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Town honors women during National Women's History Month
•Eva Marie Crews-A graduate of Amityville, Crews attended Farmingdale University. She was offered a vocal scholarship at Hofstra University later joined the Jazz program at S.U.N. Y Westbury under the direction of the late Dr. Makanda Kenneth MacIntyre. On weekends she would attend class with internationally known vocal instructor Dr. Chauncey Northern at Carnegie Hall Vocal arts studio. She has performed at the world-famous Club Biddles in Montreal and her vocals of the Star Spangled Banner being sent to Japan for the opening of the Mets baseball game there. She has a "can do" spirit and and is well known for her "take charge" attitude. In 2006, Eva was the first African-American woman to retire from the Long Island Railroad crew management office after 27 years of service. She served during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the last transit strike and the electrical blackout in New York in 2003.
•Aristine A. Norris-A lifetime member of the NAACP and a member of the National Association of University Women, Norris taught biology at Amityville High School for 30 years. She received a bachelors degree in biology at Allen University in Columbia , South Carolina and a master's degree in education from Hofstra. She worked as a microbiologist at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn prior to becoming a teacher. Since her retirement in 1997, she has been focusing on her singing career. She volunteers as a soloist at senior citizen centers in Nassau County and had the pleasure of singing on behalf of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation at the Festival of Trees Parade. A soloist in the First AME Church of Wyandanch, she is also the first soprano with the Long Island Chorale Society. •Rachel Lee Davis-For 30 years, Davis taught in the Brentwood School District. She graduated from Alcorn State University, Lorman, Mississippi where she earned a bachelor of science degree in secondary education and received a masters of science degree at New York University. In 1998, she was appointed to the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission, working for the benefit of the Suffolk County citizens, and against discrimination. She helped to establish the Suffolk County Human Commission Community Organizational Award, and helped to recruit more than 200 students for college as part of a chapter of Links, Inc. A founding member and officer of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Suffolk County Chapter, she is also a co-founder and charter president of Sigma Psi Omega, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. A member of Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, her spiritual life is her source of strength and approach to living. She is the wife of the late Bernard W. Davis. She received the Government Appreciation Award. •Doris Wagner - Since 1982, Wagner has been with the Federation of Organizations, a West Babylon based not-for-profit social services agency. She was directly responsible for the relocation of the agency's corporate headquarters from West Islip. The organization is dedicated to assisting individuals and families through self-help programs and by providing quality services, advocacy and development of resources. In addition to her work with the organization, Wagner has served on a variety of committees for nearly 20 years including the New York State Department of Social Services the Office of Mental Health and the Suffolk County Division of Mental Health. She served as president of the Suffolk County Chapter of the American Parkinson's Disease Association and is a member of Literacy Volunteers of America and the Babylon Women's Club. She received the Government Appreciation Award. •Theresa Shelton, Alice T. Cone received the Community Service Awards. Shelton has lived in Wyandanch since 1972 and was instrumental in forming the Tree Street Community Action Group and Neighborhood Watch. Over the years, the groups joined with the Soutside Patrol and became known collectively as the Wyandanch Community Based Neighborhood Watch. Cone has lived in Suffolk for 40 years and has been involved with the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission, the Belmont Lake Civic Association, Catholics of African Ancestry, Resurrection House and the Central long Island NAACP. For 25 years, she worked at the State University of New York at Old Westbury. She earned a master's degree in special education from Long Island University C.W. Post and served as the director of human services and staff development training with Long Island Head Start. •This year's Phoenix Award went to Geraldine Compitello of Amityville, an educator and mentor to children. Professionally she worked in the fashion industry in Manhattan where she gained an understanding of the importance of self esteem. That prompted her to coordinate the Look Good, Feel Good program that gives cancer survivors the ability to make use of clothing, make up and perfume from top fashion designers. She currently works in the Town of Babylon Clerk's Office and has been a volunteer with the Amityville Fire Department and Our Lady of Perpetual Help R.C. Church in Lindenhurst where she taught music appreciation . •Diane Saunders-Keyes of Amityville received this year's Maxine Postal Award. She has worked for the Town since 1976 and recently retired as the Deputy Commissioner of Human Services. She writes poetry and is a health advisor for the Witness Project of Long Island. As a member of Phenomenal Women, she helps bring breast health awareness to African American communities in the town. •The Gertrude Van Kirk Women in Government Award went to Chelley Gordon of North Babylon who serves as Deputy Town Attorney. She is a member of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, a past member of the American and Brooklyn Bar a Bar associations and the North Babylon PTA. She attend St. Boniface Episcopal Church in Lindenhurst where she serves as Chancellor on the Vestry.
•Volunteer Service Recognition awards went to Pamela Marie Boothe of Amityville/East Massapequa; Carmen Villavicencio who works in the town's division of drug and alcohol, Georgia Wint, a 1992 graduate of Copiague High School, and an Amityville resident; Loretta Siebs; Dawn Miller and Deer Park resident; Meghan Larson, an intern at the Tanner Park Senor Center; Marcia McCovey, a retired New York City Correction's officer and member of the National Association of Social Workers interning at the Wyandanch Senior Citizen Center, and Geraldine Branch of Deer Park a registered nurse.
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