Meet Zach Pruitt, Northfield Patch's Person of the Year

Editor's note: Zach Pruitt received the of 10 nominees to be named Northfield Patch's Person of the Year 2011.

Behind every great accomplishment is someone working tirelessly and, too often, thanklessly, to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

For Northfield, Zach Pruitt is that person.

Pruitt, who is the director of the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative and the assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach at , was  Northfield Patch’s Person of the Year during a five-day poll on Patch. In doing so, he received 50 percent of the votes—1,500 of 2,974.

“He does not look for recognition,” said Susan Sanderson, who also works in youth development and met Pruitt 15 years ago, when he was a sophomore at Carleton.

Sanderson was one of several community members to comment on Pruitt’s humility.

"Zach has been working at good things in Northfield for a long time," wrote Northfield City Councilor Betsey Buckheit on the that Pruitt had received the most votes. "Usually he's the person handing out awards and grants to others in his role with the HCI - so glad he's getting recognition for his own work."

And even though she was a nominee for Person of the Year, Pat Allen threw her support behind Pruitt.

"I would like to support Zach Pruitt for all the efforts he makes on behalf of kids in Northfield," she wrote on Patch. "He champions many collaborative efforts and deserves the honor of being the person of the year."

But someone who devotes as much time to the community as Pruitt can only go so long without having the spotlight turned on him.

Pruitt has brought approximately $4 million to the Northfield area in grant funding through his work with HCI.

He is also a member of the board of directors of the , provides staff support for the Rice County Chemical Health Coalition and serves on the boards of the Minnesota Alliance with Youth, the Northfield Tennis Association and the Northfield Goal Club.

“He really thinks of others first,” said Barb Farmer, board president of HCI.

Pruitt is particularly interested in supporting community youth projects.

He has served on the adult board of directors for The Key, an organization he said he admires for its sustained cultivation of youth leadership, for over 10 years. Pruitt has also mentored a local youth through the Connected Kids mentoring program for the past six years.

“The youth focus is really important to me,” said Pruitt. “It’s important, as a community, for us to look at who’s at the table.”

If the results of Northfield Patch's poll for Person of the Year have proven anything, it’s that Northfield is proud to have Pruitt sitting at the head of its table.