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The honorees are Kendall and Ken Egan, Paulette and Eric Mann and Jean and Pat Romano. The council granted the awards "in honor of their years of dedicated service to children and families in our community," representatives said. The three couples will be honored at the 24th Annual Rye Youth Council Gala Jan. 25 at the Westchester Country Club.
“It is a tribute to this community that after so many years of recognizing deserving individuals, we continue to find exceptional people who have gone above and beyond serving the children and families of Rye," said Judy Secon, executive director of the Rye Youth Council.
Lisa Hogan Luthringer is chairing the gala, the group's largest fund-raiser.
“A successful gala is increasingly important as more than 85 percent of our funding now comes from private donations, almost exclusively within the 10580 area," said Rye Youth Council board co-presidents Shari Balaish and Kristin Jautz. "We receive some money from the city and the school district, but those funds have been cut severely over the past few years.”
Biographies of the MVP couples, as provided by the Rye Youth Council, are:
- Ken and Kendall Egan moved to Rye 18 years ago and have volunteered in the community while raising their four children here. For the past 11 years Ken has been involved in Resurrection CYO basketball. Kendall served as the PTO president at Milton School during its construction planning and subsequently won a seat on the board of education, where she served as a trustee for six years.
- Since moving to Rye in 1993, Eric and Paulette Mann remain involved in many community activities with their three children. Eric is instrumental in organizing and sponsoring the annual golf outing for The Southeast Consortium for Special Services. Paulette is an active community volunteer, including as a charter member and president of SEPTA, Rye's Special Education PTA. She volunteers for Meals on Wheels, The Southeast Consortium for Special Children and The Rye Youth Council Players.
- Pat and Jean Romano were both born and raised in Rye, where they chose to raise their two daughters. In addition to careers teaching elementary school children, they both have coached and volunteered for a number of local sports teams and overseen the sports programs for local clubs. Jean was named Rye Central School District Teacher of the Year in 2012 and is an active volunteer for Rye Presbyterian Church.
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