Georgetowners of the Year for 2025
By • January 13, 2026 0 228
The naming of Georgetowners of the Year has been a tradition of The Georgetowner newspaper for decades. Devoted and influential members of the neighborhood who have received this distinction include Billy Martin, Pamla Moore, Leslie Maysak, Jack DeGioia, Bob Woodward and Nancy Taylor Bubes — as well as Peacock Café, Cafe Milano, the Four Seasons Hotel, Mt. Zion Methodist Church, Dumbarton Methodist Church, Holy Trinity Church, Friends of Georgetown Waterfront Park and Friends of Rose Park.
The 2025 group — selected by The Georgetowner’s editorial board — includes the owner of a popular wine shop near Book Hill, a relentless protector of a historic pair of cemeteries and the executive director of a group helping seniors age in place.
Bassam Al-Kahouaji, Bacchus Wine Cellar
The adventurous Bassam Al-Kahouaji arrived in the U.S. from Syria in 1997 with his wife Carole and family — picking Georgetown as their new home. The two were educators. Bassam, also a textile expert, then chose a mercantile and Dionysian pursuit: a wine shop.
But Bacchus Wine Cellar, at 1635 Wisconsin Ave. NW near Book Hill, filled with wines and liquor from small producers, is no ordinary store. It is an oenophile’s haven, a neighborhood favorite — a kind of Cheers, thanks to its proprietor’s personality. Walk in and Bassam makes you feel at home.
Al-Kahouaji told one admirer a few years ago: “I have so many customers who have their own cellar, with so many collections. Wine is art, too. It’s why I was impressed with the wine business. Wine makers, growers, farmers, the whole process — it’s an art. You put all your emotion into what you are doing.”
Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Bacchus Wine Cellar is involved with community events and its own fun parties and wine tastings. And Georgetown is all the happier for it.
For such accomplishments — above and beyond — Bassam Al-Kahouaji of Bacchus Wine Cellar is a Georgetowner of the Year for 2025.
Lisa Fager, The Black Georgetown Foundation
Lisa Fager of the Black Georgetown Foundation. Photo by Kim Johnson.
The graveyards at 27th Street and Mill Road, bordering Rock Creek Park, Oak Hill Cemetery and Dumbarton House — the Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society Cemeteries — have been reborn as a proper memorial, thanks to the Black Georgetown Foundation and people like Neville Waters (already a GOTY awardee), Thornell Page and Lisa Fager. The nonprofit also goes by its original name: Mount Zion – Female Union Band Society Historic Memorial Park, Inc.
Lisa Fager has served as the Black Georgetown Foundation’s executive director since 2019 — and a stronger protector of this sacred burial site you will not meet. Repping for the ancestors, Fager testifies before the District Council and confronts the Department of Transportation’s impingement on the property. As a historian, she loves to give guided tours and organize clean-up weekends, but woe to any visitor or neighbor who disrespects the grounds.
“I’m currently working on legislation — the D.C. African American Burial Grounds Act — that would help protect historic Black cemeteries and ensure their inclusion in the city’s historical records,” Fager told The Georgetowner last year. “I am also involved in an augmented reality project called 51 Steps to Freedom, which brings the stories of these burial grounds to life through immersive technology.”
For such accomplishments — above and beyond — Lisa Fager of the Black Georgetown Foundation is a Georgetowner of the Year for 2025.
Lynn Golub-Rofrano, Georgetown Village
Lynn Golub-Rofrano of Georgetown Village. Photo by Bill Starrels.
Founding Executive Director Lynn Golub-Rofrano began her work in May of 2011 to help Georgetowners aged 55 and older “to stay engaged with the community, their homes and to thrive.” The nonprofit Georgetown Village is now one of 17 neighborhood villages in Washington, D.C., each with its own services, programs and styles as part of a growing national “aging in place” movement.
“The services are intended to help you stay in your home for as long as you wish to remain there,” says Golub-Rofrano, who holds degrees in social work and education. She works alongside President Judith Bunnell, Vice President Sherri Anne Green, Past President Carol Kelly and others.
The collegial Golub-Rofrano has guided the nonprofit’s expansion to almost 200 members while increasing the service level to meet the special needs of some of its frailer members. She adds: “The Georgetown Village motto for our members is ‘Just Ask!’”
For such accomplishments — above and beyond — Lynn Golub-Rofrano of Georgetown Village is a Georgetowner of the Year for 2025.
Lisa Fager of the Black Georgetown Foundation. Photo by Kim Johnson.
Lynn Golub-Rofrano of Georgetown Village. Photo by Bill Starrels.
