CLOSTER — Mayor Emeritus Fred Pitofsky still believes in the creed of a civic organization he was active with in his teens.

"Earth’s great treasure lies in human personality and service to humanity is the best work of life," said Pitofsky, who said he has always followed this concept of the charitable organization, the Jaycee’s. He credits the Jaycee’s with instilling in him the groundwork for leadership training and community development that he put to use later in life.

Pitofsky, who was mayor of Closter for eight years and councilman for nine, will be honored for his years of service at a dinner Feb. 16 sponsored by the Closter Democratic Club.

Linda Albelli, a member of the committee formed by the Democratic Club to honor Pitofsky, said it was time to honor him for "all the time he dedicated to Closter."

"He had served the community for about 20 years, was on various boards, was a councilman and mayor for two terms. The dinner is to celebrate his community service and his dedication to the town… and all the sacrifices he made," she said.

Pitofsky’s service to the borough is extensive, including being insurance commissioner, vice president of the Lions Club, on the Joint Insurance Fund and a member of the Planning Board.

Over the years he has seen changes in Closter, including the growth of the Asian community, which he credits with having donated public benches to the borough.

However, he wants to see Closter become a "hub of the Northern Valley" with greater business opportunities. He hopes for future years to bring more diverse businesses to the downtown and wants to see more community involvement.

"I’d like to see more people have interest in the activities in Closter with a positive attitude," he said.

Of his years of service, Pitofsky points to the fact he was mayor during Closter’s centennial as one of his proudest moments.

"We had big centennial celebrations throughout the year and ended up with a big dinner dance at the country club," said Pitofsky. He is also proud of how he appointed people to various boards.

"I appointed qualified people to different boards regardless of what party they were and all of them have done a great job. I never went by party line."

Pitofsky named former mayors Ed Rogan and Elias Eliasof as influential people in his life who gave him valuable leadership advice.

And Pitofsky himself was influential to his son, Jason, as evident in a college application essay he wrote naming his father as the most inspirational person in his life.

"After a hard day of work he would come home, eat dinner and head back out to one of the organizations to which he belonged. He would always find time to give back to the community," wrote Jason.

Pitofsky’s work ethic will be recognized through the celebration Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Assembly East Hill starting at 7 p.m.