The Livingston chapter of UNICO has announced that Rufino “Rudy” Fernandez, Jr. has been named the organization’s 2024 Citizen of the Year. Fernandez, the 67th recipient of this award, will be honored at a brunch on Sunday, April 21, at Hanover Manor. He follows in the footsteps of Stacey Rubinstein, Brian Boyle, Walter Joyce, Nick Santinelli, Sandy and Len Goodman, Nancy Dinar, Tom Cooney, and many more who have been honored for their service to the community, embodying the UNICO motto of “Service Above Self.”
Fernandez is well known for his commitment to public service. He served on the Township Council for 15 years, and was mayor in 2011, 2013, and 2020. Since 1998, he has taken a leadership role in Kiwanis, a community not-for-profit organization, serving as president, vice president, and, for the last ten years, as treasurer. Femandez has served on the Livingston Planning Board for six years and has recently taken on the role of board chairman.
Fernandez is a lifelong volunteer and public servant who has served on 24 committees in the community. He is an attorney with the Livingston law firm of Aronson and Fernandez, which specializes in estate planning and administration, tax planning, tax and corporate law, and he has served as an expert witness for more than 30 years. He is a member of New Jersey, Essex County and Hispanic Bar Associations, and has held leadership roles within the New Jersey Supreme Court committees since 1999, including chairman of the New Jersey Supreme Court District Arbitration Committee and vice chairman of the Essex County Bar Association Trust and Estate Committee.
Outside of professional volunteering, Fernandez has been a member of the board of managers of the West Essex YMCA since 1999, and has served in numerous leadership roles as well within the YMCA.
When he is not volunteering or working, Fernandez enjoys riding his motorcycle, scuba diving, and spending time with his family and friends. He lives in Livingston with his wife, Patty, who is also an active volunteer in the community, and his two children, Rudy and Samantha.
According to UNICO committee chairman Pat Ippolito, when told that he had been selected, Fernandez at first attempted to defer and offered instead to help select another honoree. “I told him we wouldn’t accept ‘no’ as an answer,” Ippolito explained.
Fernandez said, “Livingston UNICO is a remarkable organization that has been serving the Livingston and the Italian-American community for many years, and I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this award. But in doing so, I accept it on behalf of all the volunteers I have had the privilege to work alongside over the years. They have all been an inspiration to me.”
The community is invited to a brunch in Fernandez’s honor, on Sunday, April 21, at 11 a.m. at the Hanover Manor. Tickets will go on sale on February 1. The chairmen for the Citizen of the Year are Pat Ippolito, who may be reached at pipchange
