When Mineola Chamber of Commerce President Tony Lubrano came up with the idea for a “wall of fame” honoring John DaVanzo, Village of Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss was on board.
But he suggested one change to the plan — it should be called the “Wall of Honor,” because DaVanzo’s decades of civil service were never about fame.
“He’s a person who made a difference, who was committed to public service and was a volunteer in the best sense of that word,” state Sen. Jack Martins said.
The village christened the John DaVanzo Wall of Honor, a place to praise all those who reflect its values of service and dedication to the community, last Tuesday at a ceremony in Village Hall attended by friends, family, chamber members and elected officials.
The first honoree was Lou Sanders, founder of the Mineola American newspaper and a co-founder of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce, which he led as president five times.
Lubrano said DaVanzo and Sanders were “obvious” choices to form the foundation of the wall, which he said aims to “recognize those people who have stepped up and made this place what it is today.”
DaVanzo, a World War II veteran who was part of the famous 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, was born in 1921, just 15 years after Mineola became a village.
“The village and John grew up together,” Martins said.
He was elected to the Mineola Board of Trustees in 1955, and was appointed to the board again in 2005.
In the meantime, he sat on the North Hempstead Town Board for eight years and spent 17 years as the town’s clerk. He died last year at age 92.
Sanders has lived in Mineola for 60 years and still writes a column for the Mineola American.
In addition to his work with the Chamber of Commerce, he sat on the village Pool Board for 45 years.
Martins said both DaVanzo and Sanders set “a great threshold” for inclusion on the Wall of Honor.
“It’s not what you do over two years, it’s not what you do over 10 years; it’s what you do over a lifetime and those two gentlemen are well deserving,” he said.
Lubrano said the wall will soon go up in the lobby of Village Hall — a fitting location, as DaVanzo set up shop there as the village’s official greeter in his later years.
The village and the chamber will form a committee to determine criteria for induction to the wall, Lubrano said.
No matter what the standards are, he said, there will be no shortage of candidates because the village is filled with dedicated residents.
“We were just brainstorming just last week and a dozen names flow out immediately,” Lubrano said.
