with a likeness and a well known fact about the actual person they represented. They were modeled after our founders Ward Melville and Dorothy Melville, along with George Washington’s Culper Spy Ring members Caleb Brewster and Benjamin Tall-madge, as well as Jonas Smith, a shipbuilder and owner of the former Hallock homestead, now Three Village Inn.

Each year, both new and old generations of families eagerly flock to Stony Brook Village for this Annual Holiday Festival. Over 1,000 individuals from towns near and far away return year after year for this happy and joyous holiday event!

We Wish You All A Very Happy Holiday Season!

Gloria D. RocchioPresident

Dr. Richard C. Rugen

Chairman, Board of Trustees

Running Scared, Running Free

Escape to the Promised LandFebruary 4-28Interactive Theatrical

Performances631-751-2244

It is a great pleasure to announce a new direction for the Ward Melville Heritage Organization. Moving into 2018, the WMHO will be showcasing the creation of a new marketing campaign to “Revolutionize Your Thinking.” The “Revolutionize Your Thinking” campaign goals are multi-faceted and exciting. Si-multaneously with the launch of the campaign we will be invit-ing people to join The Charter Society. The Charter Society, and the campaign aim to unify like-minded individuals who share a passion for education, history, science, arts and culture and the environment. In the coming months, we will announce new programming. You’ll want to watch what happens next!

As the holidays are fast approaching, visitors from all over had the opportunity to join the WMHO for the first ever Legends & Spies Puppet Procession at the 38th Annual Holiday Festi-val, Sunday, December 3. The procession began at the Stony Brook Fire Department and continued throughout the village. It was incredible. Earlier this year the WMHO worked with a very special team of artists to develop puppets who represent promi-nent historic members of the community. The puppets were handcrafted and scaled between 12-14 ft. high. Each puppet was meticulously designed and painted to provide their character

UPCOMING EVENTS

Gloria Rocchio Receives First-Ever Tourism Legacy Award

On Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at The Fox Hollow in Wood-bury, Discover Long Island honored Gloria Rocchio, President, The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, with a lifetime achievement award, the first-ever Tourism Legacy Award. The Inaugural Tourism Awards Gala recog-nizes individuals who set new benchmarks within the tourism community. The honorees included, the Global Center for Hos-pitality Management at New York Institute of Technology, PSAV and Governor Andrew Cuomo who received the Tourism Trail-blazer Award for the Long Island Welcome Center.

wmho.org ✧ stonybrookvillage.com

(L-R) Lisa Santeramo, Long Island Director of Operations, office of Governor Cuomo; Mark Legrady, Director Event Technology, PSAV; Gloria Rocchio, President, WMHO; Kristen Jarnagin, President & CEO, Discover Long Island; Alan Fairbairn, CHIA, CHA NYIT; Robert Koenig, Ed.D., Associate Dean, Student Advancement Programs, NYIT

P.O. BOX 572, STONY BROOK NY 11790 | 631.751.2244 | WWW.WMHO.ORG WINTER 2017 NEWSLETTER

THE WARD MELVILLE HERITAGE ORGANIZATION

“Now You See It...

Now You Don’t”Mystery Dinner TheatreFebruary 2, 7-9pm

Buffet Dinner, Wine, Dessert, Coffee, TeaJewelry Raffle & More! $75 pp

631-689-5888

Chinese New Year Celebration

February 11A nine-foot Lion Dance

Martial Arts Demonstrations631-689-5888

Holiday Musical TheatreLuncheon PerformancesLinda Ronstadt &

Olivia Newton-JohnNow thru January 10

Actress Portrayals 631-689-5888

Promenade of Trees

Now thru January 3Decorated holiday trees

throughout the Village Center631-751-2244

Greetings from Stony Brook!

Walk for BeautyThe 23rd annual Walk for Beauty to raise money for breast cancer research at Stony Brook University Cancer Center was held on Sunday, October 23, at the Stony Brook Village Cen-ter. This year’s event set a record breaking atten-dance of well over 1,000 people! A total of 311 runners and 737 walk-ers helped give this year’s walk/run record break-ing attendance. Later in the morning furry friends came out to support and participate in a pet costume contest. Earlier in the week patients from the St. James Rehabilitation Center collectively raised over $700. Event sponsors includ-ed Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Enzo, Walk 97.5, Tower Fasteners, TBR Newsmedia and Daniel Gale. The Walk for Beauty once again was a major success in the fight against breast cancer. The proceeds from the event are still being col-lected at this time.

Youth Corps Joins Forces with the Town of Brookhaven

This past spring and summer, WMHO’s Education Department and Youth Corps worked with the Town of Brookhaven to remove an invasive pepperweed, lapidium lafolium, from WMHO land by the Ernst Marine Conservation Center, as well as residential properties along West Meadow Creek. Youth Corps members surveyed the infest-ed areas and pulled and bagged the plant for disposal. WMHO is com-mitted to ensuring the ecological health of this creek, and this includes helping to eliminate invasive species. The project is slated to continue in 2018.

The Charter SocietyThe Ward Melville Heritage Organization is proud to announce the Charter Society. Join a community with a shared passion for American History, Culture, Education, Arts, Environment, and Science. Become part of an exclusive club that includes privileges such as VIP access to events year-round, two free tickets to the Annual Spies and Legends event, discounts and much more.

Go to wmho.org and click on Charter Society to learn more and sign up.

Pre-Register for Marine Based Education Programs

Did you know that 97% of all animal species on earth are inverte-brates, including the horseshoe crab which lives at the Ward Melville Heritage Organi-zation’s 88-acre wetlands preserve at West Meadow Creek? According to Endangered Species International, horseshoe crabs are a critically threatened species. These 300 million year old creatures play an impor-tant role in the migration of birds and Long Island’s ecology. Find out more this summer by signing up for marine based educational programs at the Ernst Marine Conservation Center. Or bring the wetlands to your class-room through distance learning! The 2018 “Summer of Science at the Salt Marsh” dates and times are: Salt Marsh Explor-ers, ages 6-9, July 16 - July 20, 10 am-1 pm; Salt Marsh Scientists,

ages 13-17, July 30 - August 3; Salt Marsh Detectives, ages 10-12, August 13 - August 17. Call the WMHO’s Education Manager, Deborah Boudreau at 631-751-2244.

Distance Learning in Louisiana This past month, WMHO presented its distance learning program, “Windows Through Time: Journals of American Revolution-ary War Spies” to the Hammond Eastside Magnet School in Ham-mond, Louisiana, located 60 miles northwest of New Orleans. From their Louisiana classroom, stu-dents were able to see and learn about WMHO’s Brewster House c. 1665, and George Washing-ton’s Culper Spy Ring. The student pictured dressed up as Culper Spy Abraham Woodhull for the occa-sion! WMHO offered our distance learning programs to students in Chappaqua, New Hampshire, Sag Harbor, Sea Cliff, Canada and Panama, to name a few.

631-689-5888www.wmho.org&

Holiday Musical Theatre Tribute Luncheon Performances

In Celebration of

Linda Ronstadt & Olivia Newton-John

Now thru January 10ACTRESS PORTRAYALS

RESERVE EARLY!

Admission: $48Seniors and children under 15: $45Groups of 20 or more: $40

The 27th Annual Halloween Scarecrow Competition

Trick or treating, games and mini pumpkin picking kicked off this year’s scarecrow com-petition and Halloween festi-val. Families from across Long Island flocked to Stony Brook Village to dance with Monster Merlin and meet Walkie Bear from WALK Radio. There were many creative scarecrows this year, and to help announce the winners was the festival’s main event sponsor, Suffolk Center for Speech and Myofunctional Therapy. Other sponsors included Samuel R. Taube, R.C.S.W., Sharon Doyle, MS, RN, CS, NPP, J. Robert Quilty, PhD, P.C., and Roseland School of Dance. A parade around the village with Monster Merlin leading the way began immediately following the announcements. Congrats to all of this year’s winners!

From Long Island’s Got Tal-ent to Broadway! Two of the Ward Melville Heritage Organization’s stars head to Broadway this upcoming season. Makayla Connolly, will star in the classic pro-

duction of “White Christmas” and Robert Montano is scheduled to star in the “Radio City Music Hall Christ-mas Spectacular!” The Ward Mel-ville Heritage Organization would like to congratulate Makayla and

Robert on their much deserved success. This year’s winners of the LIGT contest are Paul Foschino, 1st Place; Christy Jean, 2nd place; Jessica Nunez, 3rd place. Runners up included: Claire Lindsey and Thomas Foschino. Scott Sanders partially sponsored the event and presented Paul Foschino with the first prize of a $1,000 check and a $7,000 Five Towns College Schol-arship. Congrats to all our winners!

Long Island’s Got Talent Performers Head to Broadway!

Running Scared, Running FreeOne of the most anticipated theatrical performances returns for its 18th year! Running Scared, Running Free – Escaped to the Promised Land comes alive in this riveting drama told through the eyes of a female slave who flees South Carolina and travels north to Canada, the promised land. Performances begin on February 4th, 2018. Call today to reserve your tickets!

Friends of the Educational & Cultural Center

In 1951, Mr. Ward Melville created the infamous Dogwood Hol-low, a 2000+ seat amphitheater featuring performances by musical greats including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and more. Today, the legacy of outstanding performances at the Edu-cational & Cultural Center (ECC) continues through musical theater and living history performances.

Mr. Melville worked for decades to ensure that Stony Brook preserved its original beauty. He wanted to create a living Williamsburg where culture and history is a part of everyday life. The Cultural Center is a testament to Mr. Melville’s vision: a place that engages the communi-ty by fostering learning and entertainment. We invite you to become part of the legacy! Help us keep outstanding programming going.Donor Wall Opportunities at the ECC include acknowledgement

on the wall in the lobby for the following plaques:$5,000 - large • $3,000 - medium • $1,000 - small

Icon AwardsOn September 18, WMHO’s President, Gloria Rocchio, was honored with the Long Island Business News ICON Award. Mrs. Rocchio was recog-nized for her dedicated years of experience, long list of achievements and the keen ability to lead, motivate and teach oth-ers. This first-of-its-kind award was also given to area businessmen John Tsunis, Chairman of Gold Coast Bank and Michael Lessing, COO of Lessing’s Food Service Management.

Thomas Foschino and Scott Sanders

Robert Montano

Makayla Connolly

Sponsored by Empire National Bank

Gloria Rocchio with Scott Schoen, publisher, Business News

Yes, I want to help support The Ward Melville Heritage OrganizationThe Ward Melville Heritage Organization is a 501 (c)(3) not for profit. Your donation is fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

❑

Box 572, Stony Brook, NY 11790 • 631-751-2244 wmho.org

THE

WARD MELVILLE HERITAGEORGANIZATION

CONTACT NAME _________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS _______________________________________________________________________

CITY ___________________________________________________________________________

STATE ___________________________________________ZIP _________________________

DAYTIME PHONE _________________________________________________________________

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PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO THE WARD MELVILLE HERITAGE ORGANIZATION.

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!The Jewels & Jeans Dinner is WMHO’s only major fundraiser of the year. Proceeds from the dinner benefit WMHO’s educa-tional programs and help to make repairs to our historic proper-ties. This year’s honorees were Dr. Lisa Stano-Paul, Professor

of Medicine and Assistant Dean for Clinical Education at Stony Brook School of Medicine, Brian Kilmeade, Co-au-thor, George Washington’s Secret Six and Thomas Jefferson & the Tripoli Pirates, Dr. David B. Paul, Long Island Anes-thesia Physicians, LLP, and Ralph D. Spencer, Jr. President & CEO, Suffolk Federal. Thanks to them and the Jewels & Jeans committee for making the event a success. Dinner Committee Honorary Chairs were John Guadagno and Chris Richey. Din-ner Co-Chairs were Charles J. Napoli and Mary Van Tuyl. Gloria Snyder was the Auction Chair. Committee members were Mon-ica Aguinaldo, Olga Belleau, Judi Betts, Charlotte Biblow, Esq., Laura Blasberg, Esq., Elyse Buchman, Connie Burawa, Edward

The 2017 Jewels & Jeans Dinner

Gutleber, Esq., Carl Hanes, Connie Hanes, Cathleen Han-sen, Barbara Heaphy, Laura Huang Ernst, Anna Kerekes, Ken Kroncke, Amy Loughlin, Lucy Mazany, Kathleen Mich, Duffy Mich, Gene Mundie, Adrienne Owen, Michael Piluso, Rich-ard Rocchio, Daniel Rowe, Richard C. Rugen, Linda Barnes Rugen, George Ellsworth Smith and Mark Snyder.

❑ Educational Programs❑ Youth Corps❑ The Ernst Marine Conservation Center❑ Santa Fund (clothes and food to needy families)❑ Enclosed is my general donation❑ I am interested in naming opportunities. ❑ Charter Society ($1 donation for every year since 1939)

Donation Amount $ ___________________

❑ My Company will match my gift.

❑ Visa ❑ MasterCard ❑ AMEX ❑ Check

Credit Card #_________________________________________Exp Date _____________

Cardholder Name __________________________________________________________

Signature ________________________________________________________________

John C. Tsunis, Esq., Chairman and CEO, Gold Coast Bank, Gloria Rocchio, President, WMHO, Honoree Brian Kilmeade, Christine Intrabartola, Carolyn Benson

Cris & Helayne Damianos Honorees Dr. David B. Paul and Dr. Lisa Strano-Paul, Dr. Richard C. Rugen, Honoree Ralph D. Spencer