centennial in 2018.

In Wayne County, she has helped with the all­-consuming project - Wayne County Bicentennial. She was on the   proofreading committee for the Bicentennial book Voices of Wayne County along with Amber Linson and Anne L’Hommedieu. They spent about six months reading and editing the 140 submissions that are included in the book. Sandy was also asked to serve on the committee that designed the 40-page Bicentennial supplement.

One more “task” that Sandra enjoys is organizing the class reunions for the SCS Class of ‘67 along with a committee of her former classmates.  In retirement, Sandi has had the opportunity to travel, but her favorite place is Sodus and taking part in the daily activities in our community. With her little dog Toby, she walks daily to check out what is going on around the village.

Sodus United Third Methodist Church link: https://www.loc8nearme.com/new-york/sodus/sodus-united-third-methodist/7313361/