Joining Commissioner Handy for the awards ceremony at Police Department headquarters were Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe; Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond; Department of Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty; Small Business Services Commissioner Robert Walsh; Human Resources Commissioner Robert Doar; and representatives of the Hundred Year Association and its 200 member organizations.

“Today, with the help of one of our city’s great community organizations – the Hundred Year Association, we’re honoring the very best of New York by recognizing 10 of our most committed, exceptional public servants,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “We’re also taking the opportunity to invest in the dreams of some of our best and brightest.  Our youth are the future of New York, and the young scholars we’re honoring today re-affirm that our city’s best days are still ahead.”

Deputy Mayor Holloway said, “New York City continues to be a place where over eight million people live, work and play every day because of the essential services that the City provides, first and foremost public safety. Our City has the greatest public servants in the world, and it is an honor to work alongside them. Today, with the help of our partners from the Hundred Year Association, we celebrate them and their children, whose achievements will build an even stronger future for New York.”

“The civil servants we honor today bring prestige to the City by going beyond their job descriptions to give New Yorkers world-class service, every single day,” said Commissioner Handy. “We are proud to assist the Hundred Year Association in rewarding the achievements of our city workforce and the broad range of vital work that they perform.”

“On behalf of the Board of Governors and members of the Association we thank Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioner Wells-Handy and her staff for their assistance in supporting and organizing this unique Public / Private Program, created to recognize and reward outstanding achievement in the workplace and in the classroom,” said Clinton W. Blume, III – President of The Hundred Year Association of New York.

This year’s highest Public Service Award, a $3,500 award, sponsored by The Chief-Civil Service Leader, went to Police Officer Dawn Townsend, a 21-year veteran of the Police Department who has served as Community Affairs Officer at the 73rd precinct for the past seven years.  She has been a volunteer facilitator of a women’s empowerment group for the past five years, providing education and access to family planning and domestic violence resources, as well as educational and employment opportunities, and training in proper etiquette.  She has worked continuously with the Brownsville Partnership and other Brownsville-based community organizations on issues of job training and readiness.

The largest scholarship, the $5,000 Elaine Wingate Conway College Scholar Award sponsored by Conway Foundation, went to Stephanie Guevara, a junior at Hunter College of the City University of New York. She is the daughter of Alva Guevara and the recipient of a New York State TAP Grant.

Since 1958, the Association has highlighted the close partnership between the City’s private sector and City government by recognizing outstanding career civil service employees. Named for the Association’s founder, the Isaac Liberman Public Service Awards are available to employees whose salaries do not exceed $81,000. Individual cash awards range from $1,000 to $6,000.

The Association’s E. Virgil Conway College Scholar Awards Program was founded in 1971 to assist academically qualified children of career civil service employees to obtain college educations. College Scholar Awards are granted to promising students whose gross family incomes do not exceed $110,000. The scholarships recognize excellence in scholastic achievement and community service. College scholarships generally range from $1,000 to $6,000.

Each year, the Hundred Year Association reviews the achievements of City employees to identify those who, through dedication beyond their job descriptions, have provided outstanding service to the people of New York City. The Association also awards scholarships for the children of career civil servants. Winners are chosen by an Awards Committee. Recipients of the awards receive between $1,000 and $6,000. The 25 winners this year were granted $54,000.

“This year’s Public Service Award winners highlight the broad range of vital work that civil servants perform,” said Commissioner Hirst. “Whether they are improving public health, keeping students safe, or helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses, our winners bring prestige to the City by going beyond their job descriptions to give New Yorkers the best possible service, every single day,” said Commissioner Hirst.

“For over 50 years, we’ve been proud to honor the City employees who make New York such a great place to live, work and play, and we are equally proud to support the education of so many deserving children of civil servants,” said Clinton W. Blume III, the President of the Association.

This year’s highest Public Service Award, a $6,000 award sponsored by Consolidated Edison Company of New York, went to Sharraine Franklin, a Public Health Educator for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Ms. Franklin works in the South Bronx for the Public Health Detailing Program, which sends field workers out to the City’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods to visit local physicians and share techniques for helping patients with critical public health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and depression. Her daily efforts embody the City’s mission to promote the health and mental health of all New Yorkers.

All of this year’s Isaac Liberman Public Service Award Winners can be found here.

The largest scholarship, the $6,000 Charles E. Inniss College Scholar Award sponsored by National Grid, went to Tiffani Branch, who is a senior at Stony Brook University, where she is pursuing a degree in international relations and economics. Her mother, Noreen Branch, is an Educational Assistant for the Department of Education.

All of this year’s E. Virgil Conway College Scholars can be found here.

Tiffani Branch
Charles E. Inniss College Scholar

National Grid
$6,000
Tiffani Branch is the daughter of Noreen Branch, a paraprofessional at the Department of Education. Ms. Branch is a graduate of Townsend Harris High School and a student at Stony Brook University.

Arielle Maugé

$5,000
Arielle Maugé is the daughter of Arsenia Delgado, an Administrative Staff Analyst at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Ms Maugé is a student at George Washington University in Washington D.C.

Riddhi Doshi

$2,500
Riddhi Doshi is the daughter of Sadguna Doshi, a Caseworker at the Human Resources Administration. Ms. Doshi is a student at Stony Brook University.

Igor Eyzner

$2,500
Igor Eyzner is the son of Galina Futoryan, a Procurement Analyst at the Department of Transportation. Mr. Eyzner is a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School and a student at New York University.

Kendra Windsor is the daughter of Elaine Alexander, an Administrative Manager for the Human Resources Administration.  Ms. Windsor is a student at Columbia University.

Ashley Barronette is the daughter of Andrea Reid, an Assistant Commissioner at the Administration for Children’s Services. Ms. Barronette is a student at American International University.

Ariel Elyahu

Scott Gordon

Lauren Grieco

Andrew Guinan
Alexander Wolf and Son
$1,000
Andrew Guinan is the son of Christina Vecchione, a Principal Administrative Associate at the Department of Parks and Recreation. Mr. Guinan is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan and a student at Dartmouth College.

Kevin Huang

Henry W.T. Mali and Company
$1,000
Kevin Huang is the son of Zuopeng Huang, an Associate Chemist at the Department of Environmental Protection.  Mr. Huang is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan and a student at Johns Hopkins University.

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Sasha Ortiz

Cushman and Wakefield Global Real Estate
$1,000
Sasha Ortiz is the daughter of Benicio Ortiz, a Firefighter with the FDNY.  Ms. Ortiz is a student at Queens College.

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James Salem

Bowne & Company
$1,000
James Salem is the son of Allan Salem, a Supervisor of School Security at the Police Department.  Mr. Salem is a graduate of James Madison High School in Brooklyn and a student at the Macauley Honors College at Hunter College.

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Michelle Urman

Geneva Worldwide
$1,000
Michelle Urman is the daughter of Bella Urman, a Caseworker at the Human Resources Administration.  Ms. Urman is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan and a student at New York University.

Photos by Charlie T. Photography

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College Scholar Scott Gordon at 2008's Richard A. Cook Gold Medal Award Dinner

Steere Family Foundation College Scholar, Scott Gordon, spent the summer of 2009 at Brookhaven National Labratories’ Center for Functional Nanomaterials studying nanostructured photovoltaic devices.

Inclusion in this program is a prestigious assignment for the chemistry major who only just completed his freshman year.

Scott admits, “We spend a lot of time scratching our heads trying to figure things out, but inevitably we learn something new at the end of every day. This is the best on-the-job experience I could hope for.”

For those of you scratching your heads about what “nanostructured photovoltaic devices” could possibly be, they are equipment related to solar energy conversion – much-needed materials in this “green” age.

Scott is the son of Howard Gordon, an Emergency Medical Technician with the FDNY.

Justyna Widera, Scott’s Professor at Adelphi University, says that he seems comfortable in the research setting, and is enthusiastic and diligent in his work.  We expected no less.

The 2009 Scholarship Committee: Seated from left to right are Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Martha Hirst and Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty. Standing from left to right are Luke Vander Linden, Mark Varian, Committee Chair Avery Eli Okin, Edward Prial, Michelle Bernstein, Frank Modifica, Craig Buckstein and Clinton W. Blume, III.

In a day-long session on August 12, 2009 the Awards Committee and its chair Avery Okin interviewed 12 student applicants for the 2009 E. Virgil Conway College Scholarships.  The award-winners will split almost $30,000 in awards money with prizes ranging from $1,000 to $6,000.

As usual, this year’s students were the cream of the crop, both academically (SAT scores and GPAs averaged at the higher end of the scale) and in their early commitment to public service through lots of extracurricular and volunteerism, not to mention interesting stories.

The winners will be announced at the annual awards ceremony usually held in December at One Police Plaza.  Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is expected to host the ceremony and deliver the keynote address.

Dear Hundred Year Association,

I am a past recipient of a Hundred Year Association College Scholar
award.  I wanted to update you with some good news.  

I am completing my medical degree at the Mount Sinai School of
Medicine and will be graduating on May 15th of this year.  We found
out the results of the match a few weeks back and I was selected to
the categorical Internal Medicine residency program at the University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center, my top choice!  I will be starting in
June.

I want to thank everyone at The Hundred Year Association once again
for supporting my education during the years, I truly appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Faraaz Ali Shah
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Class of 2009

Farazz was an E. Virgil Conway College Scholar in 2003 and 2004.  Congrats!

Noting the diversity of the 21 City agencies represented amongst the winners, Commissioner Hirst said “The job descriptions of these awardees reveal the breadth of the services this City provides.” She went on to say that “it’s the efforts of our Public Service award recipients, and many other unsung heroes like them in the civil service, are what make this City such a wonderful place to live…The work will continue to get done, because it must be done, and in difficult times the work becomes more important than ever.” 

Each year, the Hundred Year Association reviews the achievements of City employees to identify those who, through dedication beyond their job descriptions, have provided outstanding service to the people of New York City. The Association also awards scholarships for the children of career civil servants. Winners are chosen by an Awards Committee. Recipients of the awards receive between $1,000 and $6,000.  The 41 winners this year were granted $73,500. 

The Police Department was once again singled out as the top winner came from within its ranks for the 4th year in a row.  In addition to the thousands of patrol officers who walk a beat to keep the city safe, the NYPD also has School Safety Agents and officers who work in schools and neighborhoods to head off problems before they spin out of control.

This year’s top public service winner of $6,000 sponsored by Con Edison was School Safety Agent Terese Nemley.  She is a career member of the School Safety Division and is a leader in the Law Enforcement Explorers Program at the new High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety in Jamaica – the largest in the city with over 100 student members. 

In her interview, the delight she takes in her work was evident: “I love dealing with children,” she said. “And I LOVE seeing the kids do positive things.”

The second and third place award winners were also from the Police Department. 

Detective Michael Cleary was granted the $5,000 Ralph K. Smith Public Service Award.  The Daily News has dubbed Detective Cleary “The Sheriff of Windsor Terrace,” for his success in working with the residents, business owners and elected officials of the Brooklyn neighborhood.  Each year, he visits local schools to speak to criminal law classes.  As his supervisor said in nominating him, Michael “epitomizes what the neighborhood ‘beat cop’ is.”

The recipient of the $3,500 award sponsored by The Chief-Civil Service Leader is Police Officer Valerie Wilson, for her service to the residents of the Canarsie section of Brooklyn.  After 15 years of U.S. Army service under her belt as a trained combat medic and a civilian job at the NYPD, she is currently the Youth Officer for the 69th Precinct, where she visits troubled youths in their own homes to turn them away from gangs and toward positive alternatives.

The $6,000 Charles E. Inniss College Scholarship, sponsored by National Grid, was awarded to Ashley Barronette, daughter of Andrea Reid, who is Chief of Staff for the Division of Child Protection of the Administration for Children’s Services.  Ashley is a sophomore at Richmond, the American International University in London, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in international relations and economics. 

Her award reflects her deep interest in community service, which she says has been inspired by her mother’s work at ACS as an advocate for abused and neglected children.  As a high school student, Ashley volunteered every Thursday at a homeless shelter, and last year traveled to South Africa with 17 other students to volunteer at a primary school and do community service.

The top scholarship is named for Charles E. Inniss, a former trustee of the City University of New York who, as co-founder of Career Opportunities for Brooklyn Youth Incorporated, helped hundreds of young people obtain jobs and college scholarships.

Also in attendance at Police Headquarters Auditorium for the ceremony were the day’s host Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly as well as Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark and Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty who, along with Commissioner Hirst, are Award Committee members, and many other agency heads and representatives of the Hundred Year Association of New York and its member organizations including President Clinton W. Blume, III and Executive Director Luke Vander Linden.

The Association’s awards are augmented by member-sponsored awards funded by: The Bank of New York Mellon; Bowne & Co.; Brooklyn Bar Association; Caleb Haley & Company; The Chief-Civil Service Leader; Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.; Elaine Wingate Conway; Cushman & Wakefield Global Real Estate; Dancker, Sellew & Douglas; The Delta Kappa Epsilon Club of New York; E-J Electric Installation Co.; Emmet, Marvin & Martin LLP; The Forward Association; Geneva Worldwide; Hagedorn & Company; Henry W.T. Mali and Company; The Hotel Wales; James Thompson and Company; John Gallin & Son, Inc.; Leys, Christie & Co., Inc.; Modell’s Sporting Goods, Inc.; National Grid; The New York Post; New York University; The Okin Family; Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker; Richmond County Savings Bank; Roman Stone Construction Company; Rosenwach Tank Co.; Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark; The Steere Family Foundation and Tiger Baron Foundation.

“This Awards program is a wonderful example of how a successful public/private-partnership can work,” said Blume.  “Our members believe in this partnership.  We are committed to recognizing and saluting those in city government for their dedication and for significantly enhancing the prestige of New York City.”

The public service awards are named for Isaac Liberman, who founded The Hundred Year Association when he was president of Arnold Constable Stores in Brooklyn. The College Scholar Awards program is named for E. Virgil Conway, a former Chairman of the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority who conceived the program when he was chairman of the Seamen’s Bank for Savings.

I’m writing to thank you all so much for considering me worthy of receiving a scholarship the past three years, and especially to thank you for naming me Keyspan’s Charles E. Inniss College Scholar this year. You can’t even begin to imagine how shocked and humbled I was when I sat down in my seat at the awards ceremony, opened up my program, and saw my name listed with that award. It’s not the money that is the meaningful part of the award–though, with four years at NYU behind me and three years of law school at Harvard ahead, it certainly doesn’t hurt–but rather the realization that there are people out there who were able to look at me objectively and say, “Here is someone we want to help succeed. Here is someone who seems as though he will be able to do something great for the world.”

And doing something great is what I have always been about. There are times when, as a student at such a huge university and with such a commitment to helping people and improving the world, one can feel alienated, feel as though he is fighting a trivial and ultimately meaningless battle. There are times when I have felt the financial strain to be too much, and thought that the playing field was indeed unequal, that a middle class kid from a civil servant’s household on Long Island would ultimately and unavoidably hit a ceiling through which he could never break.

You have helped show me that that is certainly not the case. Your awards have helped ease the financial burden of a private university over the past three years, but it’s more than that; I will always be eternally grateful for the invitation to the Richard A. Cook Gold Medal Dinner that you extended to me back in the fall. As someone who had spent a summer on the catering end of such events, the opportunity to actually attend that function, and to interact with the others in attendance, is a memory I will have forever, and the confidence I received from that will hopefully prove to be a building block towards constructing a future that will change the world. Who knows, perhaps one day I’ll be receiving an award at that dinner…

So I’ll end this now, as my simple thank you has gotten unwieldy in its length, by asking that you keep me informed on the happenings at The Hundred Year Association, and if I can ever be of any help in the future, just let me know, as I can never even begin to repay the debt I owe to you. Thank you so much once again, and best of luck to all of you.

Sincerely,

Michael Arthus

The top winners were a Police Officer devoted to running youth groups, a dedicated director coordinating health benefits for the poor, and an innovative engineer who has designed jail kitchens and revamped rundown buildings. This is the third year in a row the top prize has been granted to a police officer.

“The civil servants we honor today have demonstrated an extraordinary level of commitment to serving their fellow New Yorkers, and the young people receiving scholarships today are equally impressive,” said Commissioner Hirst. “The nearly fifty-year history of these awards is evidence that the business community understands the value of public service.”

Each year, the Hundred Year Association reviews the achievements of City employees to identify those who, through dedication beyond their job descriptions, have provided outstanding service to the people of New York City. Winners are chosen by a committee composed of representatives of the Association and Commissioners Hirst and Finance Commissioner Marth E. Stark and Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty as representatives of the City. The Association also awards scholarships for the children of career civil servants. Recipients of the awards receive between $1,000 and $6,000.

“The Association has distributed over a million dollars in awards and scholarships to deserving City employees and students since the awards program began,” said President Clinton W. Blume III. “We are committed to recognizing and saluting those in city government for their dedication and for significantly enhancing the prestige of New York City.”

Joining the Mayor and Commissioner Hirst at Police Headquarters Auditorium for the awards ceremony were Deputy Mayor for Administration Edward Skyler, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark and Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty, along with many other agency heads and representatives of the Hundred Year Association of New York and its member organizations including President Blume, Executive Director Luke Vander Linden, longtime Association supporters and board members E. Virgil Conway and Bertha and Isaac Liberman Foundation Chair Jeffery Klein.

Several commissioners and agency heads were also there including Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe; Human Resources Administration Commissioner Robert Doar; Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Shaun Donovan; Department for the Aging Commissioner Edwin Mendez-Santiago; Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Robert Walsh; New York City Housing Authority Chairman Tino Hernandez; and Kingsborough Community College President Regina Peruggi.

Every year, the awards are sponsored by members and supporters of the Association. All of the funds donated by the sponsors go directly to the winners. The top awards – of $6000 each – are sponsored by Consolidated Edison (founded 1881) and Keyspan Energy (1849).

This year’s highest Public Service Award went to Police Officer Felicia Richards, who has devoted her professional life and her off-duty time to providing positive opportunities for children and families in central Brooklyn. Officer Richards serves as Youth Officer for the area’s New York City Housing Authority developments, and is a mentor to young girls in the Girl Scouts of America, a Cub Scout pack leader, and the advisor for an NYPD Law Enforcement Explorer post, which offers public service activities for teenagers and young adults who are considering careers in law enforcement.

“I’ve been a Girl Scout since I was seven years old,” she said, shortly before receiving her award from Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. “Once a Scout, always a Scout.”

The highest College Scholar Award, the $6,000 Charles E. Inniss College Scholar Award sponsored by KeySpan Corporation, went to Michael Arthus, the son of a career employee at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Michael Arthus is a senior at New York University. His father, Rock Arthus, is Director of the Bureau of Environmental Hazards at HPD. The scholarship is named for Charles E. Inniss, a former trustee of the City University of New York who, as co-founder of Career Opportunities for Brooklyn Youth Incorporated, helped hundreds of young people obtain jobs and college scholarships.

Amongst the other top winners was Allyson Mackey, the Human Resources Administration’s Director of Medicaid Eligibility, who was honored for her work helping people seeking health benefits. She also helped to purchase books for her local public library, the DeKalb Branch in Bushwick, Brooklyn. In addition, she successfully lobbied the city to extend the hours of the facility.

Discovering that she had been selected for the award “shocked” her. After a brief pause, she added, “It’s good to realize that when you do work for the community that people recognize you later.”

The Association’s public service awards are named for Isaac Liberman, who founded The Hundred Year Association when he was president of Arnold Constable Stores in Brooklyn, and whose grandson, Jeffrey P. Klein, attended today’s ceremony. The College Scholar Awards program is named for E. Virgil Conway, a former Chairman of the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority who also attended the ceremony and who conceived the program when he was chairman of the Seamen’s Bank for Savings.