As part of the Young at Heart Alzheimer’s & Dementia Program, St. George Productions will present “The I Love Lucy Story: Birth of the Modern Day Sitcom” on Wednesday, Dec. 21 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Ward Melville Heritage Organization’s Educational & Cultural Center, 97P Main St., Stony Brook located in the rear of the Village Center.
The program will include a lecture and a video led by a facilitator who specializes in geriatrics and a certified nurse will be present. Cost is $20 for guest and caregiver; light refreshments will be served. Sponsors include Stony Brook Medicine, Stony Brook University, CVS Health, Bristal Assisted Living, Aging Flower and Village Chemists of Setauket. Reservations are required by calling 631-751-2244 or by visiting www.stonybrookvillage.com.
Pat and Dennis Statuch of Port Jefferson hold "Turning Tides," by oil panter Jim Molloy, which they won at the Setauket Artists' Exhibition raffle.
Barbara and Les Wuerfl of Stony Brook hold their new painting “Welcome to the Party” by Irene Ruddock, which they won at the Setauket Artists’ Exhibition raffle.
The Setauket Exhibition raffle winners are Barbara and Les Wuerfl of Stony Brook, who won the painting “Welcome to the Party” by exhibit coordinator, Irene Ruddock; and Pat and Dennis Statuch of Port Jefferson, now proud owners of “Turning Tides” by oil painter Jim Molloy. Congratulations!
Parade will begin on Main Street in Setauket near the Emma S. Clark Library and elementary school
An electric float in 2014 carries parade participants. Photo from Cheryl Davie
After a one-year hiatus, a long-running holiday tradition is returning to Setauket.
It was ‘lights out’ for the Electric Holiday Parade last December, when a couple of glitches prevented the popular event from taking place. Cheryl Davie, longtime organizer of the event, which has been around for two decades, said there were budgetary cutbacks at the town level and a permit deadline was missed.
Billy Williams, a civic-minded local businessman and a member of the Setauket Fire Department, Three Village Kiwanis and the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, said he heard of the issues last November — just not soon enough.
“I remember moving to the area in the late ’90s and bringing my kids to the parade,” he said in an email. “I thought it was a great hometown experience. I was saddened when I heard it wasn’t happening last year.” But by the time he found out, he said, it was too late to make it happen. So he decided to pick up the pieces and planned to resurrect the parade this year.
Davie immediately offered her assistance and expertise and the two became a team. Williams joked he is the producer and Davie is the director. She’s in charge of “the script” and running the show. He’s responsible for making sure the funding comes through.
“I have put together a team of small businesses and individuals who wanted to produce a great parade,” Williams said. “We have about 20 sponsors that have generously donated to offset the cost of producing the parade. State Farm [Williams’ business], Shea & Sanders Real Estate, Four D Landscaping and Shine Dance Studios are the major sponsors — with many others contributing as well. Each has made donations of money, time and/or other needed goods and services for the event.”
Lights will blaze again when the parade kicks off Sunday, Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. There will be floats and marchers, lights and music, decorated conveyances of all kinds, entertainment, hot chocolate and cookies — not to mention the arrival of Santa Claus on the Setauket Fire Department float — according to Davie.
“We have a lot of floats signed up,” Williams said. “Thirty-five have registered so far. We are also hiring a professional marching band to perform as well as providing many other great attractions for the kids. We have Wolfie from Stony Brook University attending, as well as the SBU pep squad.”
Williams said the Three Village school district will also be well represented. Many of the elementary schools are building floats — at all grade levels — which is a change from previous years when only sixth-graders were invited to create floats. The Ward Melville Jazz Band will also perform.
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, dance academies, preschools and local businesses have registered online to participate in the parade of lights. Registration will remain open until Dec. 10.
“The more, the merrier,” said Davie, referring to participants and spectators alike.
No article about the Electric Holiday Parade would be complete without a shout out to one of the original founders and supporters. Michael Ardolino was a member of the small group that established the parade 21 years ago. Today he is very happy and proud.
“I’m so excited the parade is back,” Ardolino said in a telephone interview. “I’m so proud it’s going to continue. So pleased with the new group that has stepped up to create this year’s parade. I’m looking forward to coming and enjoying it with my granddaughter. The tradition continues.”
For more information about the parade — or if you’d like to sign up — visit www.3vholidayparade.com. Staging for the parade will begin at 3:30 p.m. along Main Street in Setauket near the Emma S. Clark Library and the Setauket Elementary School. Kick-off is at 5 p.m. sharp.
Gene Sprouse captured this photo on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 5:17 p.m. with his Nikon D5500 with a 18-200mm zoon lens at 44mm focal length. He took three shots at 0, −2 and +2 and used Photomatix to generate an HDR composite picture. He writes, “The Supermoon [on Nov. 13] caused an unusually low tide, and I took this picture at West Meadow Beach at sunset. In all of my years in Stony Brook, I have never seen the sandbars out so far.”
Erik Halvorsen in his last photo, taken during a Thanksgiving weekend vacation at Bear Mountain. Photo from Britt Halvorsen
Setauket arborist Erik Halvorsen, 45, died Monday, following a tragic accident while working on a tree in Avalon Park & Preserve in Stony Brook.
The owner of Norse Tree Service Inc. was approximately 50 feet up in a tree while attempting to cut it down at approximately 11:15 a.m., according to Suffolk County Police. The trunk splintered and trapped him against the tree. Halvorsen, who was wearing a safety harness, attempted to free himself and fell 20 feet. An employee was able to lower Halvorsen to the ground. He was transported via St. James Fire Department ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives are investigating the death, although no foul play is suspected. This is standard procedure in workplace deaths, police said.
George Powers, former owner of the Hither Brook Nursery in St. James, recalled his customer’s work ethic and expertise.
“[Erik] was very good at what he did — he was not a cowboy,” Powers said in a phone interview. “He took all the precautions. And then this happened anyway.”
A woman who came to the door at the Avalon office on Harbor Road in Stony Brook declined to comment, but Avalon’s Leadership Program Director Katharine Griffiths issued a statement later Tuesday morning on behalf of her entire staff.
“Erik was a friend to many of us at the park,” Griffiths wrote in an email Tuesday. “We are heartbroken over this tragic accident. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and his many friends.”
Halvorsen did a great deal of work for The Ward Melville Heritage Organization in Stony Brook. President Gloria Rocchio expressed her horror at the accident and her admiration for the man.
“We worked with Erik for years in Stony Brook,” she said. “He was very sensitive. When we did work on the village green, he designed [the landscape]. It was like an art form, what he did. Everyone was very happy with the result. He was very passionate. All of us here at The Ward Melville Heritage Organization are devastated. He was a great man.”
“Erik was by far one of the hardest working men we knew. He was one of the good guys, a person who would lend a helping hand without a second thought.”
—Laura Brown
The folks at Sheep Pasture Tree & Nursery Supply Inc., friends and neighbors of Norse Tree Service on Sheep Pasture Road in Port Jefferson Station, said he was very easy to recommend.
“Erik was by far one of the hardest working men we knew,” Laura Brown said in an email. “He was one of the good guys, a person who would lend a helping hand without a second thought. We easily recommended him to our customers because we knew he would do a good job. When he came into our office, he was always happy, fun to talk with and a gentleman. We will miss the days of him walking into our office at 5:45 a.m. to use our fax machine. We will miss him as will so many in our community.”
Bob Koch of Koch Tree Services reflected on the impact the incident has had on the community.
“I want everybody to know that the tree community is a very tight-knit family,” Koch said in a phone interview. “A tragedy like this affects everyone in it. Our hearts go out to Erik’s family. He was a wonderful young man. We all feel it when something like this happens.”
Powers shared an anecdote about Halvorsen that spoke to his character.
“He and his wife were on vacation on some island,” Powers recalled. “He saw a dog tied up in a very bad way. So he let it loose. The next day the dog was again tied up. So he adopted the dog and brought it home. He had to go through a lot of paperwork and paid to have [the dog] flown home. But that dog loved him. You could see it. He was just a good person.”
Halvorsen leaves a wife, Britt, and three children, Liv, Leif and Lilli.
A celebration of Erik’s life has been scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 17, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Old Field Club in Setauket. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Gerda’s Animal Aid Inc., a rescue organization run by Britt Halvorsen’s mother, at P.O. Box 1352, West Townshend, VT 05359, or by calling 802-874-7213.
The Stony Brook University Chapter of Black Lives Matter. Photo by Douglas MacKaye Harrington.
By Douglas MacKaye Harrington
Last weekend the Three Villages confirmed that it is not just people of color who want to revamp the justice system in America. A coalition of community groups gathered at the Stony Brook LIRR station to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
Members of Black Lives Matter Stony Brook Chapter, Building Bridges in Brookhaven, North Country Peace Group, the White Coats for Black Lives Stony Brook Medical School chapter, and the Racial Concerns Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stony Brook marched together.
The Racial Concerns Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stony Brook created the march, after a banner in support of Blacks Lives Matter was vandalized this past year. Barbara Coley, co-chair of the Racial Concerns Committee, said the aim of the walk is to highlight the need for change in America’s law enforcement.
“Our goal for this march and rally is to focus attention on the criminal justice system that needs reform because it targets poor black and brown boys and men,” she said. “We march and rally to show our support for the movement for black lives.”
But the more than 200 Black Lives Matter supporters were not the only participants in attendance Saturday.
Several dozen North Country Patriots members were also on the scene. The North Country Patriots have been meeting at that location for years in support of American troops and veterans. The group originated out of support for President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
“All lives matter, especially our troops. These people have no respect.”
— Howard Ross
They came to share their opposition to the movement with shouts of “All lives matter” and “Blue lives matter” in response to the marchers’ chants of “Black lives matter.”
Vietnam Veteran Howard Ross expressed his opposition to Black Lives Matter.
“I don’t disagree with them, because I believe all lives matter, but they don’t look at it that way and that is the sad part,” he said. “All lives matter, especially our troops. These people have no respect; it has nothing to do with Black Lives Matter. These people have no respect for our country and our democracy.”
Fran Ginter, another resident gathered with the North Country Patriots, held up a sign to support the power she believed all Americans should have.
“My sign says #Balls Matter,” Ginter said. “And ‘balls’ meaning the strength and honor and courage that the American people have. And we shouldn’t be dividing each other with Black Lives Matter. We should be uniting one another with American Lives Matter, Balls Matter.”
Most Saturdays the patriot group outnumbers the peace group, but on this day, the several hundred Black Lives Matter supporters upped the volume on the opposition.
Ryan Madden said he does not think being a Black Lives Matter supporter means you can’t also support veterans, along with many other groups in America.
“It’s [Black Lives Matter] one of the most open and intersectional movements, and it’s not mutually exclusive from supporting vets,” he said. “It’s supporting black vets, disabled vets, trans vets, all people from all shades and backgrounds.”
When he heard people on the other side of the street yelling, “All lives matter,” in response to their chants of “Black lives matter,” he said the real issue isn’t being focused on.
“I think they have a problem with the word black, and that’s the problem,” Madden said. “Like what was just chanted, all lives won’t matter until black lives matter, until indigenous lives matter, until trans lives matter. It [All Lives Matter] thinks it’s being this inclusive framework, but it’s not. It’s not listening to people who are saying our lives don’t matter in this society currently.”
While many members of the march held the south curb, engaging their opposition activists across the road, a majority formed a circle beneath the trees for a rally on the knoll to listen to poems, prose, and speeches in support of the movement.
“I think they have a problem with the word black, and that’s the problem.”
—Ryan Madden
Among rally participants were the White Coats For Black Lives from Stony Brook University Medical School. Second year medical student Toni McKenzie explained the organization’s purpose.
“White Coats For Black Lives is a national initiative that works to eliminate racism in health care,” she said. “We work in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement because we believe inadequate community policing and mass incarceration often affects the psychosocial health of our minority patients.”
Suffolk County Police Department had a dozen officers on hand to control traffic and ensure safety during the protest. Officers walked on the road alongside the marchers to control the eastbound cars that traveled closest to the protest route.
This raised dissent with some protestors.
“I am a little discouraged by the character of this march,” Marcus Brown, a member of the Black Lives Matter group said. “I was under the impression that we would only be having a police escort across 25A and Nicolls Road because it is such a perilous intersection. That was part of the condition of our organization’s participation in this march, that there would not be a police escort the entire way. Because Black Lives Matter does not concede the police and the black community as having mutual interest. We believe that our interest is fundamentally antagonistic to the police in this country whose social function is to maintain racial order at the expense of black people.”
Despite the criticism of police presence, the event was seen as huge success.
Mark Jacket of Building Bridges said the event helped bring more awareness to the community.
“The turnout is phenomenal!” he said. “The importance of having this in a place like Stony Brook, in a place that is a predominantly a white community, is to acknowledge that there are bad things happening in America. Even though it is not happening in our immediate neighborhood, it is happening in the nation we live in. White people need to admit that racism is still strong in America, and if they are not comfortable with that, they need to stand up and say something about it.”
Additional reporting contributed by Victoria Espinoza.
Stony Brook University women’s soccer team drafted 4-year-old Rylie Laber. Photo from Stony Brook University
Kevin Redding
On July 4, 1939, New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig stood before 60,000 fans at Yankee Stadium and confirmed his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and closed his statements by saying: “I might have had a tough break — but I have an awful lot to live for.”
This sort of display of courage and determination in the face of great affliction is now being echoed by a 4-year-old girl named Rylie Laber, a student at Middle Country’s Bicycle Path Pre-K/Kindergarten Center, who loves to play soccer and takes great joy in learning new things in the classroom.
Those who know her best describe her as energetic, loving, happy, competitive and sassy, with a great laugh. Her spirited personality serves as the ultimate remedy for the rare genetic disorder she’s suffered from since she was 6 months old.
Stony Brook University women’s soccer head coach Brendan Faherty places a cap on Rylie’s head after she was drafted. Photo from Stony Brook University
Called Shwachman Diamond Syndrome, the disorder causes bone marrow failure, pancreatic insufficiency, malabsorption of food and vitamins, and growth difficulties. For most of her life, Rylie’s day-to-day schedule has consisted of countless doctor and hospital appointments, infections, taking medications with every meal, bruising easily, mouth sores, and a lot of dehydration due to fevers. Even two hours of mindless fun at Chuck-E-Cheese when she was only 2 years old led to a miserable three months of being sick with a chronic cold and fever.
But since late August, when she was taken under the wing of SUNY Stony Brook’s women’s soccer team through the Team Impact program, she’s turned over a new leaf and has something to consistently look forward to. In turn, her involvement as an honorary team member has made life better for her family, and the team itself has been impacted greatly by her fun-loving presence.
Rylie’s grandmother Mary Balint, who has full custody, which she shares with Rylie’s father, said that even with her illnesses, Rylie’s always been very cheerful and happy, and that’s only increased tenfold since joining the team.
“She is pushing forward and she absolutely loves her team,” Balint said. “Just last month she had asthmatic bronchitis and every day she was like ‘I’m not letting this stop me. I’m going to practice. I’m going to be with my team, I’m going to do what I have to do,’ so she’s definitely fighting through whatever she needs to fight through to stay with this. She’ll do anything for them. It’s just made her so much stronger.”
Because of how rare Rylie’s illness is, every other year she and Balint journey to Camp Sunshine — which provides retreat and support for kids with life-threatening illnesses and their families in Maine — for a medical conference. This is where Balint first heard about Team Impact, the organization that draftskids to become members of local college athletic teams.
Initially, as Balint was looking into the program and submitting Rylie’s application, she was told that they generally didn’t start kids until they were 5, but that was until they learned that she had a special interest in soccer — which she’d been playing since she was 3.
Rylie Laber stretches with the Stony Brook University women’s soccer team. Photo from Mary Balint
That’s when the organization touched base with Brendan Faherty, Stony Brook’s new head coach of the women’s soccer team, who, along with the student athletes, took to her immediately. Rylie joins the Seawolves in the weight room, goes to practice and games, stretches with them on the sidelines, and kicks the ball. As Balint says, everything they do, she does. According to Faherty, it didn’t take long for Rylie to be herself among her new friends and teammates.
“In the beginning, she was a little bit shy,” he said, “but that lasted about five minutes. She’s super outgoing. She just wants to talk to everybody — goes from one player to the next — and she’s got a great attitude, and really cares about everybody in the program. … We try to spend as much time as we can with her. We went to one of her soccer games and she’s actually really good. She’s super aggressive on the field and she scores a lot of goals and just seems to really love soccer.”
In terms of Rylie’s impact on the students on the team, Stony Brook senior and teammate Lindsay Hutchinson said that Rylie was with them for almost the entire season, and every day the Seawolves spent with her was guaranteed to be a good day. The Stony Brook team even improved upon its record this season with Rylie by their side.
“She just kind of puts everybody in a good mood,” Hutchinson said. “Personally, it gives me a greater appreciation of life, because Rylie just walks around like the happiest child in the world, even though she has a lot of things going on — probably more than we realize. She clung to us right away. Every time she comes to see us, whether it’s at practice or a game, she’ll run right out on the field and give us all hugs.”
For Balint, it was always important that Rylie be kept in the loop as to what was happening with her medically, rather than try to mask it, and said that she knows a lot more about her illness than a 4 year old should. At school, she stays on top of all the medication she needs to take and makes sure that she’s using her own crayon box, to avoid coming in contact with others’ germs, and even a small cold could wipe her out for three weeks straight. Being on the team is Rylie’s incentive to keep herself in tip-top shape, especially since she’s going to be part of the team again next year.
“Sometimes, I sort of use it as a bargaining chip,” Balint said. “If she won’t do something that she has to do, I’ll say to her ‘you think your team would like that?’”
In fact, the team has such an effect on her that she’s even developed a variety of superstitions once it’s game time.
“She has to wear the strings out of her shorts,” Balint said, “and she’s gotta wear her red jersey to school and white jersey to the game. Right before every single game, she runs to the coach with a package of Scooby Doo fruit snacks and he has to eat them. It’s been her little superstitious tradition now.”
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from Huntington Town's annual Halloween parade on Main Street Monday, Oct. 31. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
Scenes from St. James Halloween parade Sunday, Oct 31. Photo by Bob Savage.
A dog in a Pope costume at Port Jefferson's Harvest Festival Oct. 30. Photo by Bob Savage
A Star Wars costume at Port Jefferson's Harvest Festival Oct. 30. Photo by Bob Savage
A participant in the Halloween Parade of Dogs at Port Jefferson's Harvest Festival Oct. 30. Photo by Bob Savage
DJ Placente and his dog Apollo of Coram at Port Jefferson's Harvest Festival Oct. 30. Photo by Bob Savage
File photo by Bob Savage
Kelly Schiavone and her dog Damian at the Port Jefferson Harvest Festival Oct. 30. Photo by Bob Savage
The band Our Generation performs during Port Jefferson's Harvest Festival Oct. 30. Photo by Bob Savage
People come from all over to Trick or Treat in Stony Brook Village at The Ward Melville Heritage Organization's 2016 Halloween celebration. Photo by Donna Newman
People come from all over to Trick or Treat in Stony Brook Village at The Ward Melville Heritage Organization's 2016 Halloween celebration. Photo by Donna Newman
People come from all over to Trick or Treat in Stony Brook Village at The Ward Melville Heritage Organization's 2016 Halloween celebration. Photo by Donna Newman
People come from all over to Trick or Treat in Stony Brook Village at The Ward Melville Heritage Organization's 2016 Halloween celebration. Photo by Donna Newman
People come from all over to Trick or Treat in Stony Brook Village at The Ward Melville Heritage Organization's 2016 Halloween celebration. Photo by Donna Newman
Residents from all over the North Shore spent the weekend and Monday celebrating Halloween and dressing up in their spookiest costumes.
Three Village Chamber Players Natalie Kress, Anna Tsukervanik, Philip Carter and Alison Rowe perform. Photo by Donna Newman
Joni Mitchell once said, “I see music as fluid architecture.” The All Souls Episcopal Church in Stony Brook Village gives people an opportunity to revel in both at once.
The Saturdays at Six program offers classical music in concert the third Saturday of each month at 6 p.m.
On a recent Saturday the musicians were members of the Three Village Chamber Players, a group of Stony Brook graduate students who have been performing there over the past year.
Violinist Leah Caravello opens the show. Photo by Donna Newman
“Our mission is to enrich our community through artistic excellence, providing musical performances of the highest caliber free to the public,” reads the statement on the group’s Facebook page.
For its part, the church shares the Players’ mission of serving the community.
“The church’s doors are open every day so people can enter for prayer or reflection,” said Welcoming Chairman Daniel Kerr, while introducing the concert. Further, the church displays an active commitment to the arts with its Saturday programs that offer music, meditation and poetry on a regular basis, he said.
This program included Mozart’s String Quartet No. 19 in C major — nicknamed “Dissonance” — and, after an intermission, Ravel’s String Quartet in F major. Performers included the group’s director Natalie Kress, Anna Tsukervanik, Philip Carter (violins) and Alison Rowe (cello).
As an added treat, one of Kress’ violin students, five-year-old Leah Caravello, played a short piece.
The next Saturdays at Six concert will take place Nov. 19, when the members of the Anima Brass Quintet will perform.
Although the concert is free and open to all, a nonperishable food item donation is requested, and a “performer’s appreciation donation basket” is available, should people wish to contribute.
Visitors express their enthusiasm for Stony Brook. Photo by Donna Newman
Stony Brook was on display as a destination on a global scale this past weekend.
A group of travel product developers — those who design tours for the luxury market in mainland China — visited the Village Oct. 22 as part of a “familiarization (or fam) tour” of Long Island.
“We don’t have time to showcase the entire island, so we choose some places that are special,” Joan LaRosa, director of sales for the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau said of the visit. Evidently Stony Brook is one of those.
The tours encourage designers to add Long Island stops to their itineraries. She said five “fam” tours are going on right now, hosted by United Airlines, which provided the plane tickets.
A second entity participating in this travel sales pitch is the New York State Division of Tourism via its I Love NY campaign.
Anna Klapper, a manager for global trade development for Washington, D.C.-based Brand USA, is one of the guides accompanying the group on their journey.
“They flew into New York Oct. 19 and have been visiting places on Long Island,” she said. “Tomorrow morning we’ll ferry to Connecticut and make stops in New Haven, Mystic [Seaport] and Mohegan Sun.”
Visitors enjoy craft beer at Brew Cheese in Stony Brook Village. Photo by Donna Newman
Klapper pointed out that she and colleague Philip Joseph have noticed that their guests are constantly online posting everything on social media — adding value to their sales efforts.
Brand USA is an organization that markets the United States as a destination to travel product developers worldwide. Its goal is to increase international tourist visits, thereby fueling the nation’s economy and enhancing its image abroad, as stated on the organization’s website.
The website further states it is “the nation’s first public-private partnership to spearhead a globally coordinated marketing effort to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and communicate U.S. entry policies. Its operations are supported by a combination of contributions from destinations, travel brands, and private-sector organizations, plus matching funds collected by the U.S. government from international visitors who visit the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.”
The visitors from China are also accompanied by Tina Yao, Brand USA’s Shanghai office director.
Gloria Rocchio, president of the Ward Melville Heritage Organization, made the arrangements for the visitors and was on hand to greet them.
“The LI Convention and Visitors Bureau picked Stony Brook for this visit,” she said. When asked if she knew why, she speculated, “perhaps because we have a 21st century, world-class university and a picturesque, historic village on the water?”
Rocchio invited Yu-wan Wang, associate dean of international admissions at Stony Brook University, to meet the group, talk about the university and answer any questions they had about it. She also served as an interpreter, and when she asked William Wang of Shanghai to tell what he liked best about Stony Brook, she translated:
“I love the fresh air and to be so close to the ocean.”
Following a sampling of lavender and espresso cheese and craft beers, the party of 16 made their way across the street to The Jazz Loft for a musical evening.
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