Czerepak Inducted into Potsdam Rotary Club

Posted by Michael Griffin

Otto Czerepak of Potsdam, co-owner of The Tile Company, was inducted as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Potsdam at its January 14 meeting.

Czerepak was born in 1943 in a refugee camp in Asten, Austria, Lager 65. He lived there until 1953 when he arrived in New York City with his next stop Potsdam.

He received his B.A. at SUNY Potsdam and attended the Instituto Cultural in Mexico.

Czerepak says he decided to start The Tile Company in Potsdam because he wanted to offer the style and elegance of tile from around the world that people couldn't find locally.

He started the Creative Spirit Art Center and Gallery for two reasons, he says. Number one, because he saw the arts and cultural diversity as a strength and resource that have a potential to energize our community.

And, number two, because he wanted to give something back to the community that he has come to call home. His dream is to build on what he has started and create a performing arts center in Potsdam.

"I believe that the arts are a measure of the health, wellbeing, and prosperity of our community," says Czerepak. "They are what set us above and make us distinct from every town USA."

Czerepak and the Potsdam Rotary both received the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce Commitment to the Community award in 2007. Czerepak was selected f or his involvement with soccer in the community, his support of the arts, and his many performances as "O" the clown.

Photo caption: Otto Czerepak was inducted as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Potsdam at its Jan. 14 meeting. Left to right: Mesibov's sponsor, Rotarian Neal Zirn; Czerepak; and Potsdam Rotary President Duane Pelkey.