Community to celebrate 31 years of Port pride

Jessica Parks
Schreiber High School cheerleaders marching in last year's Pride in Port parade. (Photo courtesy of Debbie Greco)

Yellow school buses return to Port Washington Boulevard, school-age children head back to classes and the leaves are beginning to change color, which means it’s time for Pride in Port, a daylong celebration of Port Washington. 

Continuing a 31-year tradition, festivities will be held throughout the day Saturday to commemorate the 375th anniversary of Port Washington. Pride in Port is made possible by the Pride in the Port Committee with the help of Port Washington’s community organizations. 

“It’s just a really great community event that embodies what ‘pride in Port’ really is,” said Debbie Greco, a Pride in Port committee member and president of Greco Integrated Communications.

She grew up in Port Washington and said she feels that it is more of a community now than it ever was before. “So many people just love being here,” she said. 

The day’s main event starts at 11:30 a.m., when Port Washington students and organizations march down Main Street in the Pride in Port parade, but the festivities begin hours before and continue into the evening. 

The parade route begins at Belleview Avenue and ends at Schreiber High School.

Port Washington Fire Medic Company No. 1 has been selected as the 2019 grand marshal. The company has been providing emergency medical services to the Port Washington community for 40 years. Volunteers are on call 365 days a year and respond to 2,000 calls annually. 

A pre-parade show at 11 a.m. will feature Ella Rowe singing the national anthem, an exhibition by Blue Moon Taekwondo and performances by CancerCares’ Red Stocking Revue singers at the grandstand in front of the Port Washington train station.

Port Washington’s many organizations will be represented in the parade, including the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce, Twin Pines Charitable Gift Store, The Landmark on Main Street, the League of Women Voters, Friends of Port Rowing, the Port Washington Teachers’ Association, Knights of Columbus and Columbiettes, Community Chest of Port Washington and Boy Scout Troop 7.

The Sands Point and Port Washington police departments will also march down Main Street, as well as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Marine Corps League and, of course, students who attend Port Washington’s public and private schools.

An Athletic Hall of Fame breakfast at Schreiber High School’s cafeteria is the first event on the day’s roster at 9 a.m., where six Schreiber alumni are being inducted.

The day ends at the Polish-American Hall at 5 Pulaski Place for the Taste of Port Washington Dinner and Raffle, which starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $35.

Tickets can be purchased through eventbrite.com or at the door for $40.

And for Port Washington senior citizens, who could arguably have the most “pride in Port,” a senior luncheon is being held at 12:30 p.m. in Schreiber’s cafeteria.

In fact, Martha Monfort Knowles, a 100-year Port Washington resident who died at the age of 100 in January, will be posthumously honored as the 2019 Community Honoree. She is honored for her lifelong dedicated service to the Port Washington community. Knowles’ ancestors, the Monforts, are said to have been some of the first settlers of the Cow Neck Peninsula in the 17th century and also Revolutionary War patriots.

Many may know her maiden name, Monfort, as the namesake of Monfort Cemetery, situated at the intersection of Port Washington Boulevard and Main Street.

Knowles operated Knowles Funeral Home in Port Washington for 50 years after her husband, George Knowles, died in 1971. 

Not only does Pride in Port celebrate the anniversary of Port Washington, but it marks the day of Port Washington’s homecoming football game where the Vikings are scheduled to face off against the Freeport Red Devils at 2 p.m. During halftime, Hall of Fame inductees will again be recognized. 

The homecoming game and halftime ceremony will go on rain or shine unless there is lightning.

The six former Schreiber athletes being honored are Arnold Donado from the class of 2007; the class of 2004’s Megan Zebroski; Lisa Vogeley, who graduated in 2003; Thomas Murray and Katharine Zebroski Boiko from the class of 2002; and Roberta Meo, a Schreiber graduate in the class of 1998. 

Donado played football, indoor track and spring track at Schreiber High School and was named captain of all three teams. In track, his best events were shot put and discus, and he ranked among the best in the county. 

Zebroski played varsity tennis for six years and varsity badminton for five years. She was a four-time All-County player, four-time county champion in badminton and had a 76-match winning streak. In tennis, she was a five-time All-County player and four-time All-State player. She was a county champion for both doubles and singles. 

Vogeley played four years of varsity basketball and lacrosse at Schreiber. Before earning All-Conference, All-County and All-State in basketball, she was honored for being most-improved.  She ranks among the top five scorers in the history of Port Washington women’s basketball. Vogeley earned the All-County honorable mention two years in a row and served as captain for two years for lacrosse. 

Murray was another two-sport athlete, playing both baseball and wrestling. He wrestled for five years and was named All-Conference his senior year. He was a four-year varsity starter for Schreiber baseball where he earned All-Division, All-County and All-State distinctions. He was awarded the Hoins Award three times as an outstanding baseball player and was a member of the gold-winning team at the Empire State Games.

Zebroski Boiko was a six-year varsity tennis player for Port Washington, as well as a three-year badminton player. She was honored as All-County for two years and was a county champion for two years in a row in badminton. In tennis, Zebroski Boiko received All-County and All-State honors and was the state doubles champion and county doubles champion in the same year. 

She was a three-year medalist at the Empire State Games and was named a News 12 Scholar Athlete. 

Meo played two sports for Port Washington, soccer and lacrosse. In soccer, she played attack and was a four-year varsity starter. She was named All-County, MVP and played in the Exceptional Senior Game. She was the team’s second-leading scorer. She was also a starter in each of her four years playing lacrosse and was named All-Conference.

Ticket proceeds from the dinner dance will go toward scholarships that will be provided to Schreiber High School’s graduating seniors in June. 

The scholarships are given to students who exemplify pride in Port Washington through volunteering in their community. 

The top scholarship, the Barbara Faticone Pride in Port Scholarship, is named after a Pride in Port committee co-chair who has volunteered her time to the Port Washington community for decades. This year’s recipient of the scholarship was Rebecca Orlick. 

The two recipients of the 2019 Community Service Award were Symphony Chang and Marissa Miscioscia. 

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