FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 11, 2021 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 55
Victoria’s
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
vschneps@schnepsmedia.com
From the electrifying election
victory of Mayor-elect
Eric Adams to the salute
of our A List Extraordinary
Men in Business, to watching
my grandson Sam Broner run
the New York City Marathon, it
truly was a week to cherish.
For more than a decade, I have
known Eric Adams during his
journey from State Senator to
Brooklyn Borough President
and, now, Mayor-elect.
I was delighted to be standing
right behind him as he made
his historic acceptance speech.
He passionately spoke about
his vision for our great city’s
future and electrifi ed the standing
room-only crowd at the
Grand Ballroom of the Marriott
in Brooklyn.
Roars of approval fi lled my
ears as I, too, looked out to the
crowd of supporters fi lled with
love for Eric proudly standing
behind him on the stage.
Aft er delivering his acceptance
speech and receiving congratulations
from Gov. Kathy Hochul,
I was delighted to go upstairs to
his suite and spend time with his
family and friends.
I ron i c a l l y
his brother
Bernie, who
A week like no other
I hadn’t seen for many years,
was an old friend during his
days serving on the police force
assigned to Queens. We would
hang out at the LaGuardia Plaza
Hotel back when it was called
the Crowne Plaza LaGuardia
with my dearest friend of blessed
memory Dolly DeTh omas,
who was a senior vice president
at the hotel.
Bernie had moved south,
but when I asked him if he
would return, I got a resounding
“yes!”
Bernie shared with me that
his brother Eric had told his
mother as a young man, “Mom,
I’m going into the police force
and will become a captain. Th en
I’m running for State Senate.
Th en I’m running for Brooklyn
Borough President and then I’m
going to be Mayor!” It all came
true!
Sadly his mother passed before
Eric’s election victory, but I like
to believe she knows of his passion,
persistence and vision and
is watching over him!
Eric has it all, which bodes
well for all of us as he begins his
work to bring back our city to its
rightful place as the greatest city
in the world!
I feel privileged to know him
and know that our city is in the
hands of a great man leading us
out of this uniquely terrifying
time in our history.
THE A LIST
As readers of my column
know, I’m a proud grandma
and never was I prouder
than this weekend.
My 10-year-old granddaughter
Addy accompanied
her mom (my
daughter) Elizabeth to
our A List event recognizing
accomplished
men from Manhattan to
Montauk.
Our events team
gathered college presidents,
CEOs, managing partners of law,
banking and accounting fi rms for
our ultimate networking event.
At all our events, we raise
money for worthy causes, and
that night it was for the Michael
Magro Foundation for children
suff ering from cancer.
My little Addy worked the
room, selling over $1,000 in raffl
e tickets and helping my team
raise a total of $3,500, all going
toward a great cause!
It fi lled my heart to see how
she took her responsibilities
seriously and fearlessly. She even
handed me the “Vicki” statuettes
as I presented them to our
A-Listers!
What a girl!
And a few days later, her
brother Jonah ran a 75-yard
touchdown in his school’s football
game! What a sight!
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF
THE NYC MARATHON
With daylight savings giving
me some extra sleep, I awoke to
a glorious, sun-fi lled, deep blue
sky. It was the 50th year of the
New York Road Runners organizing
the running of the New
York City Marathon.
It seems like just yesterday
when Lew Rudin was
approached by runner Fred
Lebow to organize a marathon
around New York City. Th ose
were dark days for the city and
Rudin wanted to attract people
and create a positive event.
It began with only 50 runners
in its fi rst year, but it continued
to grow and grow. As many as
60,000 people participated
before the pandemic,
which helped bring
in millions of tourism
dollars and good will
for our city.
This year, my
MIT graduate student
grandson, the
6˝1´, 200-pound
Sam Broner,
ran alongside
33,000 others.
Our family
cheered
him on when
he arrived at
the corner
of 90th Street and First Avenue
alongside hundreds of others.
No group shouted louder or held
bigger signs than our family of
cheerleaders!
Sam ran briskly by us with a
big smile and waved as he tried
to meet his personal time goal. I
was not allowed to stop him for
a photo, but my daughter and I
both caught him on video.
What a thrill!
We met up as a group a few
hours aft er Sam surpassed his
goal, fi nishing in 3 hours, 55
minutes and 27 seconds!
At the celebratory dinner, he
admitted aft er he saw us at the
17-mile mark it was a struggle
getting through to the fi nish
line. But with a big Broner smile,
he admitted that the cheers of
the crowd yelling “Go, Sam, go”
(he wore his name on his jersey)
over the last couple of miles carried
him over the fi nish line!
He was exhausted, but proud
he had done it and I, too, was
bursting with pride!
His brothers Zach and Ben,
all their girlfriends and cousins,
Judith and her twin 1-yearold
darlings, his Broner parents
and grandparents, as well as my
daughter Sami and granddaughter
Morgan were his best fans!
It truly takes a village and I’m
so happy to have been there to
see him accomplish his goal!
What a great way to end a
remarkable week!
On the stage during Eric’s victory speech.
Eric’s family, Audrey Hodsden,
Bernie Adams and Bernie
Adams Jr.
Addy impressively sold more than $1,000 in rafflffl e
tickets at the A List event.
The family cheers for Sam as he passes us
at First Avenue and 90th Street.
A tired, but
victorious
Sam after
completing
the marathon.
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