Michael Raubertas accepts the Vocational Service Award from Rotarian Lisa Welch.

The Shepherdstown Rotary Club has presented its annual Vocational Service Award to Michael Raubertas, the owner of Shepherdstown’s Four Season’s Books.

The award is given each fall to a community member who has exemplified outstanding professional achievement while maintaining very high ethical standards.

Vocational Services Committee member Lisa Welch made the presentation to Raubertas at the Club’s October 20 weekly breakfast meeting at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown.

Welch noted that Raubertas exemplifies what is good about doing business in a small town. “He runs an independent book store-a rare thing to see in any size town these days-and he operates it in a way that enhances the community,” she said.

“Four Seasons Books supports community reading programs and literary events, donates money from the sale of community-recommended books to the Shepherdstown Public Library, offers an intelligent selection of books, and is able to quickly get just about any book a customer wants. Mr. Raubertas’ friendly manner encourages patrons to shop locally and support their community.”

Raubertas opened Four Seasons Books in 1991. Prior to that, he was commuting from Frederick County, Maryland to a job with the Board of Appeals at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in Washington, D.C. He spent his lunch hours in a nearby bookstore and dreamed of one day owning his own bookstore. He and his wife, Ruth, scouted locations and decided that Shepherdstown would be the perfect location in which to open a bookstore.

Raubertas was raised in Philadelphia and received a Bachelor’s degree in History from Pennsylvania State University and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife reside in Shepherdstown. Their daughter, Clara, was raised in Shepherdstown and is now an independent web designer and computer programmer living in Cambridge, Massachusetts.