Eddy Speech (Anne Byrne presenter)
It is my great pleasure as president of the Nanuet Board of Education and as a personal friend to this year's EDDY winner to tell you how proud we are of the contributions this person has made to the community of Nanuet and the children in our schools. There are all kinds of reasons why people run for the school board and our winner exhibits the ideal -- this person ran because of the dedication he has to the lives of children and their potential.
This person has served as vice-president and president of the school board for four years each. Leadership is sometimes thrust upon one, but our winner embraced the role of board leadership and carried our district forward. We are proud of our results and are always striving to do better and our winner is a very active participant in our discussions and decisions. We are a better board because of the insights and knowledge of this individual. This person is very intelligent and extremely hard-working and is always well prepared for our meetings.
I have been trying very hard not to reveal who this winner is by not saying "he" or "she" and it is getting very difficult. This person is a fifteen-year member of our board and now this person knows who we are honoring. So as not to keep the rest of you in suspense, this year's winner is Harold Fogelman.
Now let me tell you about Harold. He is a psychiatrist in private practice and director of the child development center for the county. More importantly, he is the husband of Sandy and the father to Josh and Ben and most importantly he is the grandfather of Shoshanna Ruth, Moshe Zachariah, and Naomi Eve.
Those of you who know Harold look forward to his jokes, most of which are cute but corny. He has a dry sense of humor and a great wit. If you ever want to know the latest jokes the kids are telling, ask Harold. He also watches the shows on TV that the kids watch to keep up with the lives of children, (or at least that's what he tells us).
Harold collects autographs and has for many years. I don't know Harold, should we be insulted that you never asked any of us for our signatures.
Harold is still an officer in the military, holding the rank of Lt. Commander in the US Public Health Service Reserve.
He is a dog lover. He owns several and goes to all the famous dog shows every year.
Harold holds the strong conviction that students should be recognized for academic achievement to the same degree as athletic accomplishments.
He is a kind gentleman who truly has the best interest of children as his utmost concern. Harold's contributions have had a major impact on the board's decisions over the last 15 years. He has been there with the Lederle tax cert from almost the beginning and was certainly there at the successful completion. His expertise on childhood development has made us more aware of the needs of children and most especially our most fragile ones. He is a strong advocate for public education. He has served on all the board committees and regularly attends the convention and other workshops.
Harold just ran unopposed for another three-year term. I know he ran to continue the excellence we strive for in all children, but secretly I think it is because he hasn't completed both individual and board group psychoanalysis.
We in Nanuet are proud of Harold's accomplishments and thank the RCSBA for its recognition by honoring him with this prestigious award.
And Harold, congratulations for this well deserved award.