Needham Town Manager To Be Honored At Needham Night

NEEDHAM, MA — Needham Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick will be honored by the Newton-Needham Regional Chamber of Commerce next month. Fitzpatrick has been working with the town for 30 years and was Needham's first town manager. She will be honored at the annual Needham Night Dinner on Jan. 29.

Needham Night, presented by Needham Bank, is a special evening dedicated to celebrating the town’s economic and cultural vitality. The event at the Needham Sheraton Hotel will also include a special guest speaker, award presentations to local merchants, cocktail reception and a three-course dinner.

“Needham is nationally recognized at a great place to do business, to work and to live. At least part of the credit for that should be attributed to Kate Fitzpatrick’s three decades of steady leadership,” said Chamber President Greg Reibman. “The Needham Night Dinner is an opportunity for our local businesses and nonprofits to offer our thanks.”

Fitzpatrick was appointed as Needham’s first town manager in 2005 and has served the municipality since 1990 as town administrator, assistant town administrator and personnel director.

“Kate Fitzpatrick is the epitome of integrity and purpose in public service,” said State Rep. Denise Garlick. “Throughout her 30-year career in Needham and her tenure as town manager, her dedication and steadfast commitment has strengthened community initiatives and rebuilt the many public assets on which the people of our town rely."

Before serving in Needham, Fitzpatrick worked in a variety of human resource roles for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is a Commissioner on the Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission and has served as president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (the state’s non-partisan league of cities and towns), president of the Massachusetts Municipal Managers Association, chair of the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s Labor and Personnel Policy Committee, and chair of the Massachusetts Municipal Personnel Association.

She is a member of the national League of Women in Government, past chair of the ICMA Leadership Advisory Board, and is a founding member of Women Leading Government in Massachusetts. Fitzpatrick received a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the College of Holy Cross in 1984, and an MBA, with a concentration in Public Management, from Boston University in 1993. She is an ICMA Credentialed Manager.

“There’s just no way that Kate has worked for the Town of Needham for 30 years -- she hasn’t aged a bit,” said John Bulian, chair of the Needham Select Board. “Congratulations Kate.”