Last Updated: March 19, 2024 by ritnppa

2023 Gitner Award: Kayla Bartkowski

Kayla Bartkowski – The Gitner Family Award Winner

Dan Scanlon and Lt. Jim Carracci climb into the top window of the live burn building during training with the Irondequoit Fire Department at the Fairport Fire Training Center in Fairport, N.Y. on Oct. 13, 2022. The fire department conducts the live fire training annually and requires that all firefighters complete the training.

Troy Okoniewski from Buffalo, N.Y crashes after attempting a back flip at the Halloween Jump Jam at Pinnacle Hill in Rochester, N.Y on Oct. 30, 2022. The Halloween Jump Jam happens once a year and bikers around Rochester dress up to participate in biking competitions.

Stephanie Forrester comforts daughter, Izabella Forrester who holds the ashes of her father, Justin Forrester’s during the 2022 Rochester Overdose Vigil in Rochester, N.Y. on Aug. 31, 2022. Stephanie and Izabella have been active members of the New York Recovery Alliance after Stephanie became sober and Justin Forrester passed of an overdose in 2017.

Tess Interlicchia picks leaves off her cannabis plants at Grateful Valley Farm in Lindley, N.Y. on Sept. 10, 2022. Picking the leaves off the plants allows more sunlight to access the plants, results larger buds. Tess founded her farm in 2017 and sells to dispensaries around New York.

Kevin Holahan and Ryan Kohlmeier climb up the fire truck to reach the roof of the live burn training house with the Irondequoit Fire Department at the Fairport Fire Training Center in Fairport, N.Y. on Oct. 13, 2022. The fire department conducts the live fire training annually and requires all fire fighters complete the training.

Lt. Josh Mastin helps conduct live burn training with the Irondequoit Fire Department at the Fairport Fire Training Center in Fairport, N.Y. on Oct. 13, 2022. The fire department conducts the live fire training annually and requires all fire fighters complete the training.

By Kayla Bartkowski Allen Lee is an 87-year-old grandfather, father, and husband. He has always been very independent, being the oldest of three and coming to the United States alone in 1961. He left behind in Taiwan his fiance, parents, and three siblings to further his education and help support them financially. His fiance came to the US one year later, where they married and settled down in Rochester, N.Y., in 1966. He found a love for pickleball in 2008 at the Eastside YMCA, which has allowed him to stay active as well as feel young. Unfortunately, in 2012, he was diagnosed with stage 3 stomach cancer. Throughout the treatments, he learned the importance of being able to let go and depend on others and his faith to survive.

Pheasant Hunt

German shorthair, Hudson and owner, Jamie Linder, from Fairport, N.Y. drive to a pheasant farm to hunt at Fetherquest in Le Roy, N.Y. on Nov. 27, 2022. Across the country, pheasants and hunters are significant economic and conservation drivers. “Pheasant states” place a high value on retaining such advantages. According to Pheasant Forever Inc., pheasant hunters have contributed about $1 billion to conservation efforts. Jamie Linder from Fairport, N.Y. has been a pheasant hunting guide for three years alongside his dogs, Hudson and Memphis. Hudson and Memphis are German shorthaired pointers and have been raised as bird dogs since birth. The dogs have instincts to point by stopping and pointing its nose and at prey is where the name “pointer” originates. Linder then flushes the pheasants allowing the hunters to shoot them down.

Hunting guide, Jamie Linder from Fairport, N.Y. hunts pheasants at Fetherquest in Le Roy, N.Y. on Nov. 27, 2022.

German shorthair, Hudson brings pheasant to owner, Jamie Linder, from Fairport, N.Y. at Fetherquest in Le Roy, N.Y. on Nov. 27, 2022.

Jamie Linder’s hunting group lines up the pheasant they shot while pheasant hunting at Fetherquest in Le Roy, N.Y. on Nov. 27, 2022.

German shorthairs, Memphis and Hudson prepare for tomorrow’s pheasant hunt on Nov. 25 2022 at their home with owner, Jamie Linder in Fairport, N.Y. Hudson (6) has been pheasant hunting for five years while Memphis (4 months) is currently learning how to point.

Category: 2023 What We Do, Contests Tags: Kayla Bartkowski