Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Dec. 2
City of Fairfax Mayor David Meyer and the Fairfax City Council will present longtime Mosby Woods resident Dale Lestina with the Fairfax Award at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 5, in the City Hall council chambers. This prestigious award, the city’s highest recognition, honors outstanding achievement in public service. A reception will follow the award ceremony.
Among his many contributions to the city, Lestina, 85, served on the city’s Economic Development Authority for 17 years, including 12 years as chair; chaired the Fairfax 2020 Commission in the early 1990s; served as president of the Mosby Woods Community Association; led the Unite Mosby Woods effort to adjust the boundary with Fairfax County; chaired the I-66 Citizens Coalition, which fought for the construction of sound walls to reduce traffic noise for Mosby Woods residents.
In 1988, Mosby Woods Park was renamed Dale Lestina Park. The park had been an open-air drug market before Lestina and George Snyder created Block Watch to put a stop to criminal activity there. Lestina, who for 50 years has lived in the same house adjacent to the park, still enjoys the park.
As the chief lobbyist for the National Education Association, Lestina was instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Department of Education. He has received a Christmas card from former President Jimmy Carter every year since.
Lestina graduated from Minnesota State University at Moorhead with a major in physics. During his university days he was an accomplished football player, heavyweight wrestler and boxer, and he met his wife Bonita there. Lestina received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1984.
Lestina’s late wife, Bonita, a talented artist and pianist, started the Bonita Lestina Old Town Hall Performance Series in Fairfax City, which continues to entertain city residents with a variety of free concerts every year.
Lestina, who remains an active and respected civic leader, serves as the president of the Fairfax Renaissance Housing Corporation, an organization that provides affordable home improvement loans to city residents.
Still looking for ways to make a difference in his community, Lestina starts his day by looking in the mirror and asking, “What will I do today?”
For more information about the ceremony and reception, contact the city clerk cityclerk@fairfaxva.gov at 703-385-7850. All are welcome to attend. Face masks are required inside City Hall.
Original source can be found here.
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