FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com NOVEMBER 13, 2014 • THE COURIER SUN 17 SCOTT BARON’S STAR OF QUEENS HAROLD RUTGERS CONTRIBUTOR JEWELERS FOR CHILDREN brought to you by star OF queens SCOTT BARON & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors at Law 1-866-WAS-HURT (866) 927-4878 718.738.9800 BACKGROUND: Harold Rutgers was born and raised in Flushing. His father Victor was a jewelry designer who opened a jewelry store in Great Neck in 1962. Rutgers, a certifi ed gemologist, joined the family business and opened Bell Family Jewelers in Bayside in 1987. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Rutgers is associated with Jewelers For Children. It is a nonprofit organization that donates to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Rutgers has a box and a sign in his store that states that he won’t charge customers for services such as jewelry cleaning. Instead, they can donate a sum of their choice to the charity by dropping it in the box. Rutgers said that after he started this initiative 10 years ago, he found that people come to his store for the services because they also get the opportunity to give back at the same time. This year, he has already collected more than $1,500 and hopes to surpass that and collect $2,000 next year. GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: “Being able to give back to the wonderful community,” said Rutgers. “Just being able to give back every day makes me feel great. I try to teach my two children to do the same.” BIGGEST CHALLENGE: “Staying competitive in the business, keeping prices reasonable with today’s rising costs,” said Rutgers. “It’s a tough business environment.” INSPIRATION: “My father,” said Rutgers. “He gave me an engraved ID bracelet when I went to high school that said, ‘The secret to success is consistency to purpose.’ That’s the rule I live by.” BY ASHA MAHADEVAN Douglaston/Little Neck Library Holiday Art Show Exhibit Opening The first-ever Holiday Art Show at the Douglaston/Little Neck Community Library’s Art Gallery opened on November 7th. Organized by the Library’s Friends’ group, this special holiday retrospective art show features six new works of art that will be on display in Photo: Ron Wan November and December by the six past, current and future artists-in-residence whose work has graced the walls of the library: Susan Herz, Lillian Landsman (pictured on left), Olga Salamanca, Dawn Steinberg, Rosanne Kaloustian (pictured on right), and Marcy Stecker (pictured in center). The Friends of the Douglaston/Little Neck Library have organized exhibits by local artists since the Art Gallery’s establishment in 2013. The Friends of the Queens Library are unpaid, volunteer community advocates for the Queens Library. To join an existing Friends’ group or start your own, contact your local Community Library Manager or the Assistant Director of Government and Community Affairs at (718) 990-8583, Fax: (718) 990-5147, Email: Camille.T.Barrett@queenslibrary.org ADVERTORIAL QUEENS LIBRARY Enrich Your Life® presents Friends of East Elmhurst Pre-Thanksgiving 4896-10/14 Our pre-Thanksgiving flea market is a fundraiser to purchase books and other resources for the library. We urgently need your donations of medium to small, new, useful items to sell. Drop off items ahead of time or bring them with you to the flea market. Support our fundraiser and enjoy socializing with other Friends of the Library. This Friends event is Board of sponsored Members East Elmhurst by the G. Benfante, President J. O. Dent, Library Manager Thursday and Friday November 13, 14 12:00-5:00 p.m. East Elmhurst 95-06 Astoria Boulevard 718-424-2619 Bus: Q19, Q49, Q72 Library Hours Mon. /Thur./ Fri. 11-7 Tues. 2-7 Wed. 1-7 Sat./Sun. closed Admission is free. www.queenslibrary.org This program is sponsored by the Friends of Queens Library at East Elmhurst. Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not affiliated with any other library system.
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