FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 23, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
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It was a glorious and joyous
night as CEOs and presidents
of prestigious organizations
proudly rocked the runway of
the elevated red carpet to fi tting
music to accept their “Vicki”
statuettes as “Power Listers” at
our Bronx Power List event at
Maestro’s.
Among the 67 people we honored
was Elizabeth Toledo,
who leads the YMCA as Vice
President of Field Operations
Spirit in abundance
in the Bronx and Manhattan.
Fittingly, the “Y.M.C.A.” song
by Village People accompanied
her as she danced her way to
the stage!
Our DJ, Mike from Bravo
Sound, set the mood for the
night with his perfectly planned
music appropriate for each
honoree.
For me, it was pure joy to
welcome the Department of
Education’s current Schools
Chancellor Meisha Porter, who
has met the challenge of educating
millions of our children. She
is transitioning to become the
inaugural CEO of a new nonprofi
t, the Bronx Community
Foundation.
I was proud to honor an old
Carlos Naudon, holding his “Vicki,” with his team from Ponce Bank.
friend, lobbyist Patrick Jenkins,
who has built a powerful business
that helps people navigate
government agencies.
Th ere were “crossover” honorees
like Carlos Naudon, the
President and CEO of Ponce
Bank, who also serves on the
board of the critically needed
community-based Brooklyn
Hospital Center.
We held the event at Maestro’s
Caterers, which was stunningly
decorated with white Christmas
trees fi lled with shiny red ornaments
and tinsel for the holidays.
It was my honor to recognize
Maestro’s CEO and Founder
Barbara Naclerio, who, like
me, has her children working
with her. She is carrying on aft er
recently losing her beloved husband
and partner, Richard.
As a bonus to the spectacularly
joyous night, the wonderful
people attending helped
to raise $2,500 through raffl
e sales to go directly to
the Bronx Cooperative
Development Initiative.
Th e Bronx was on
fi re with power people.
It was a memorable
night for all
in attendance, as
everyone had an
opportunity to
meet the leaders
of important and
infl uential groups in
the Bronx. What a night!
Our next event is the Power
Women of Brooklyn in January.
Stay tuned and nominate
women for the ultimate
networking event!
Spirit of a diff erent kind
From the moment my
fi rst-born daughter Lara
turned blue in the nursery
hours aft er her birth, she
led me on a path beyond my
wildest imagination.
Our journey started with
seemingly endless doctors
appointments as we searched
for a cure for her seizures and
then for therapies to help her.
Aft er a painful two-year
search, my pediatric neurologist
gently, but fi rmly, told
my husband and me that Lara
would developmentally be a
3-month-old who would need
total care all her life.
My journey trying to help her
led me to create Life’s WORC,
which started as a small group of
fabulous women, and later welcomed
busloads of volunteers
raising money and off ering their
time and love to the people at
the Willowbrook State School,
where Lara was in their Infant
Rehabilitation Center, which we
called the “baby buildings.”
Sadly, that wasn’t the answer
and with a federal class-action
lawsuit in place in which
she was a named plaintiff ,
we brought Lara home and
changed Life’s WORC’s mission
to a provider of group
homes, where she spent the rest
of her 17 years living with dignity
and love.
Fast forward 50 years, and
now thousands of groups
similar to Life’s WORC help
those like Lara, having benefi
ted from the lawsuit’s victory.
Friday night, I had the pleasure
of visiting the Spirit of
Huntington Art Center, a
stunningly large-windowed
former school building that
has been transformed into a
community arts center.
It is run cooperatively by
the arts center’s Executive
Director Michael Kitakis
and Charles Evdos, the
Executive Director of the
40-year-old RISE, which
operates dozens of group
homes and programs for
people with disabilities.
Together, they partnered to
create an environment where
people with special needs and
veterans can enjoy each other
and create art, make music and
dance.
I was impressed with the
activities in every corner of
the building that is devoted
to creative expression. It’s an
innovative model for every
community!
Th ey really knocked it out of
the park! How powerful for the
Huntington community!
With (from l.) Gabriella DiMisa, Tommy DiMisa,
Michael Kitakis and Charles Evdos.
(Front) Deirdre McCauley, Joan MacNaughton,
Charles and Renea Evdos, (Back) Mike Moriarty and
Catherine McCauley.
Elizabeth Toledo (YMCA), NYC Schools Chancellor
Meisha Porter and New Settlement Executive
Director Rigaud Noel.
With Barabra Naclerio.
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