Winning Awards

Marita Zaffiro deserves an award because of who she is and how she lives!

My partner John Janisse is a member of Rotary International. He takes his membership very seriously and I believe wishes to contribute to the good work that Rotary does. Did you know that Rotary through it’s extrordinary efforts has virtually eliminated Polio on our planet? That’s another story…but nevertheless really important.

Because he is a Rotarian I was able to go to the Paul Harris awards night yesterday. Four people were awarded Paul Harris fellowships mostly due to exemplary community service.

I’d like to talk about one of them. In 1988 a young lady bought a small pharmacy on James Street North in Hamilton Ontario called Marchese. The pharmacy was destined to grow beyond what anyone would imagine under her leadership over the next years. Marita Zaffiro, very committed to staying on James Street North would soon purchase more buidlings and build an incredible compounding pharmacy that would reach out to patients receiving care in their homes with infusion therapy services, a wide range of medical supplies and specialized medication programs, as well as an on-site dispensing pharmacy.

Marchese serves people living in a multicultural and low socio-economic community where there is a need for broader health information. They do so in in 26 languages.

From what I know of Marita and from what I could gather in her acceptance last night, it’s not about the award. Marita has been committed to her employees, her clients, her suppliers, and the community at large because of who she is. I think she has a strong sense of justice and cares that people are treated that way.

We’ve always been proud to have Marchese as our client, and last night gave us one more reason. When you meet Marita, you know that there’s hope for our world. Congratulations Marita – not on the award – but on being the person who made the award possible. You’re a great leader and we appreciate it very much.