Belvedere honors pandemic leaders as Citizen of the Year, Emeritus

When the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020, Nancy Kemnitzer was nine months into her term as Belvedere’s mayor, grappling with how to keep residents safe through the crisis. That same month, Pam Martori stood in an empty church hall packing brown-bag lunches for people whose meal programs had vanished overnight.

Nearly six years later, the city will honor both Jan. 27 for their pandemic-era service and decades of community contributions. Kemnitzer has been named Belvedere’s 2025 Citizen of the Year. Martori received the Citizen Emeritus honor.

Kemnitzer served a decade on the Planning Commission before her 2016 move to the City Council. She served eight years on the council, including 1½ years as mayor from July 2019 to December 2020. She has also volunteered as a neighborhood block captain.

“Her actions define volunteerism for the selfless betterment of the community,” said Peyton Stein, chair of the Citizen of the Year Committee, which is made up of past honorees and makes the annual selection.

Martori has made her mark through a different kind of service. Under her leadership, volunteers assemble more than 100 sandwich lunches each week for the St. Vincent de Paul Free Dining Room in San Rafael and for residents of The Hilarita apartments in Tiburon.

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