February 2010

Dear Reader,
“ ...I have a dream that one day my poor little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character... Let freedom ring...when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, and every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual “‘Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last.’”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
August 18, 1963

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Black History Month originated in 1926 in February because this month marks the birthdays of former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, both of whom influenced the lives of African-Americans. With the election of our forty-fourth president, Barack Obama, we have added a new chapter to fulfilling Dr. King’s dream and our hopes for all Americans.

Thursday, January 14th, turned out to be a beautiful day in what had been a tough winter, and the mood inside the Crest Hollow Country Club was warm and convivial as Networking® magazine celebrated a very successful David Awards. We were thrilled as guests filled the ballroom to applaud our eight wonderful honorees – true Renaissance men who inspired us with their words and works. Despite the good crowd, the event felt very intimate as we were among many good friends. The Crest Hollow served each of us a hot and delicious breakfast quietly and efficiently.

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Heartfelt thanks are due to our fine “Davids” for their humanitarian efforts, our presenters, wonderful sponsors and advertisers. A very special thanks to Bank of America, our presenting partner for the past seven years, and its Long Island market president Robert Isaksen, himself a 2009 David honoree. Many thanks to our hard-working David Awards committee – we could not have done it without your help. And, thanks again this year to our Master of Ceremonies, Dr. Adrienne O’Brien and to Rev. Reginald Tuggle, pastor Memorial Presbyterian Church, David Awards honoree, 2006, for his invocation. A special loving thank you to Denis Sheahan, my husband, for his ongoing support and for the special section to come devoted to the David Awards in the March/April issue of HOUSE® magazine.

I thank our staff here at Networking® magazine for their many months of work to produce the David Awards and our special breakfast journal. They are the best! Partial proceeds this year will benefit Bethany House, Inc., an emergency shelter for homeless women and their children in Roosevelt. Complete coverage begins on page 10.

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Our cover story features Adrienne Esposito, co-founder and executive director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE). She has been a well-known environmental advocate for over 25 years. Her story and that of her agency begin on page 18.

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We are all horrified by the destruction caused by January’s earthquake in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Almost every other country around the globe plus the United Nations and the European Commission have pledged nearly US$38 million with the US pledging an additional US$100 million. Many countries are also sending medical supplies, food, professional and transportation services.

Haitian history from its time of discovery by Columbus in 1492 has been dominated by slavery, civil war, massacres and oppressive leaders yet their people remain resilient and proclaimed themselves the first black republic in 1804 and have remained independent to this day. Our hopes and prayers are with them.

Best wishes,
Christine Conniff Sheahan