On Friday, May 19, the Northport Journal held its inaugural Sunset Gala. The three-hour event celebrated people who make a positive impact on our Northport-East Northport community, “the doers and the changers, the visionaries and the voices who have stepped forward to make a difference.” And what a night it was.
Over 110 people attended the gala, held at The View at Crab Meadow Golf Course. A cocktail hour and light dinner led to presentations of six honorees, special shout outs to attendees of recognition, raffles, dancing, and an energy and enthusiasm for community that lasted long into the weekend.
For our first Sunset Gala, the Journal chose to honor individuals we’ve written about this past year, Northport and East Northport residents who have inspired us with their presence, their commitment, their persistence and determination.
The honorees and their award titles were as follows:
Northport Native Garden Initiative: The Groundbreakers
Meghan Dolan Saporita: The Game Changer
Dave Weber: The Village Anchor
Joe Schramm: The Community Voice
Valerie Goldstein: The Dreamer and Achiever
Karen Paquet: The Light and Love
“Tonight, we are here to celebrate the progress we’ve made together and the people who make our community what it is – supportive, grounded, and giving,” said Journal co-owner Joanne Kountourakis.
“It’s true. We have in this room over 100 kind, caring, compassionate people working hard to make our community an even better place,” added co-owner Chrissy Ruggeri.
Honoree Meghan Dolan, an attorney, Northport mom and newly elected Village trustee, used her time on the microphone to acknowledge her fellow honorees and community members in the audience.
“Thank you to the Northport Journal for bringing us together with the good news, always, and here in person tonight. It still feels very special to be able to do this together after the last few years but we are doing it. We are doing all of the things…,” she said. “We are doing it together because that is the only way to do it. Each and every one of you in here, the groups and the individuals, are contributing to making our community so much more beautiful in a variety of ways.”