Community

News-Review honors 2017 People of the Year

Times Review Media Group honored more than a dozen local residents for their service and work in the community as the 2017 People of the Year.

The winners, who were announced in the first issue of the newspaper in January, were formally honored with plaques and video tributes during the Thursday night ceremony at Martha Clara Vineyards in Riverhead.

The annual awards, which have been handed out since 1987, are given to leaders in public and community service, education, business and sports. The overall News-Review Person of the Year for 2017 was Byron Perez.

Other winners from Riverhead included the News-Review’s Public Servant of the Year, Richard Ligon; Educator of the Year, Felicia Scocozza; Businessperson of the Year, Irwin Garsten; Community Leader of the Year, Ron Fisher and Sportsperson of the Year, Bill Hedges.

  • See more photos below

Other winners from Southold were William Price, the Public Servant of the Year; Sarah Benjamin, the Educator of the Year; George Giannaris, the Businessperson of the Year; Mindy Ryan, the Community Leader of the Year; Grace Syron, the Sportsperson of the Year; Eleanor Lingo as the overall Person of the Year and Love Lane First Fridays Organizers were the northforker People of the Year.

The event was sponsored by Peoples United Bank with food supplied by Plated Simply. Additional partners in the event were Mattituck Florist, Mattituck Greenport Laundry and Sav-On Printing.

Photo caption: The News-Review’s People of the Year (from left): Dawn Vogel and Linda Hulse representing Irwin Garsten, Byron Perez, Ron Fisher, Bill Hedges, Curtis Flippen and Lynn Ligon representing Richard Ligon, and Felicia Scocozza. (Credit: Madison Fender)

Times Review Media Group publisher Andrew Olsen. (Credit: Madison Fender)
Marco Da Fonte and Danielle LaScala, president of Mattituck Chamber of Commerce represented the Northforker People of the Year winners, the Love Lane First Fridays organizers. (Credit: Madison Fender)
Bob Syron and his daughter Grace, the Suffolk Times’ Sports Person of the Year. (Credit: Madison Fender)
The winners from The Suffolk Times and Shelter Island Reporter: (from left) George Giannaris, Sarah Benjamin, William Price, Mindy Ryan, Eleanor Lingo, Christine Lewis and Grace Syron. (Credit: Madison Fender)
The News-Review’s Person of the Year, Byron Perez.
The Suffolk Times’ Person of the Year, Eleanor Lingo.
The Suffolk Times’ Sports Person of the Year award winner, Grace Syron of Greenport.
News-Review Sports Person of the Year, Bill Hedges, track and football coach at Riverhead.
The Suffolk Times’ Community Leader of the Year award winner, Mindy Ryan. (Credit: Madison Fender)
The News-Review’s Community Leader of the Year Award winner, Ron Fisher of FRNCA and the Riverhead School Board.
The Suffolk Times’ Public Servant of the Year winner, former Justice William Price. (Credit: Madison Fender)
Accepting the News-Review’s
Guests at Martha Clara Vineyards in Riverhead. (Credit: Madison Fender)
The Suffolk Times’ Businessperson of the Year, George Giannaris of Hellenic Snack Bar & Restaurant. (Credit: Madison Fender)
The News-Review’s Educator of the Year, Felicia Scocozza. (Credit: Madison Fender)
The Suffolk Times’ Educator of the Year, Sarah Benjamin. The News-Review’s People of the Year (from left): Dawn Vogel and Linda Hulse, Byron Perez, Ron Fisher, Bill Hedges, Curtis Flippen and Lynn Ligon, and Felicia Scocozza. (Credit: Madison Fender)
The awards on display at the start of the ceremony. (Credit: Madison Fender)