Vlado Babic passed away on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at the age of 91. Beloved Husband of the late Harriet Babic. Loving Father of Suzanne Barrett. Graveside Services held on Tuesday January 17, 2023 at Maple Grove Cemetery, Kew Gardens, NY under the direction of Papavero Funeral Home, 72-27 Grand Avenue, Maspeth NY 11378.
By Stephanie Meditz
Evening of Fine Food is an opportunity for individuals and businesses alike to enjoy fine dining, entertainment and networking.
On Feb. 28, Queens Centers for Progress (QCP) will host its 27th annual “Evening of Fine Food” at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
Evening of Fine Food offers fine dining, networking and entertainment to garner support and raise funds for QCP’s efforts to help individuals in the borough with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“We’ve been around for 72 years…and this is the 27th anniversary of the event,” Wendy Gennaro, QCP director of development, said. “Basically, all of the proceeds go to the organization, so outside of the expenses, 100 percent of what we raise at this event goes to support our programs here in Queens.”
QCP’s programs promote independence and community engagement for children and adults with developmental disabilities.
Local restaurants like Bourbon Street and Austin’s Ale House have attended Evening of Fine Food since it began.
“On the restaurant side, we have some very loyal restaurants that come back every year. They’ve been through the ringer over the past few years, but they still show up, which is amazing,” Gennaro said.
QCP also has longtime sponsors who offer financial support every year, including Veronica Tsang, Gerald Caliendo Architects, Resorts World NYC and Grubhub.
“What we love most is when we honor people and they keep coming back. We’ve been very blessed in that way,” she added.
Each Evening of Fine Food celebration recognizes various movers and shakers who contribute to the wellbeing, culture and community of Queens, referred to as “Chefs of the Year.”
Frank Wu, president of Queens College, is one of this year’s honorees.
“I am as excited to be [a] chef for the QCP Evening of Fine Food as I am to live in the world’s borough where every culture is represented by its cuisine,” Wu said in a statement.
Brett Swanson, community affairs and social impact at Grubhub, will also be honored at the event.
At Grubhub, Swanson focuses on food insecurity and restaurant revitalizations.
“Because he does what he does, he impacts so many people in the borough. They are always handing out meals to people in communities…and not only do they feed people in the community, but they also support local businesses by using food from the local businesses to feed people. He’s just a great example of what someone can do for people in the community.”
He feels extremely grateful to be honored in this way and to support QCP’s overall mission.
“QCP’s work has changed the lives of so many, and I am incredibly proud to be aligned with such an amazing group,” Swanson said in a statement. “Cheers to many more years to come.”
Although QCP typically honors individual people, it will honor The Leadership Team at Stop & Shop this year.
This year, Queens Centers for Progress will honor Stop & Shop for its promotion of QCP’s Supported Employment Program for individuals with developmental disabilities.
“Stop & Shop has hired hundreds of our individuals to work in their stores throughout Queens and they’re a great employment partner to us,” Gennaro said. “What they do for our individuals by employing them is give them a sense of pride, a place to go to work every day where they thrive, earn an income and are out in the community. We’re all about inclusion and integration into the community, so they really help us in that way by doing these hires.”
Last year, QCP created the Claire Shulman Spirit of Community Award in honor of the former borough president who frequented Evening of Fine Food.
This year’s recipient is Tanya Duhaney, Community Affairs Bureau for NYPD South.
“Tanya is selfless every day of the week,” Gennaro said. “I’ve never seen anyone who’s so busy doing things for everyone else, and she’s just a force in the NYPD, so we’re really excited to be honoring her.”
Entertainment at Evening of Fine Food will consist of Frank Sinatra cover singer Jim Altamore, casino tables, a silent auction of items donated by the community and a selfie booth.
Most of the Queens business community attends the event, as do individuals who want to support the cause and influencers from QCP’s partners, such as Yelp.
“In the past, we’ve had upwards of 700 people attending the event,” Gennaro said. “Over the years, we’ve added entertainment, we’ve added more restaurants, we’ve added more companies with different offerings and expanded our reach by getting more attention on the event so we can get more people to experience it. It’s just grown so much from a small, intimate thing to this exciting, full of energy, networking, food extravaganza.”
Tickets are available for $135 at https://queenscp.givecloud.co/qcpfinefood.
QCP also offers several sponsorship packages ranging from $1,500-$7,500 that include tickets.
Packages over $3,000 include VIP seating and early entry.
“[Evening of Fine Food] affords companies the opportunity to get their name in front of a lot of people,” Gennaro said. “We also have a lot of signage at the event…we really try to give everyone great value for their money between tickets and ads and attention and letting everyone know what an amazing thing they’re doing by sponsoring the event.”
Vendors interested in donating their food and time to the event can call the QCP office at (718) 380-3000, ext. 324 or visit https://queenscp.givecloud.co/qcpfinefood for more information.
By Mike Porcelli
Student success is the mission
Now that we have resolved to make it our mission to end the catastrophe in American education, by ensuring that schools teach: The Skills They Aren’t Teaching but Must, how can we best accomplish this goal? I suggest we begin by redefining the mission of our schools.
The purpose of education must be to prepare students for both successful personal and professional lives, by providing them every possible opportunity to develop their natural talents and abilities to their highest potential, not the production of “graduates,” with no real life or career skills, as has been the case recently.
This process must begin in grade school, by designing practices that allow young students to demonstrate their interests and learning styles.
Everyone who has ever observed toddlers at play, sees how they exhibit what they are interested in, what gets them excited and how they like to explore their world.
In their first school experiences, kids must be allowed the freedom to show how they like to learn and what they want to be taught. Schools must study these indicators and tailor education programs that match each student’s unique characteristics. This is where students can be identified as academic or CTE candidates – or both.
Early in life, children exhibit what sports and hobbies they like to participate in. Schools have always been very good at identifying the physical and other attributes that suggest what sports students are best equipped for. That’s why there are no 300-pound linebackers on the gymnastics team, and why tall students do well in basketball. Schools must use that same logic in guiding students into their best areas of study.
Middle school is the place where students should have the opportunity to expand their areas of interest and explore all possible career fields that might be appropriate for them. Only then can they have the information needed to understand if their natural talents match the requirements of those professions and begin to select the high school program that’s best for them, just as they chose their ideal sports teams.
As I have reiterated many times, high schools must provide both academic and vocational training programs that develop each student’s individual abilities, with the goal of maximizing their personal potential. High schools must abandon their objective of pushing every student they can into the college-debt-trap, which causes half of them to drop out. School “productivity” has been measured by how many students register for college, not how many of them get degrees. This has to end now.
Every school must offer each student the educational experience that best prepares them for future success in higher education, careers and life. Their mission must be to maximize each student’s potential for success in every path they take after high school. The school’s success should be judged on their effectiveness in meeting this goal, not by how many college-bound graduates they produce.
Let’s value quality over quantity and effectiveness rather than productivity.
Judge schools’ success by that standard.
Academic & Trade Education are Two Sides of a Coin. This column explores the impact of CTE programs on students, society, and the economy.
Mike Porcelli: life-long mechanic, adjunct professor, and host of Autolab Radio, is committed to restoring trade education in schools before it’s too late. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-porcelli-master-mechanic-allasecerts/
Patrick W. Prendergast passed away on Saturday, January 7, 2023 at the age of 88. Beloved Husband of the late Martha Louise Prendergast. Loving Father of Patrick R. Prendergast, Thomas Prendergast and James Prendergast. Cherished Grandfather of Patrick, Victoria, T.J., Jack, James and Brian. Dear Brother of Hack Prendergast and the late Beatrice and Edward. Mr. Prendergast was a United States Army Veteran who served during the Korean Conflict. In Lieu of Flowers, memorial donations may be made to Wounded Warriors Project or Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Mass of Christian Burial offered at Our Lady of Hope Church on Friday, January 13, 2023 9:45 AM. Interment followed at St. John Cemetery, Middle Village, NY under the direction of Papavero Funeral Home, 72-27 Grand Avenue, Maspeth NY 11378.
Dennis Skeahan passed away on Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at the age of 67. Beloved Companion of Susan Harris. Loving Brother of Patricia (Robert) Spiers and the late Michael P. (Linda) Skeahan. Cherished Uncle of Michael Joseph Skeahan and Samantha Aramburu and Great-Uncle of Olivia, Christopher and Emma. Also survived by many dear friends. Funeral Services held at Papavero Funeral Home on Saturday, January 7, 2023 from 1-4pm. Private Cremation followed at All Souls Cemetery, East Elmhurst, NY under the direction of Papavero Funeral Home, 72-27 Grand Avenue, Maspeth NY 11378.
Jeffrey C. Hampton of Maspeth, NY passed away on Wednesday, January 4, 2023 at the age of 59. Beloved Husband of Joann. Devoted Father of Sara. Dear Brother of Bobby and Chris. also survived by many nieces and nephews. Services were offered at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church. Cremation was at Fresh Pond Crematory, Middle Village,NY under the direction of Hess-Miller Funeral Home, 64-19 Metropolitan AVenue, Middle Village, NY 11379.
1947 – 2022
We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Robert L. Mello, 75, of Norwalk, CT, on December 31, 2022, after a brief and courageous battle with leukemia. Robert was born and raised in Long Island City, New York, to Rose and Frank Mello on May 20, 1947. He received his early schooling from St. Mary’s Grammar School in Long Island City and graduated from Power Memorial Academy in Manhattan, before receiving his MBA from Long Island University. He traveled the world throughout a long career in banking and developed a passion for teaching while working as an adjunct professor at the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. After retirement, his love of children and teaching led him back to Riverside School in Greenwich, CT, where he had been working as a beloved paraprofessional for the last several years. He also served as a Board Member for the Children’s Healing Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. However, his most cherished job of all was that of being “Poppy” to his grandchildren, whom he loved more than anything in the world. Robert had many hobbies, including a passion for wine and Italian cooking, reading classic literature, listening to Frank Sinatra music, collecting Lionel trains, and traveling, particularly to visit cherished friends he had made while living in Italy, the South of France, and Florida, following his retirement. Robert lived every moment of his life to the fullest, making friends wherever he went and was always dressed to the nines, whether he was headed to his grandsons’ baseball games or out for a night on the town. Robert is survived by his daughter Patricia Wuest, of Winooski, VT, son Robert (Krista) Mello of Fairfield, CT, and sister Irene Rinaldi, of Maspeth, NY. He will be dearly missed by his beloved grandchildren, Christopher Wuest, Catherine (Cody) Mannigan, Owen Mello and Henry Mello, along with his nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends. Our family would also like to express our sincerest gratitude to Dr. Francesca Montanari and the Greenwich Hospital oncology nursing staff for the diligence, skill, and compassion they showed throughout his illness. A memorial mass will be held on Thursday, January 19th at 10:30am at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 10-08 49th Avenue, Long Island City, New York.
