Editorials

Editorial: Who is your person of the year?

Civic Person of the Year Vince Taldone (left), Public Servant of the Year Dennis Cavanaugh and Educator of the Year Keri Stromski were honored Thursday night at the News-Review's main office in Mattituck.
Civic Person of the Year Vince Taldone (left), Public Servant of the Year Dennis Cavanaugh and Educator of the Year Keri Stromski were honored Thursday night at the News-Review’s main office in Mattituck.

Every year at this time we use this space to ask Riverhead News-Review readers to nominate candidates for our People of the Year issue. As we have for decades, we will name an educator, businessperson and overall person of the year in January.

We will also introduce three new categories: community leader (combining the former civic and public servant winners), sports person and northforker.com person of the year, honoring someone in the food, wine or tourism industry.

With their heartfelt nominations, our readers have always played perhaps the most important role in the selection process. Last year, they helped us choose a wide array of worthy recipients, from a beloved police officer to a fitness instructor operating three Main Street businesses, a teacher who takes learning to new levels, the president of an active civic organization and a young man whose battled for survival taught his peers a lesson in courage.

Who last year’s people of the year?

We’ve always prided ourselves on honoring people from diverse fields and all walks of life. We want to hear about people like the teacher who went above and beyond to help you become a better student or the business owner who never stops giving back to the community.

This town is loaded with residents who work tirelessly to make our area a better place. We always have a growing list of people who are more than qualified to earn such an honor. That list can never be too long.

We realize there are a great many people doing big things in their community who don’t seek the spotlight. As a result, the work they do is hardly noticed. That’s who we’re talking about.

Do you know such a person? Let us know.

Nominations can be mailed to Times/Review Newsgroup, P.O. Box 1500, Mattituck, NY 11952. Or you can email the editor at [email protected]. Faxes are OK, too; our fax number is 631-298-3287. Or just give us a call at 631-298-3200 and ask for Michael White at extension 152.

Tell us why this person or group is deserving — and please be sure to give us your phone number so we can follow up. All correspondence will be kept confidential, so the people nominated don’t even have to know you are singling them out. Nominations should be submitted by Dec. 1.

We plan to announce our People of the Year in the Jan. 8, 2015, edition.