Manhasset American Legion Auxiliary Unit 304

The September meeting of Manhasset Unit 304 of the American Legion Auxiliary included the installation of two Officers.  Alice Guariglia became the new recording Secretary and Anne Hedberg continued in her position as Corresponding Secretary.  The membership is grateful to them and the other officers of Unit 304 (who were installed in June) for their contributions to the American Legion Auxiliary’s objective of assisting veterans, active military and their families.

In addition to the officer installation, the meeting featured presentations by three very enthusiastic Empire Girls State citizens from our Manhasset schools who were sponsored for the program by Manhasset Unit 304.  Their families also attended the meeting.  Julia Greco of Saint Mary’s High School and Emma Fleishman and Lauren Moschitta of Manhasset High School each spoke of what they considered to have been a life-changing experience.  They met other young women from all over New York State, many with completely different backgrounds from their own.  Some even lived on farms and in rural settings (very different from Manhasset) but, regardless of lifestyles, they all had some very important things in common – a love of learning and a great desire to understand our two-party system, the legislative process and other aspects of the inner workings of government.  Our three citizens from Manhasset ran for offices in their fictitious 51^st state and met with success, even if it took several tries.

Julia Greco was elected District Attorney of her county.  She also served on the Homeland Security committee for her party.  She spoke of how moved she was by a presentation by one of our veterans, and how it has motivated her to form a club at St. Mary’s to write letters to our veterans and our troops serving overseas.

Emma Fleishman ran for the offices of county senator and Commissioner of Environmental Conservation, and she was elected to both positions.  She spoke of the comradery she experienced at Empire Girls State, and how the knowledge gained there made her a better citizen.  She was very committed to informing other students about the program and the benefits she gained from it.

Lauren Moschitta served on the Platform Committee for her party, and was elected Commissioner of Environmental Conservation for her county.  She talked about how hard everyone worked, staying up late to prepare campaigns.  She also said that she learned a great deal and that the presentations she made helped to improve her public speaking abilities.

In addition to campaigning for office, they learned how to prepare Bills and to present them before more than 300 peers.  They mentioned the level of self-confidence this helped them achieve and the desire they now had to participate positively in government at different levels.  They also learned about respect for the American flag and the contributions made by our veterans.  They sincere gratitude for the opportunity and their desire to spread the word about the program.  They summed it up as “AWESOME!”

On leaving they were tasked with continuing to learn about our nation and its issues, to educate themselves before they mark their future ballots and to vote at every opportunity, regardless of how small the election.

Left to Right: President Pat O’Brien, Chaplain Florence Parrella, newly installed Corresponding Secretary Anne Hedberg, newly installed Recording Secretary Alice Guariglia and Vice President and Treasurer Elizabeth Parrella

Left to Right: President Pat O’Brien, Julia Greco of St. Mary’s High School, Emma Fleishman of Manhasset High School, Vice President and Treasurer Elizabeth Parrella and Lauren Moschitta of Manhasset High School.

Emma Fleishman addresses Unit 304

Julia Greco addresses Unit 304

Lauren Moschitta addresses Unit 304

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano announced that Patricia O’Brien is Nassau County’s 2016 “Senior Woman of the Year.”  Pat was presented an award at the 42nd Annual May Conference in observance of Older Americans Month on May 19th at the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale.  Pat represented Nassau County in Albany at the 2016 Senior Citizens Day Recognition Event  Ceremony on May 10th.

County Executive Mangano said, “It is my distinct honor to present Patricia as Nassau County’s 2016 Senior Citizen “Woman of the Year.”  Her dedication to homeless and struggling Long Island veterans, children of veterans and active duty military in war zones truly illustrates why Patricia is deserving of the recognition accorded to her.”

County Executive Mangano with Pat and Donald O’Brien

L to R: 2016 Ms. New York Delores Hofman; Victoria Meyerhoefer, Director, Nassau County Office for the Aging;  2016 Senior Man of the Year Joseph Borelli; County Executive Edward Mangano; 2016 Senior Woman of the Year Patricia O’Brien; Lisa A. Murphy, Commissioner, Nassau County Department of Human Services; John Cochran, Assistant Director of the Executive Division, New York State Office for the Aging 

Members of American Legion Post 304 Celebrated with Pat and Donald

Linda Clarke, Pat O’Brien, Ann Marie Moschitta, Anja D’Angelo, Liz Miller

Unit 304 recognized three members of our youth community for the good works they perform related to the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary.  Each received a Certificate of Appreciation and a gift card to Amazon.  Their family members also attended our Unit meeting on April 20th where we had a special cake and other refreshments for all.

Each of the students individually approached us and told us what they were able to do to assist us, if we wanted their help.  All of them succeeded in their efforts for us. 

Our senior awardee was one of our Empire Girls State citizens last year and also our Poppy Queen in the Memorial Day Parade.  Julia Henry spoke with the advisor of her Social Studies Honor Society and asked for approval to have the members help obtain items for our troops in Afghanistan.  She planned an afternoon at Raindew with the members.  They made flyers, set up tables to collect items and stayed at Raindew soliciting the support of customers for our military.  Some people shopped at Raindew and donated items.  Others made monetary donations.  The Honor Society used the donations to shop at Raindew for items on the list.  They then wheeled shopping carts full of supplies to the American Legion hall and helped to pack them for mailing.  They filled at least 20 boxes.

Our junior awardee helped at several of our collection drives and packing marathons for our troops in Afghanistan.  When Lauren Moschitta heard about the November standdown, she came up with a plan to have a clothing drive.  She prepared a “Letter to the Editor” for the Manhasset Press announcing the drive, produced a flyer, and set up donation sites.  She also spoke with the manager of Raindew who donated many new warm items.  She collected 276 articles of warm clothing with a value of approximately $2,825.  She then packed up the items with the assistance of her family and two unit members and donated the clothing to us for distribution at the standdown in November.  She also followed up with a thank you letter that appeared in the Manhasset Press.

Our sophomore awardee has taken our Unit into this century because of his technological expertise.  Daniel Miller asked if we would like to have our own website.  So we began to work on it together at his home.  We spent many nights around the dining room table so there is a piece of each member of his family in the final product.  He was a great architect for the website.  He gave us a living website that allows us to add to it with each new event or project that we undertake.  It actually serves as a history of our year.  We thank Dan for bringing us into the present technologically and for giving us a platform to help the community understand our commitment to veterans, God and country.