Janet Bevers, secretary to the New Hyde Park village board, was surprised with a “Woman of Distinction” Award for her service to the village Thursday.
New Hyde Park Mayor Lawrence Montreuil said that Bevers, along with Trustee Richard Pallisco, have been the ones to organize the street fair for the past 15 years and commended her work for organizing the New Hyde Park Community Day Sept. 14.
The “Party in the Park” event that replaced the annual street fair was much smaller but more daunting with fewer sponsors and no professional support helping find vendors for the event, Montreuil said.
“Here in the village we all appreciate what Janet does. She does it day in and day out but that appreciation is shared, not only by us in the village, but more broadly,” Montreuil said.
Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) attended Thursday’s board meeting to give Bevers the proclamation through his “women of distinction” program after missing his ceremony for the community day.
“Janet couldn’t be with us because she was doing what Janet does. She was making sure that an event she was running for the community was going off without a hitch,” Ra said. “I’m very proud to have you as one of the honorees of our annual “women of distinction.”
Bevers said that it was “truly an honor” for Ra to personally come down and present her with the proclamation. She also took the time to honor other professional women in her life.
“I don’t want to sound cliche-ish, but I work with a lot of women in Village Hall and we all come into this place day after day committed to doing the best we can for our residents in the community,” Bevers said. “ We’re all women of distinction.”
Bevers said she helped organize her first street fair 15 years ago with former Trustee Florence Lisanti, who died in July.
