The Great Neck Arts Center will honor Great Neck resident and long-time board member Jerry Sloane when the organization celebrates its 17th year in the community on Sunday, Dec. 5, at a gala at the DeSeversky Mansion on the campus of the New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury.
Sloane will be named the Arts Center’s “Man of the Year” at the event. Also being honored at the Gala is Nassau County Legislator Judi Bosworth, who will receive the Arts Center’s Inspiration Award, and Arts Center Vice President of Operations Dohn Samuel Schildkraut, who will be given the Outstanding Service Award.
Being recognized for their artistic accomplishments is acclaimed Broadway and television star Melissa Errico, who will be named The Arts Center’s “Artist of Distinction,” and renowned iconic American pop-artist James Rosenquist, who will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“The Arts Center’s annual gala is a time to look back at all that we have accomplished during our 17 years of bringing the arts to the community,” said Great Neck Arts Center founder and Executive Director Regina Keller Gil. “And, it presents an opportunity share exciting news about our upcoming plans for the future, plans that will galvanize the region and forward our mission exponentially.
“The Great Neck Arts Center has truly become a regional center for the arts,” she said. “Through our affiliation with Washington’s Kennedy Center and our extensive outreach programs, we now touch the lives of over 15,000 students in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens. We bring numerous programs in music, dance, art and drama to public school students who would not otherwise experience these enrichment opportunities. In addition, we offer teachers professional training and development workshops that demonstrate techniques in the arts that will assist them as they teach their specialized disciplines.”
The gala, which begins at 5 p.m., includes a cocktail reception and dinner, silent auction and performance, followed by a dessert reception. Honorary chairs are last year’s honorees, Diana and Jeffrey Phillips, and state Assemblywoman Michele Schimel and Saddle Rock Mayor J. Leonard Samansky. The gala chairs are past honorees and long-time Board members Michele and Ralph Heiman. Arts Center Special Events Coordinator Ronni Berger is planning the event.
Sloane, a key member of The Arts Center’s executive committee, is the partner-in-charge of the Long Island office of CPA and advisory firm Berdon LLP. He has been in practice as a CPA for more than 30 years, specializing in advising closely held organizations spanning numerous industries and professions. Sloane is involved in all aspects of accounting, auditing and taxation, assisting clients in increasing profitability, structuring and financing transactions, and preparing for succession.
He is also the producer and host of Hot Seat, a cable television show exploring current issues of interest on Long Island. Sloane is the vice president and a board member of Public Access Television Corporation, a commissioner representing the Village of Kings Point on the Great Neck/North Shore Cable Television Commission, and a board member of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County.
“The Great Neck Arts Center is the centerpiece of culture for the diverse population that we serve,” Sloane said. “It presents programs that enrich and educate as well as entertain.”
Gil said: “This Gala is an opportunity to show support for the arts on Long Island and for those artists and educators in the community who work so hard to enrich the lives of our residents.”
Sponsorship for the Gala is available at a variety of levels. In addition, a keepsake commemorative journal is being published in conjunction with the event, giving members of the community an opportunity to express personal wishes to The Arts Center and its honorees by taking out a journal ad.
For further information about the Gala, sponsorship opportunities and journal advertising, call The Arts Center at 829-2570.
