A leader in developing start-up and supportive services for women entrepreneurs and a pioneer in bringing quality day care to Westchester County were the top honorees at the 28th annual Senior Hall of Fame on Dec. 3 at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown.
They were among 30 seniors from the “Class of 2010” who were inducted into the Senior Hall of Fame at the festive luncheon and candle-lighting ceremony.
Cecile D. Singer of Tuckahoe and Inez M. Singletary of Pleasantville were recognized by Deputy Westchester County Executive Kevin Plunkett, who hailed the Senior Hall of Fame as “a Westchester tradition.”
Singer is president and a founding member of the Women’s Enterprise Development Center, which serves the Hudson Valley and is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration. She has been a director of Hudson Valley Bank since 1994 and is also a director of the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency. In addition, she is principal of Cecile D. Singer Consulting, which specializes in government issues.
Singer served in the New York State Assembly for 28 years as an elected official and staff member and was the first female executive director of an Assembly committee. As an assemblywoman, she was a sponsor of the laws that changed New York State’s power of attorney forms to provide more disclosure and control for older citizens. Singer is also a board member of Westchester Jewish Community Services where she serves on several of its committees, including finance and geriatric strategic planning.
“We’ve been given the task of changing the way people look at senior citizens,” Singer said, noting the achievements of her co-honorees as she accepted her award. “Life is changing all around us.”
Singletary was the first executive director of the Day Care Council of Westchester where she coordinated committees that greatly expanded the number of day care centers in the county and worked to develop standardized training programs for child care providers. She also established contacts with some Westchester corporations, which led to on-site child care centers for their employees.
Singletary also was a founder and former president of the New York State Child Care Coordinating Council. Earlier in her career, she taught grades 3 to 6 in New York City and worked in Harlem with a program for young people during the summer. She received the Sojourner Truth Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs and the Woman of the Year Award from the County of Westchester. She is an active member of the United Methodist Church in Pleasantville.
Singletary said in addition to former job with the Cay Care Council she and her late husband, Sam, were life-long volunteers.
“If I had to do it all over again, I’d do it,” she said. “It takes courage. But in return you feel so great because helping others helps you, too.”
The Senior Hall of Fame is co-sponsored by the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services (DSPS), Westchester County Parks and the Westchester Public/Private Partnership for Aging Services.
DSPS established the Senior Hall of Fame in 1982 to honor seniors who have contributed their energies and talents as professionals and volunteers to enhance the quality of life throughout Westchester or in their particular communities. Since the Hall of Fame began, more than 870 seniors have been inducted.
“The annual Senior Hall of Fame is a special opportunity to recognize and say thank you to many seniors for the formidable contributions they make every day to Westchester County and their communities,” said DSPS Commissioner Mae Carpenter “These seniors are role models who inspire us to follow the wonderful examples they set. They also enhance our quality of life by showcasing the ‘neighbors-helping-neighbors’ approach of our signature Livable Community initiative.”
Five other seniors received “special recognition” at the luncheon:
Dr. Mohan Cheema from New Rochelle is medical director at United Hebrew, a multiservice senior living center in New Rochelle, and chief of the pulmonary division at Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle.
Richard and Pauline Klein, a husband and wife from Yorktown, have been volunteers since 1992 with Friends of Karen, which provides emotional, financial and advocacy support for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families to help keep them stable, functioning and able to cope. The Kleins are also licensed pilots who fly cancer patients in their airplane for treatment through the Angel Flight Northeast organization.
Sue Loomis of Somers is a volunteer with Hospice and Palliative Care of Westchester. She has visited many hospice patients at the Somers Manor Nursing Home since 2004 where she talks with them, reads, plays cards or simply listens to their fears and concerns. Before she retired, Loomis had worked 19 years at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital as secretary to the medical director and medical staff coordinator.
Betty Menke of Rye formerly lived in Scarsdale where she was a village leader. She served as president of the Scarsdale Board of Education and the local League of Women Voters. Menke also received the Scarsdale Bowl in 1984, which the Scarsdale Foundation presents each year to a citizen who has contributed outstanding volunteer service to the community. Menke, who also raised money for the Westchester Community College Foundation, currently lives at Sterling Park at the Osborn Garden Home in Rye.
The names of Hall of Fame winners are engraved on plaques that are permanently displayed at the DSPS office in Mount Vernon.
Here are the honorees of “Class of 2010,” which has three married couples.
BRIARCLIFF: Diane Trilling
CROTON- ON-HUDSON: Karen and Sam Colombo, Linda R. Conte, Dolores Laureti
EASTCHESTER: Betty Ann Roberts
ELMSFORD: Violet R. Leone
HARTSDALE: Eartha B. Williams
MONTROSE: Michelina Cerreto
MOUNT VERNON: Janice Benjamin, Frances Ruth Jones
NEW ROCHELLE: Dr. Mohan Cheema,** Barbara and Dan Gallo, Florence Gross
OSSINING: Marie C. Liebold
PLEASANTVILLE: Inez M. Singletary*
RYE: Betty Menke**
SOMERS: Sue Loomis**
THORNWOOD: William Geary
TUCKAHOE: Cecile D. Singer*
VERPLANCK: Rose Mason
WHITE PLAINS: Beatrice Catullo, Daisy Chambers, Mary Hart, Grace Ann Taylor, Irene A. Thompson
YONKERS: Anneliese Zassoda
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS: Pauline and Richard Klein**
*Top Honors **Special Recognition
Photo courtesy of The Westchester County Business Journal