Richard G (Dick) Hagerty of Oakdale has been named the American Legion Post 74 Citizen of the Year. This prestigious honor has been awarded since 1949 to an outstanding citizen of the region. Once called the Man of the Year award, it now is open to outstanding women as well as men.

Hagerty, a U.S. Navy veteran, has lived in Stanislaus County the last 51 years. After 10 years in public accounting, he entered into real estate development in Central California where he developed more than 10,000 residential lots. He founded and is active in a number of other businesses including Modesto Steel Co. Inc., Modesto Welding Products Inc., Great Valley Real Estate and Windward Pacific Builders.

Hagerty has a long history of community service. He has been dedicated to the Salvation Army for more than 40 years, serving in many capacities, including on the Salvation Army National Board. He is the current President of the Oakdale Dinner Club. He continues to present occasional lectures at CSU Stanislaus and conducts management seminars for various nonprofit charities.

Past recipients of this prestigious honor are Lynn Dickerson, Norm Porges, Ron Emerzian, Kenni Friedman, Carol Whiteside, Jeff Cowan, Dr. Tom Van Groningen, Jeremiah Williams, Al Menshew, Marie Gallo, Bill Seavy, Odessa Johnson, John and June Rogers, Dr. Curtis Grant and Dan Costa.

The public is invited to the awards ceremony on Monday, Aug. 13 at the Stanislaus Veterans Services office at 3500 Coffee Road, Suite 19 in Modesto. Reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by dinner and the program at 7 p.m.

Lynn Dickerson, last year’s honoree, will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15 for the general public and $10 for Legionnaires.