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“In hundreds of different ways, Dr. George Lacovera has served the people of the Town of Fairfield,” wrote Fairfield University Alumni Relations Director Joan Canepa, who nominated Lacovara for the award.
The Fairfielder of the Year award goes to one resident who devotes “personal time, energy and talent of service to the residents of Fairfield, and/or society in general, that promotes the betterment of life in our town,” according to the award’s criteria. A three-person panel picks the winner each year from a pool of nominees offered by local residents.
A Fairfield native, Lacovara graduated from Fairfield Prep and Fairfield University before earning his dental degree at Columbia University. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, her returned to Fairfield to open his dental practice and became involved in many town organizations.
Within Fairfield’s government, Lacovara served on the Board of Health, the Police Commission and the Ethics Commission in a career spanning decades. He also worked as a past director of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce and was active in volunteer groups, including the Fairfield University Alumni Association, the Fairfield Kiwanis Club, the Bridgeport Dental Association and the Connecticut Dental Association, serving as president of all four groups at some point. He is also a Eucharistic minister at St. Pius X Catholic Church.
Lacovara’s work in Fairfield goes beyond organizations and extends to “the little things,” said Selectman Kevin Kiley. “Helping a neighbor, doing this for a person, helping a friend in need." He called Lacovara, “A great Fairfielder and very well-deserving of this award.”
The honor Wednesday was just another in a long list of awards Lacovara has received for his work. He won Columbia’s Outstanding Alumnus Award, the Bridgeport Dental Association’s Dentist of the Year and the Chamber of Commerce’s Harold Harris Leadership Award as well as community service awards from the Connecticut secretary of the state and the Fairfield Republican Party.
Lacovara’s name will be added to a plaque in Sullivan Independence Hall along with past winners. He was not able to receive the honor in person Wednesday because of illness, but his wife Joan and four children took home the honor on his behalf. Joan declined to comment, saying only “Thank you” to the Board of Selectmen.
“What makes Fairfield special is that spirit of volunteerism, that giving back,” First Selectman Michael Tetreau said. “And George, in no small way, was a leader by example in that, and an example for all of us to live up to.”
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