The Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council is proud to announce that Rodney Barker, our longest serving member, will be receiving he prestigious Thelma Fleishman Lifetime Achievement Award for his long time service to Newton’s historic fabric. This award is presented annually by Historic Newton in collaboration with the Newton Historical Commission.

The presentation with a reception to follow will be held on Wednesday, November 9th from 6-8 PM at the Wilson Chapel, Andover Newton Theological School, 234 Herrick Road, newton Centre. Tickets are $20.00 a person. Please call 617-976-1463 or visit historicnewton.org for more information about purchasing tickets.

Rodney was appointed to the Newton Historical Commission in 2002 and served until 2014 and on the newly formed Auburndale Local District Commission between 2005 and 2014. The award will acknowledge that Rodney’s “service on both commissions displayed his tenacious commitment to protect the historic homes that have become endangered by demolition and redevelopment”.

In addition to his preservation work, Rodney has served for many years on both the Newton School Committee and Board of Aldermen. He is currently the longest serving member of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council that he helped establish in 1974. These formal positions hardly begin to measure the full impact that Rodney’s values, perseverance, blunt honesty and unquestioned integrity have had on public and political discourse n Newton and why so many people in Newton and beyond proudly call him a true friend and loyal compatriot.