Modest and self-effacing, East Williston Trustee Caroline DeBenedittis’ contributions to the village can be hard to quantify.
DeBenedittis helped organized the village egg hunt Sunday. She plays an integral role in the village’s Memorial Day five-kilometer run and the parties on the Village Green.
She takes in UPS packages for neighbors on snowy days when they are not home – “She knows all the residents,” Depuy Mayor Bonnie Parente said – and routinely walked the dog of an elderly man down the block.
She sews pillowcases for children with cancer and continued to orchestrate game and movie night at Village Hall even after her children stopped attending.
“What Caroline does goes under the radar. It’s small, simple things, but a lot of them,” Parente said. “They’re kind of like trying to describe what makes a Norman Rockwell painting special.”
DeBenedittis, who decided not to seek re-election after four years as trustee, was recently one of 18 women inducted into the May W. Newburger Woman’s Roll of Honor by Town or North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth. The honor roll, which began in 199, honors women make contributions to their community.
“I thought it was a perfect culmination of her term as a trustee to be honored by the town,” said Parente, who nominated DeBenedittis for the honor roll. “Everything she does, she does with sincerity and without an expectation that it’s going to be in the paper…She does it because in her mind it’s the right thing to do.”
“Since the day I moved in, she [has been] the epitome of what is great about living in East Williston,” she added.
DeBenedittis said she decided not to seek re-election because she was “spreading herself too thin” between her involvement in other volunteer capacities, including with Conkerr Cancer, an organization that sews decorative pillowcases for children with cancer.
“I felt that I wasn’t giving myself enough time to get to all the committees, so I felt I couldn’t continue with the board of trustees, but I did love it,” she said. “It’s sad to leave such a great group of people that I worked with…I hope that my being on [the board] helped the village become a better place to live.”
Parente said DeBenedittis approached her role as trustee from a “different perspective” than other board members.
“I take on my responsibility as if the village were a business…Caroline brings a human perspective to it,” Parente said. “She is the eyes and ears for the residents.”
East Williston Mayor David Tanner said DeBenedittis’ “energy and enthusiasm” stood out on the board.
DeBenedittis said she has always assumed a hands-on approach to make positive changes in her community.
“You can’t just complain. You have to get involved, which I’ve always done,” she said. “If you see something you want to fix or make better, you have to get involved.”
DeBenedittis, who has two sons and a daughter, the youngest of whom will head to college next year, said she takes after her parents in both her busy schedule and commitment to community service.
“My mom is like the Energizer bunny, so I think she as well as my father have always instilled in me the value of volunteering,” she said. “I think it just comes as second nature…I totally like being busy. It makes your day go quicker.”
Parente said DeBenedittis’ contributions may sometimes be hard to articulate, but she said the effects are noticeable.
“I moved into my house back in 2003, and even back then, Caroline was one of the first people who made living in the village very special,” she said.
