The Rotary Club of Northfield recently named Mar Valdecantos as Rotary’s Good Neighbor for 2018.
 
Mar Valdecantos and Alyssa Herzog-Melby
Alyssa Herzog-Melby, right, presents Northfield Rotary Club's Good Neighbor award to Mar Valdecantos, left. (Photo courtesy of Northfield Rotary)

The Rotary Club of Northfield recently named Mar Valdecantos as Rotary’s Good Neighbor for 2019. Each year, the award goes to a non-Rotarian resident of Northfield School District whose community work reflects Rotary’s commitment to “service above self.”

Valdecantos is a tireless advocate for under-represented members of the community, according to the organization. She serves as chair of Northfield Human Rights Commission, a member of the Governor’s Task Force On Housing, a member of Northfield Affordable Housing Task Force and a radio host for “El Super Barrio,” a local radio program produced for the Latino community.

Valdecantos is a member of Neighbors United, a local organization dedicated to increasing the visibility and empowerment of Northfield’s immigrant community. She has worked to build bridges between recent arrivals and the larger Northfield community and on the Municipal ID program, among other collaborative work.

Valdecantos, a trained sociologist, accepted the award on behalf of Neighbors United. She said it takes a team effort to make things happen.

“It’s never a one person deal,” she said.

Alyssa Herzog-Melby, a member of Rotary’s Good Neighbor selection committee, said Valdecantos is an outstanding example of a Northfielder who invests in her community.

“Her work embodies good neighbor and then some,” Herzog-Melby said.

Rotary meets from 12:00–1:15 p.m. Thursdays at Northfield United Methodist Church. Learn more at northfieldrotary.org.