FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 45
Victoria’s
DIARY
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
vschneps@gmail.com
tweet me @vschneps
A wow of a week!
I’m so proud of my events team
led by Demetra Mattone,
Toni Cimino and Amanda
Tarley, who have worked tirelessly
to create our new virtual
events that are replacing our
powerful in-person events
during the pandemic.
For almost 20 years,
networking events
have been part of the
Schneps Media culture.
I got the idea to
start our fi rst event
when I was at a business
awards dinner
with an enormous dais
of honorees. As I looked
from one end to the other,
there was not one woman
who was being recognized. So
I decided to do it and created the
Power Women of Queens event.
My friend Jackie Arrington at
the time was head of Citibank’s
community relations and I wanted
to publish a networking guide
that would allow people to connect
with each other aft er meeting
during the event. She simply
asked me how much I need
to publish it. I told her and she
said, “Send me a bill!” It was easy
in those days.
Fast forward to today and we
have created that event in each
borough and Long Island. Th en
we started the Kings of Queens
event — my fi rst king was Mike
Bloomberg, the extraordinary
mayor of New York City at the
time. Th at event also would
expand to each of the boroughs.
During these diffi cult times,
we’ve had to change the way we
host events, doing them virtually
instead of in-person due to
the pandemic. My events team
has worked for months to fi nd
a platform to make it as powerful
an experience for our honorees
and sponsors as if it were live.
Th ey did it!
Our fi rst virtual event was
the Kings of the Bronx, followed
by the Gay City News
Impact Awards. We also hosted
the Salute to Labor Awards and
the Healthcare Heroes. Videos
of the events will be available
on our Schneps Media YouTube
page.
Th e Hamptons has been a
special place to me since I was a
bride in the 1960s. My late husband
Murray had a little practice
fi rst in Riverhead, then in
Aquebogue and then I bought
a co-op in Westhampton. Th e
area is the best “staycation” destination
you can fi nd.
When the iconic Dan’s Papers
became available for sale, I was
delighted to add it to our world
of community journalism. Each
of our media outlets has a unique
audience and so does Dan’s.
To celebrate, we hosted a
socially distant opening party
at Naia, a wonderful Greek
restaurant at the Capri Hotel
in Southampton. Todd Shapiro,
a PR extraordinaire, helped us
organize it, being sensitive that
we had to limit the number of
people who could attend due to
the pandemic.
When I woke up that morning,
the skies were grey and there
were sheets of rain knocking at
my glass windows and door. I
became a student of the weather
forecasters and, being an optimist
by nature, I liked the forecast
even though it predicated
heavy rain off and on throughout
the day,
Only believing the “off ”
reports, with great faith
I decided not to cancel
the outdoor party and
hoped for the best.
Th e rain stopped
and we were able to
greet our guests and
meet new neighbors
in our new
neighborhood, the
Hamptons.
Our distribution
will be from
Westhamptin to
Montauk on the south
fork and Riverhead to
Orient Point on the
North Fork.
Dan Rattiner, who
created Dan’s Papers 60
years ago, joined us
and said very proudly
with a smile on his
face, “It never rains
when I have events!”
And so it was!
What I love most about
being in community journalism
is meeting interesting
people and the creativeness of
having new ideas published
every single week. I think I fell
in love with 80-year-old Dan
because he is made of the same
cloth as I. He started his weekly
newspapers in his bedroom
and I started mine in my living
room. We are both loving
the ride and he will continue to
write his iconic satirical column
every week.
We will also bring back some
of the events and columns that
made the paper famous.
Since I knew Rabbi Marc
Schneier, the impressive leader
of Hampton Synagogue in
Westhampton, I got to meet
Father Alex Karloutsos, leader
of the Greek Orthodox Church
in Southampton. I thought it
would be fun to bring them
together and have a column similar
to the one that appeared
Demetra, Joseph and Toni — the
leaders of our events team — at the
Ravel Hotel in Long Island City.
Me with Rabbi Marc Schneier, John Catsimatidis,
Father Alex Karloutsos, Dr. Peter Michalos, Margo
Catsimatidis, and Father Constantine Lazarakis at our
acquisition reception.
in Newsday for decades that
they called the “God Squad.”
We had lunch with John
Catsimatidis and his wife, along
with Dr. Michael Nicolas and
Father Constantine, and came
up with a name for the column:
“Th e Hamptons Soul.” We
expect to launch it in October.
Jay Schneiderman, the town
supervisor of Southampton, was
kind enough to declare Sept. 10
“Dan Rattiner Day” and then
was there himself. Adding to
the fun of the night, Dottie
Herman, CEO of Douglas
Elliman, presented Dan with a
new hat for his new day under
our new ownership!
Later in the week on Saturday,
the sun was shining brightly on
us as my dear friend Juliana
Terian, CEO of Rallye Motors,
held a welcome party at her
friend Pamela Muller’s home in
Bridgehampton. We remained
socially distant and wore masks
while enjoying each other on
Pam’s patio overlooking a large
lush lawn and swimming pool.
We were all too busy sharing
ideas to jump into the pool, but
it was tempting!
Dan Rattiner autographed
the beautiful 60th anniversary
book that had been created
by the Dan’s Papers team.
As a bonus, we will
be giving them away
with our subscription
drive coming
in October.
We want to celebrate
life in these
crazy times and
what better place to
celebrate than being
surrounded by the
beautiful ocean on
the South Fork and
stately wineries lining
the North Fork.
Patti Mazzarella, Juliana
Terian, Pamela Muller
at the meet-and-greet
event.
Dan Rattiner, Jay Schneiderman, me, Dottie
Herman and Josh Schneps at the celebration.
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