The Tri-Community Youth Agency (Tri-CYA) Hall of Honor Gala Honorees

Each year, the Tri-Community Youth Agency (Tri-CYA) holds a fundraising dinner to honor leaders in the community for their unselfish commitment to the youth of Huntington, South Huntington and Cold Spring Harbor. This year’s honorees are:

• Suffolk County Police Officer Claudia Delgado
• Huntington School District Superintendent James W. Polansky
• Guru Nanak’s Kitchen

This Hall of Honor Gala will be held on Thursday, March 31 from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. at the Woodbury Country Club. All proceeds benefit the Tri-CYA. Individual tickets are $100 and couples can buy a pair of tickets for $180. You can buy tickets online by clicking here. Buy now because tickets at the door are $125 each.

The Tri-CYA is a private, not-for-profit community-based agency dedicated to supporting the growth and development of youth and their families in the communities of Huntington, South Huntington and Cold Spring Harbor. For more than 30 years, the Tri-CYA has provided a broad range of educational, recreational, social, cultural, athletic, counseling and advocacy programs, working closely and cooperatively with businesses, school districts, law enforcement, community groups, government agencies and religious organizations as well as with individuals, parents and youth community volunteers.

In a word, the Hall of Honor Gala is fun. It features a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres, a full dinner and an open bar with beer and wine. There will be gift basket raffles and a silent auction. Greg Cergol of NBC will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the festivities.

The silent auction items include a necklace valued at $1,200 donated by Libutti Diamond Jewelers, an original Shea Stadium seat signed by Tom Seaver and sports memorabilia provided by Steiner Sports. The gift baskets include gift certificates from some of Huntington’s finest restaurants such as Honu, Red, Prime, Black and Blue, Tutto Pazzi and Black and Blue. There are gift certificates for nights out to the John Engeman Theatre, the Cinema Arts Center and Nags Head Ale House. There are baskets with gift certificates to stores, bottles of wines and salon trips. This is just a taste of what is available.

Let’s Meet the Hall of Honor Honorees:

• Guru Nanak’s Kitchen delivers homemade, healthy, vegetarian food to the Tri Community and Youth Agency every Tuesday to the Tri-CYA. Guru Nanak’s Kitchen has also delivered and distributed new clothing, new shoes, and school supplies. In addition, they hosted a spring celebration last year with a DJ and cultural dance. The youth and families at Tri Community and Youth Agency truly enjoyed this event.

• James Polansky assumed his position as the Huntington School District’s superintendent on July 1, 2011. Since then he has been steadfast in his quest to improve teaching and learning in classrooms across all grade levels.Under Mr. Polansky’s leadership, the Huntington School District established Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School in September 2013 and reinstituted a full-day kindergarten program in September 2014 following a three year absence. Known for his limitless energy and enthusiasm, at the time of his appointment in Huntington Mr. Polansky had already enjoyed two-decades of success as a teacher and administrator in Long Island schools.Mr. Polansky came to Huntington from the South Huntington School District where he worked as assistant superintendent for personnel and district services since August 2010. He earlier served as principal of Walt Whitman High School for 6½ years.

• Police Officer Claudia Delgado has been a Suffolk County Police Officer for approximately six years. She is currently the Community Liaison Officer for the Second Precinct. Her enthusiasm, commitment and love for the community all contribute to her success in this position. Being born to immigrants of Colombia, Spanish was the only language spoken, written and read in the home, and the only language she knew. She spent many school years in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, where she learned to speak, write and read English. This life experience continues to help her understand and relate to the adversities that some community members face today. Officer Delgado has the innate ability to interact with all members of the community. She regularly communicates with community leaders to help organize numerous community events. A few of the more recent events she is responsible for helping to organize are; Vamos A Hablar(Let’s Talk) at numerous schools and churches, National Night Out, PAL sponsored fishing trips, Shop with a Cop, Basketball tournaments and free Holiday Turkey Giveaways.

If you have questions, come call the Tri-CYA at 631-673-0614 or visit our website at http://www.tricya.org