It was a bittersweet night at the Great Neck Park District meeting Thursday, as the Board of Commissioners gave farewells – and plaques of appreciation – to three of its retirees.
Former park district Commissioner Ruth Tamarin, maintenance supervisor Bob Wanczowski and business office employee Faith Luper all were commended for their work in the park district by the Board of Commissioners on Thursday.
Tamarin, who served as a park district commissioner for 16 years until September when she announced her retirement, had her heart set on accomplishing many things in the district, and also helped others accomplish the things they wanted to as well, board Chairman Bob Lincoln said.
“What makes the park district special is that it helps us operate as a team to do what is right for the community,” Lincoln said. “Ruth did more than her fair share to make that happen.”
Commissioner Dan Nachmanoff said Tamarin helped the park district grow for many years, and that the district will be sorry to see her go.
“I had the privilege of serving with Ruth, and for the past three years she been a mentor to me as I learned about how the park district works,” Nachmanoff said. “She has been best part.”
Tamarin said to a packed meeting room it was a privilege and an honor to serve her community.
“I wasn’t particularly ready to leave but things happen and I needed to be around my family and to take care of myself,” Tamarin said. “But you won’t get rid of me so soon. I’ll try to come to meetings.”
Wanczowski had worked in the parks for 39 years, starting as a skate instructor and eventually moving up to be one of the senior supervisors in the park administration.
Park district Superintendant Peter Renick said he and Wanczowski had started working in the parks together as skate guards in the 1970s, and that he will be sad to see him leave.
“Already, you’ve been missed,” Renick said.
Wanczowski thanked the park district for letting him progress with a career within the parks. He said he may not have always agreed with what the commissioners were doing, but that they always came to a great understanding.
“Some of the best memories I had were when I did a job and it came out nice and a resident came up and would go ‘what’s the name of that flower or that tree?’” Wanczowski said. “To me, that meant the world.”
Lincoln said that many employees of the district are not very visible to the public because they work inside most of the time, but that they still help run the parks equally, such as Luper.
“She’s done an extraordinary job – she hasn’t been out maintaining facilities or running programs, but she’s been an integral part in our business office and the efficiencies we’ve been able to accomplish over the past several years is as much a credit to her as anyone else,” Lincoln said.
Luper did not receive a plaque after asking the park district to make a donation to the New York Child Learning Institute instead.
