The Rotary Club of Blacksburg has named Ernie Wade of Christiansburg as its 2022 Citizen of the Year.
Wade was Plant Manager for Moog Components Group in Blacksburg and has been a fixture in the Christiansburg community for many years. He was elected to the Christiansburg Town Council where he spent 10 years serving on numerous boards and commissions. He has been a member of the Christiansburg Kiwanis Club for more than forty years.
As President of the Montgomery Museum of Art and History, Wade recently led the effort to purchase and renovate the former Bank of Christiansburg building on the Christiansburg Town Square.
At the recent award presentation in Blacksburg, Rotary President Phil Araman honored Wade with a plaque as well as a donation by the club to the Montgomery Museum in Wade’s honor.
Christiansburg Mayor Mike Barber, a long-time colleague and friend of Wade’s, attended, and provided an insightful introduction, having worked with Wade on the Christiansburg Town Council and on many local and regional boards and commissions over the years. Barber also has a 40-year friendship with Wade as a fellow Kiwanian. He noted that despite Wade’s conspicuous and ongoing contributions in the community, “Wade has remained modest and humble, preferring to get on with the work at hand.”
The Rotary Club selection committee members commented on Wade’s tireless efforts that made the museum project possible, including a capital campaign to raise the necessary funding. It was also noted that “for decades Wade has consistently given of his time and talents for the betterment of others. He’s relentless, always staying busy improving our community.”
Wade thanked the Rotary Club for the award and for the donation to the museum. He said that he was humbled, and he greatly appreciated that he was selected for this honor. He also thanked the club for “ presenting this award to someone in our county each year.”
The Blacksburg Rotary Club is one of six Rotary clubs in the New River Valley and one of 45,000 Rotary and Rotaract clubs around the world with the mission of providing service to others, promoting integrity, and advancing world understanding, good will, and peace through a fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.