Women in History - SuffolkJournal.com

Women Making History
by Nancy A. Bock

March 21, 2002

In celebration of Women's History Month, Brookhaven took time out to recognize some outstanding members of the community. The auditorium was filled with friends and families of the ten women honored tonight. After brief biographies of each woman, they received a plaque. "What we have in common," remarked Assemblywoman Patricia Acampora, one of the honorees, "is that we want to share our experience."

In accepting her award, Dr. Latha Chandran said, "This is an illustration of what American women and their ability to achieve societal change."

The ceremony, called "In Recognition of Women," was hosted by the Bookhaven Women's Services Department which offers year round support and referral programs. Now in it's 16th year, they are having no difficulty finding qualified women living and working in Brookhaven for this honor.

Below are briefs of each honoree

Marie Cumoletti McNally, winner for excellence in Religion. It was said, "Marie’s spirituality comes from a place deep inside.” She is the stewardship and ministry developer at St. Sylvester’s R.C. Church, Medford. She recruits and guides volunteers and in the past four years has helped increase the number of volunteers nearly three-fold to over 800. And as her own volunteer involvement has stretched to nearly three decades, she clearly leads by example.

Gail Hoag for excellence in business. While her career has been teaching, Gail was active in many areas of the community as a volunteer. In 1999, however, she made a career switch, becoming Executive Director of the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce. Gail takes pride in the fact that membership in the organization has since doubled and the downtown business district is enjoying the benefits of more successful Chamber events.

Martha Campanile was honored for excellence in the arts for more than 30 years service to the performing arts. Currently she serves as Choral Director of both the Bay Area Friends of Fine Arts and the Choral Society of the Moriches. If that wasn’t enough she is also Minister of Music at the Congregational Church of Patchogue. Her enthusiasm helps bring an appreciation of music to young and old.

The Honorable Patricia Acampora is recognized for excellence in government. While she ascended to public office following the death of her mother, Patricia has blazed her own trail for the past decade and is currently the Ranking Republican member of the NYS Assembly Labor Committee. While she has worked to advance many state-wide initiatives, she has remained a diligent supporter of local organizations and watchdog for local issues.

Laura Ahearn is given recognition for her excellence in the area of community services. With a background in social work, and experience dealing with abused women, she founded the not-for-profit advocacy and watchdog group, Parents for Megan’s Law in 1998. Since that time she has actively and aggressively fought to ensure that the law was implemented, adhered to and part of the public consciousness. She has brought the oftentimes unpleasant realities of child abuse to the attention of legislators and the public without hesitation.

Margaret Bogosian is noted for excellence in the field of law. Managing the office of Intellectual Property and Industrial Partnership at Brookhaven National Lab, she ensures the integrity and safety of the lab’s developmental technology and its applications throughout the global economy.

Dr. Latha Chandran, M.D. received the award for excellence in health. As Division Chief of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine at Stony Brook University Hospital, Dr. Chandran affects the lives and health of thousands of children. She has been described as “a compassionate physician who has touched the lives of many children.”

Dr. Linda Chang, M.D. is the award recipient in the field of science. She is chair of Brookhaven National Lab’s medical Department and has been involved in researching the effects of addiction, aging and HIV on the brain. Supervising a staff of 60 while carrying out her own research, she is board-certified in both neurology and electrophysiology.

Gladys Harrington is recognized for excellence in community service and volunteering. Currently serving as President of the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, she spent most of her professional career in human resources working for the City of New York and later the Union of Operating Engineers. The term "retired” clearly doesn’t apply to Gladys as she spends in excess of 60 hours for a program which serves more than 35,000 girls and 8,000 volunteers. In addition, Gladys has served on the board of Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk since 1996 and been a member of 100 Black Women of LI. She continues to dedicate her efforts to improve the quality of life of women and girls in our community.

Faith Krinsky, an English teacher in the Three Village School District is the honoree in the field of education. During the course of her tenure she developed several specialty courses for students including “Independent Writing for Publication.” All types of writing were explored and students tweaked their creations until they were worthy of competition. The program’s success can be measured, in part, by the fact that her students received 150 awards in local and national competitions. Her teaching reached beyond the walls of the classroom and gave students confidence and building blocks to meet the future.

HONORED COLOR GUARD

The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County acted as Color Guard during the opening ceremonies at the General Meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature held on March 19, 2002. After the opening ceremonies, Presiding Officer Paul J. Tonna (R - West Hills,) right, along with the entire Suffolk County Legislature proudly recognized the 90th Anniversary of Girl Scouting by serving Marilyn A. Proios, center, CEO and Executive Director of Girls Scouts of Suffolk County, with a proclamation signed by all 18 Legislators.

The Girl Scouts also received a second honor, meeting United States Winter Olympian, Northport's own Adam Heidt, holding the proclamation, who took fourth place in the luge competition in the Salt Lake City Olympics. In Suffolk, the Girl Scout Council is the largest youth organization in the County. It serves more than 36,000 girls between the ages of 5 and 17 with the outstanding support of over 8,000 volunteers.