Rotarian of the Year named in village
SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW
by JESSICA L. FINCH

Victoria L. D'Angelo

The award is given out so rarely the recipient didn't even know it existed. So when Victoria D'Angelo was named Rotarian of the Year she was, "flabbergasted," she said. A member of the Williamsville Rotary, she was honored for outstanding service to the organization and the community.

D'Angelo has been a Rotary member since 1994 and for the past two years has served as treasurer.

"It's a special award that I didn't even know existed," D'Angelo said of the honor. "The president has it at his disposal and awards it when he feels it's warranted."

President James Pawlicki honored D'Angelo with the award.

D'Angelo acknowledged that serving as treasurer is a time consuming task, in addition to her position as a lawyer with Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel, LLP. But she wanted to create time for volunteering and raising funds for the various groups benefited by Rotary.

She has helped raise funds for Kids Escaping Drugs, Williamsville South High School scholarships, youth organizations, senior citizen groups and the Amherst Symphony, as well as other local organizations.

"They are all very worthy causes," she said when asked if one was more important to her personally.

Although she grew up in Orchard Park, D'Angelo has become a big part of Williamsville and vice versa. She served as village justice for 11 years, beginning in 1992. She has also worked on Main Street in the village since the 1970s.

D'Angelo brought more than 25 years of experience in estate and trust planning, succession planning, real estate development and business law when she joined Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel, LLP.

She said when she attended the University at Buffalo for her undergraduate and law degrees, she became accustomed to the Northtowns and has been working and living here ever since.

Her work with the Williamsville Rotary has been part of the experience.

"It's a great organization to be involved with," she said, adding that it takes dedication to add club duties to her busy schedule.

She also serves on the board of directors for the Williamsville Rotary Foundation.

D'Angelo is also associated with the Financial Planning Counselors of Western New York and is a member of the Strategic Planning Committee for the Amherst Museum. She serves on the executive committee of the Trust and Estate Section of the New York State Bar Association, as vice chair of the Estate and Trust Administration Committee, is a member of the American, Erie County and Women's Bar Associations and serves on the Surrogate's Court and Real Property Law committees of the Bar Association of Erie County and Financial Planning Counselors.

She has also received the Business First of Buffalo "Women Who Mean Business Award" and various Rotary, mentoring and community service honors.

D'Angelo said she enjoys the challenges involved in the various organizations she has become part of.

"It's a lot of long hours ... but it's very rewarding," she said, adding that it is the people with whom she volunteers who keep her going when there aren't enough hours in the day. "It's nice to be able to help out the youth and other groups."

D'Angelo is married to Paul Comeau, a partner at Hodgson Russ LLP, and has three stepchildren, John, Christina and Steven.

If you have a suggestion for someone to feature in this column, send it to Jessica L. Finch, Amherst Bee, associate editor, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150, or call 204-4917.