The award has been given annually by the chamber since 1948 -- more than half-a-century. Yet Darcie is the first CCAA director to earn Citizens of the Year.

                                                                                      
In a recent chamber newsletter, Darcie was cited for using her arts background to help "promote the artistic and cultural history of the area" and bringing educational programs to "diverse regions of Chester County."Jackie Van Grofski, who was on the nominating committee, described Darcie as a real achiever. "She's an incredibly talented person with a tremendous amount of energy."

The extent of that energy was the unspoken theme, so to speak, at the Chamber’s awards dinner, held February 5th at the Mendenhall Inn. It was especially interesting to view a short film that revealed a few statistics about Darcie, namely that she came to CCAA more than 20 years ago; joined its board in 1996 and became its executive director in 1998.

We also learned the extent of Darcie's involvement with other nonprofit groups other than CCAA. The short list includes the March of Dimes, the West Chester Downtown Foundation and the Community Mental Health Services.

With the March of Dimes, she has served as co-chair of the selection committee for its "Women of Achievement" annual award. She was a 2005 honoree as well. In 2004, she was appointed to the advisory board of the Chester County Department of Children, Youth and Families. She also serves as board president of the Chester County Children's Inc, a nonprofit group that works with the county to help area foster children attend summer camp.

Congratulations Darcie!