Assisting individuals with disabilities since 1948

Winter 2019 Edition

CP Nassau Celebrates 70 Years With 2018 marking our 70th anniversary year, there were a variety of special things going on! We held our official celebration on Friday May 4th with a breakfast followed by a ceremony in the Auditorium that was enjoyed by all in attendance.

Dignitaries at the event included Barbara Crosier of CP New York State; Assemblyman Ed Ra; State Senator John Brooks; Assemblyman Michael Montesano, seen here with CP Nassau Asst. Executive Director, Karen Geller-Hittleman. Assemblywoman Missy Miller joins CP Nassau Executive Director, Bob McGuire; Board Vice President Bob Masterson and program participants Barbara Seamon and Charlie Fleisch.

A celebration lunch fest was held for all Agency staff in September. All enjoyed a fun Trivia Contest as well as some friendly outdoor

games and competitions!

Creativity was very evident as doors around the Agency were decorated to commemorate the decades past, and handpainted rocks with inspirational words and sayings were given as gifts

to celebration guests.

A 10 ft. starfish made entirely of rocks welcomes all at our main entrance. We have Board member John Seery to thank “a ton” for

the supplies, the design and layout!

Council of Auxiliary volunteers were recognized for their years of dedicated service and presented with a rose.

CLC student, Kymani Elliot had the audience spellbound with his stirring words about the impact CP

Nassau has had on his life.

Click for 70th Anniversary Program Click for News 12 coverage Click for Newsday article

CP Nassau is thrilled to announce that Mary C. Hodge has been chosen as Volunteer Coach of the Year! This award is presented by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to a coach who does not receive payment in any form for their involvement in coaching at any level. Mary C. Hodge is an extremely dedicated and valued staff member at CP Nassau. On staff since 1987, Mary currently serves as the Coordinator of Community Based Day Hab/Program Without Walls. She is also the Head Coach of our sports team, the Nassau Thunderbolts.

Bob McGuire, CP Nassau Executive Director commented, “ We could not be more pleased about this well-deserved honor and recognition for Mary. Her commitment to athletes with disabilities is remarkable and her contributions to the sports of powerlifting and boccia are beyond compare.”

Mary C. Hodge is the high performance manager of Para Powerlifting at Logan University, the high performance management

organization for the sport in the U.S. Her coaching experience is unparalleled, serving as head coach or team leader of the

U.S. Para Powerlifting team in four Paralympic Games, five world championships and four Parapan American Games. In 2018,

Hodge received a Power Women in Business Award from the Long Island Press and was a finalist at the sixth annual Imagine

Awards, a competition for non-profit organizations sponsored by Cerini & Associates and has been honored by the Cerebral

Palsy Association of NYS for her Leadership Excellence. Mary is currently in the running for the 2019 Imagine Award for

Leadership as finalist.

Mary C. Hodge Chosen as Volunteer Coach of the

Year by United States Olympic Committee

We are incredibly grateful to the Theresa Russo Foundation,

the Kelly Family and the Pupa family for their amazing generosity in funding this playground

that is enjoyed just about year-round by students at the

Children’s Learning Center!

A Ribbon-cutting ceremony was held

last April for the newly rebuilt fully-adapted

playground at the Children’s Learning

Center at CP Nassau.

Hope

To see

YOU

At the

PLUNGE!

It is a

COOL

way to

raise funds

For

CP NASSAU!

Children and Adults in Programs at

CP Nassau Find Their Voice

CP Nassau was one of nine non-profit organizations taking part in the in the 2018 Generosity Series LI 5K event on November 4

th at Eisenhower Park. Staff members, program participants, students, families,

volunteers and other friends formed Team CP Nassau. We named our 5K the “Walk, Run, Roll, Stroll” and all who participated, as well as those there to cheer them on enjoyed the experience. An additional $10,000 was raised through sponsorship and we have Vanguard Insurance, The Russo Law Group, TD Ameritrade, Presidio, Pegalis & Erickson, Garfunkel Wild and Combined Insurance to thank! Funds raised are going towards enhancing the implementation of advanced technology, effective crisis communication and safety awareness and training at CP Nassau. We plan to establish a team for November

2019 so mark your calendar. You can see lots of photos on the CP Nassau 5K Facebook

site at https://www.facebook.com/CPNassau5K/

5K times and results can be found at Results are posted

on generosityseries.com

During the month of August, David Tindal, vocalist in CP Nassau’s talented singing group CREATION, accompanied by staff, attended a three day music retreat hosted by Livingston Taylor (James Taylor's brother and teacher at Berkley School of Music) at Boston University.

Folk Singers/song writers Melissa Ferreck and Vance Gilbert taught classes geared towards improving skills as performers and song writ-ers. The group had the pleasure of meeting many musicians from around the country and hope to attend next August. David recorded one of Mr. Taylor’s songs that is currently featured on his website with his personal introduction.

Creation’s Got A Friend

2nd

Annual CP Nassau 5K A Great Success

How amazing that Doug Masterson, one of our program participants was

the #2 fundraiser overall at $8,073!!!!!

Children’s Learning Center Dad, Tom Weber was impressive as the #1 overall

finisher and did the race with his wife, daughter, mother and father.

With 124 participants, $64,980 was raised on the CP Nassau 5K site!

Plan on joining us at the 2019 CP Nassau

Walk, Run, Roll, Stroll 5k to be held

Sunday, November 3rd at Eisenhower Park!

Trivia Challenge

February 25, 26, 27, 28 – CP Nassau

Spirit of Art Auction Saturday, March 2—Spirit of Huntington Art Center

Polar Bear Plunge Sunday, March 10– Roosevelt Park, Oyster Bay

NEW DATE: Taste & Toast the Town Wednesday, May 1 – Chateau Briand, Carle Place

Golf & Tennis Tournament Thursday, August 1– North Hills C.C., Manhasset

Forget Me Not Ball Saturday, November 9– Chateau Briand, Carle Place

5K Walk, Run, Roll, Stroll Event Sunday, November 3 – Eisenhower Park, East Meadow

Festival of Trees Thanksgiving Weekend: November 29. 30 and Dec. 1

Cradle of Aviation Museum, Garden City

Sugar Plum Ball Sunday, December 15 – Chateau Briand, Carle Place

Sponsorship opportunities available for all events,

contact Pat Quinn @ pquinn@cpnassau.org

or (516) 378-2000, ext. 355

For reservations or more information, call (516) 378-2000,

ext. 651

to volunteer, call x 352 or go to www.cpnassau.org

All proceeds benefit the

Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County

Mark Your Calendar — 2019 Events

Congratulations to Mariano Rivera on being selected unanimously for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2014, students from the Children’s Learning Center at CP Nassau had the great opportunity as reporters for Newsday’s KIDSDAY to interview Mariano about his kid’s version of his book, “The Closer.” He could not have been nicer and the students and their families thoroughly enjoyed the time with Mr. Rivera on an unforgettable evening! Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all time with a record 652 saves over his 19-year career, helped the New York Yankees win five World Series titles, becoming one of the most iconic players in the storied history of the franchise. A current group of CLC students has been selected as reporters for KIDSDAY and will be working on an issue that will be published in Newsday in July 2019.

CP Nassau has an individualized activity based educational curriculum called Movement Opportunities Via Education (MOVE).

This life changing program provides a way to combine natural body mechanics with an instructional process so that students may acquire the independence necessary to sit, stand, and walk. The program was recently named a semi-finalist in the 2019 Imagine

Awards for Innovation.

This program is making a huge

difference in the lives of students at

the Children’s Learning Center!

CLC Students and Mariano Rivera: Winning Team

MOVE at CLC at CP Nassau

The 66th annual Forget Me Not Ball was held at the Chateau Briand in Carle Place on Saturday, October 27th, 2018. All the guests enjoyed a fabulous evening that began with an exquisite cocktail hour followed by dinner and dancing in the spectacular ballroom. The evening’s theme was “Great Gatsby” and many female guests were decked out in flapper dresses, headpieces, pearls and glamorous arm’s length gloves! A few of the men wore spats and dapper hats! The centerpieces by “Flowers by Voegler” were magnificent and featured white ostrich feathers dappled with strands of crystals and pearls! The food was delicious, the music fantastic and the guests truly enjoyed every moment. Thank you to all who placed journal ads, attended and to our sponsors BDO and Corporate Synergies. Great

appreciation to the Ball Chairs, Karen Kiefel and Ralph Ventura.

The three honorees were positively amazing and so deserving of their honors.

John Seery Harold Jay Greenberg Torch of Leadership Award

Michelina Saracino The Dr. Jack & Kellie McElwain Humanitarian Award

Susan Gordon Ryan Lifetime Achievement Award

John Seery

Michelina Saracino Susan Gordon Ryan

and Bob McGuire

Ralph Ventura with Justine and Ed Probst

Karen and Alex Kiefel

Having a Gatsby Time at the 66th Annual Forget Me Not Ball

Gertrude Grammont Direct Service Professional

at CP Nassau

With 3 of her 6 children

The College Program at

CP Nassau is

Changing Lives

We thank and applaud everyone who assists us to meet this goal.

Particular thanks to the Lindner Foundation for their years of support

to help break the cycle of poverty.

Learn more about all the things covered in this edition of

Center Square on the CP Nassau website at www.cpnassau.org

CP Nassau has

been supporting

staff to continue

their education.