Members of the Stony Brook Rotary Club at the Oktoberfest 5K. Photo by Aidan Johnson
Scene from the 2023 Stony Brook Rotary’s Oktoberfest 5K. Photo by Aidan Johnson
Scene from the 2023 Stony Brook Rotary’s Oktoberfest 5K. Photo by Aidan Johnson
Scene from the 2023 Stony Brook Rotary’s Oktoberfest 5K. Photo by Aidan Johnson
By Aidan Johnson
Over 150 people participated in the Stony Brook Rotary Club’s Oktoberfest 5K Run Sunday, Oct. 15.
The event, which saw clear skies and mild temperatures, raised money for the Stony Brook Cancer Center’s Mobile Mammography Van, which goes around to different communities to offer free breast cancer screenings.
“This year, we started our new pledge to Stony Brook Cancer Center, who sponsored the mammogram bus,” explained Debbie Van Doorne, president of Stony Brook Rotary.
The fundraiser was timed well since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, followed by “Movember,” which raises awareness of breast cancer in men, Van Doorne added.
The Bench Bar & Grill on Route 25A in Stony Brook was the starting and finishing point. As runners returned, they were greeted with refreshments and live music by the band Alternate FRED.
Member of the Year John McGregor, pictured above with Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine and Charlie Lefkowitz. Photo from Three Village Chamber of Commerce
Hope Kinney, pictured with Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn, David Prestia, Supervisor Romaine, and Councilmember Kornreich, received the Harold Pryor Award. Photo from Three Village Chamber of Commerce
Martha Stansbury, pictured with Supervisor Romaine, Ed Gutleber, Nicole Sarno, Charlie Lefkowitz, and Councilmember Kornreich, was presented with the Roy Dragota Award. Photo from Three Village Chamber of Commerce
The Three Village Chamber of Commerce honored three dedicated residents for their service to the business community at their annual Awards Dinner at the Three Village Inn in Stony Brook on June 14.
John McGregor, pictured above with Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine and Charlie Lefkowitz, was honored as Member of the Year. Recipients of this award have shown to go above and beyond to support the Chamber and its mission. A member of the chamber for 8 years, he is Senior Vice President at Island Federal Credit Union and also a member of the Three Village Dads.
Martha Stansbury, pictured in top right photo with Supervisor Romaine, Ed Gutleber, Nicole Sarno, Charlie Lefkowitz, and Councilmember Kornreich, was presented with the Roy Dragota Award, named after the founder of the Three Village Chamber, for her outstanding commitment to and participation in the Chamber. Stansbury has served the chamber for 15+ years and currently serves as Treasurer.
Hope Kinney, pictured on right with Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn, David Prestia, Supervisor Romaine, and Councilmember Kornreich, received the Harold Pryor Award which is bestowed upon an individual that demonstrates a commitment to the Three Village Community through their faithful service. Kinney is the President of the Rotary Club of Stony Brook and is on the board of the Three Village Community Trust.
Earlier this year, Hope Kinney, left, shown with Herb Mones, Three Village Community Trust president, was able to secure a $4,000 grant from her employer, Investors Bank, to help restore the immigrant factory houses in Setauket. Photo from Three Village Community Trust
Hope Kinney is a familiar face in the Three Village area.
Hope Kinney collecting donations for The Salvation Army. File photo
Whether at an event organized by the Rotary Club of Stony Brook, Three Village Community Trust, local chamber of commerce or working with students and businesses with the Three Village Industry Advisory Board, residents will see Kinney there with a smile on her face, scurrying around to help out.
For her dedication to her community, Kinney is one of TBR News Media’s People of the Year.
The admiration is mutual. Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) nominated Kinney for Suffolk County Woman of Distinction in the 5th Legislative District in 2020.
“Hope Kinney’s impact is ingrained within many of the layers that comprise our community,” the legislator wrote in an email. “From her highly visible leadership role with, and on behalf of, local business to her continual support of organizations committed to societal improvement, Hope is dedicated to serving neighbors and community with purpose. There is so much to honor Hope Kinney for, and I believe, this recognition translates our thankful community’s gratitude into celebration of her uplifting and selfless spirit.”
For years, Kinney has been involved with the now-defunct Three Village Kiwanis Club and Rotary Club of Stony Brook. She became the president of the latter in the summer of 2020 and took on the challenge of organizing club events while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. She scheduled Zoom meetings, and as more businesses were able to open up planned socially distanced lunches. She also put together a virtual online fundraiser for the Port Jefferson-based nonprofit Give Kids Hope, which provides food and clothing for local residents in need.
For the last three years, the rotary club has organized the Three Village Holiday Electric Parade. During the pandemic, due to COVID-19 restrictions, a drive-thru version of the event was held at Ward Melville High School.
Judi Wallace, treasurer of the rotary club, credits Kinney for keeping the organization going during the pandemic. She described Kinney as “a wonderful person” and “super community oriented.”
“Three Village means everything to her,” Wallace said.
Kinney is always looking for ways the rotary can assist individuals or groups who have a need in the area, Wallace said.
She added, “Hope is always thinking and always coming up with great ideas in order to do things in the community.”
Wallace said it was Kinney who brought back the 5K race organized by rotary and The Bench in Stony Brook.
“She just comes up with an idea and follows through, and that’s the most important thing in the world,” Wallace said.
The same year Kinney became president of the rotary club, she joined the Three Village Community Trust board and is currently its treasurer.
Herb Mones, president of TVCT, said it’s refreshing and a big help to a volunteer-based organization such as TVCT to have someone such as Kinney who is always ready to chip in when asked.
“She is always the first to say, ‘I can do that,’ and helps and takes on different responsibilities when the need is there,” he said. “She does it in an upbeat, happy way of feeling that she is contributing and helping the community.”
Hope Kinney standing in front of the Rotary Club truck in Hicksville about to receive 4,000 masks in 2020. Photo from Hope Kinney
She was recently able to secure a $4,000 grant through her employer, Investors Bank, which will go toward the restoration of the immigrant factory houses in Setauket. Kinney has also spearheaded the trust’s gala in November, which Mones said is the most successful fundraiser for TVCT.
“She’s always got an ear to the community and understands things that are going on and that becomes very helpful in so many different ways,” Mones said.
Kinney juggles all her volunteer roles while working full-time as the branch manager at Investors Bank, formerly Gold Coast Bank, at its Setauket location on Route 25A.
Kinney started her banking career at Capital One in 2004. When the bank had layoffs in 2018, she was recruited by John Tsunis, Gold Coast’s founder, as branch manager.
In a 2020 interview with The Village Times Herald, Kinney talked about balancing her career and volunteerism with spending time with her husband, Joseph, and three children Justin, Michael and Rachel. To handle all her responsibilities, she said she tries to stay organized and not get overwhelmed.
“I take it day by day,” Kinney said. “I put it on the calendar, and I’m able to look at the calendar and then I go day by day … I guess that’s the secret — work with each day.”
From left, Branch Manger Hope Kinney; Retail District Manager Michael Billia; President & Chief Operating Officer Domenick Cama; Retail Market Executive Ana Oliveira; Manuel London, Dean, Stony Brook University’s College of Business; and John Tsunis. Photos by Leah Dunaief
Investors Bank of Setauket presented a check in the amount of $25,000 to the Stony Brook School of Business on Jan. 19. The donation will be used to fund the College of Business’s Pandemic Shift program to support small businesses in Suffolk County as they pivot, re-start, and expand.
Domenick Cama
“So many of our small businesses have been hurt by this pandemic. Supporting Stony Brook brings help and hope to these businesses. We believe their progress is our responsibility as a member of the Long Island community,” said Domenick Cama, President and COO of Investors Bank.
A division of Suffolk Forward, spearheaded by County Executive Steve Bellone, the program provides workshops for business owners, virtual internships for students to work with businesses, pro-bono faculty consulting, technology support from Stony Brook’s Office of Economic Development, and faculty research on the effects of the pandemic on businesses and consumers.
Each session consists of four interactive 90-minute sessions via Zoom. For more information, please visit www.shiftgroup.com/pandemic-shift.
Hope Kinney standing in front of the Rotary Club truck in Hicksville about to receive 4,000 masks in 2020. Photo from Hope Kinney
By Chris Cumella
The Rotary Club of Stony Brook is lending aid in a community-involvement project designed to help those in need of face masks to receive them.
Hope Kinney, president of the club and branch manager of Investors Bank, oversees the Rotary and plans to distribute masks to organizations in the area that include local businesses, schools and more.
The Million Mask Challenge has been orchestrated by Rotary International, anorganization designed to aid in community outreach and assistance. Stony Brook Rotary is just one of 35,000 clubs globally with over 1.2 million members. With the clubs’ combined efforts, the goal is to distribute a million masks worldwide.
“We picked up our supply of 4,000 masks [recently] when the Rotarian groups of the New York area met together in Hicksville,” Kinney said. “We’re going to give to the local library, the churches, temples and anybody else in the community that is interested.”
The main focus for distribution plans to revolve around local businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and those people who are more at risk.
According to Rotary’s vice president, Jeannette Merola, the process will be door-to-door style. Through the efforts of 20 volunteers, deliveries will be made to those in need in St. James, Setauket and Stony Brook as soon as Saturday, Jan. 23.
“I have 1,000 masks in my room ready to go,” Merola said. “This whole thing is meant to encourage and foster the ideal of community service and to give back.”
The Rotary Club of Stony Brook meets every other Thursday at 12:15 p.m. at Stony Brook’s The Bench. The Million Mask Challenge is one of many volunteer opportunities offered. Kinney has encouraged those interested in visiting the club’s website at www.stonybrookrotary.com, showing up to meetings and asking any questions.
For some members, the Rotary is a constant commitment for the sake of others. This includes Dan Berger, outreach and public relations manager, who has worked as the team’s PR for the past 14 years following his days first volunteering with the organization as far back as the 1980s.
“One of my great early memories was one of our fundraisers at the Stony Brook horse show next to Old Field Club,” Berger said. “I spent the day making hot dogs and hamburgers for people — it was a lot of fun.”
The Rotary Club of Stony Brook shares the goal of aiding those in the community while remembering those who were part of their past deeds. It has been some nine months since the passing of George Rehn, who devoted 40 years to Rotary and served as district governor and president of the club.
Kinney was appointed president of the club in July and has made an effort alongside her colleagues to keep Rehn in heart by helping the community with campaigns such as the mask challenge.
“He lived and breathed being a Rotarian,” Kinney said. “He always had nice things to say about everybody, and he would be very proud of us and the achievements that we’re working toward.”
