Annual Dinner Dance
Pictures from the 24th Annual Dinner Dance can be viewed at www.higginsphotonyc.com
The Emerald Isle Immigration Center
24th Annual Dinner Dance
Astoria World Manor
25-22 Astoria Boulevard, Astoria, New York
Friday, October 28, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
DOWNLOAD THE FLYER
August 25, 2011
Dear Friend of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center:
The Emerald Isle Immigration Center (EIIC) is delighted to announce that our 24th Annual Dinner will be held on Friday, October 28, 2011 at the Astoria World Manor, 25-22 Astoria Boulevard, Astoria, New York at 7:00 p.m.
The Center was founded by members of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement (IIRM) in 1988 and through the years has served the needs of tens of thousands of Irish and many other New York immigrants. It has survived because of the unfailing support it receives from the Irish and Irish-American communities it serves in New York City and the greater metropolitan area.
On a daily basis, the center and its staff provide assistance on all aspects of immigration, social service, mental health, senior services and programs, employment and education. We are immensely proud of our services and the staff who deliver them. In order to sustain the critical and increasing demand for reliable immigration services we are very grateful for the continued funding we receive from the Irish Government, the City Council of New York, the City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and New York State. We also truly need the support of our community for this event this year above any other as we seek to sustain our current levels of staff as we are encountering tougher funding challenges.
This year, we are inviting you to join us once again as we honor three individuals who typify the spirit of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center and acknowledge their outstanding contributions to the Irish Community.
John (Jack) T. Ahern, Business Manager and Financial Secretary IUOE Local 30
Patrick Burke – Co-Owner Courtyard Ale House & Brickyard Gastropub NYC
Honorable Michael Cusick – New York State Assembly Member – 63rd District
Tickets for the event are $90.00 per person, with the Platinum Package consisting of a table of 10 and a Platinum page in our dinner journal for $1,500.00 and the Emerald Package consisting of a table of 10 and an Emerald page in our dinner journal for $1,200.00. All funds raised will support the ongoing work of the Center.
We look forward to hearing from you with your ticket and/or journal advertisement reservations or if you have questions, please call Sandra Boyle our Deputy Director at (718) 478-5502, Ext. 211. Or email sandra@eiic.org
Thank you, on behalf of everyone here at the Emerald Isle Immigration Center.
Sincerely,
Brian O’Dwyer Kieran J. Conlon
Chairman Dinner Chairman
PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release
The Emerald Isle Immigration Center (EIIC) will be holding its 24th Annual Dinner Dance on Friday, October 28, 2011 starting at 7pm. The event is being held once again at the Astoria World Manor in Queens, with The Dave Barckow Band providing the evening’s musical entertainment. Irish entertainer Fiona Walsh will be invited to join us as she has for many years to sing the national anthems.
The annual event has been a significant source of funding for the center and helps provide critical operating funds not met by other funding sources. This event has helped raise revenue for the Center to deliver services from both its offices in the Bronx and Queens. Over 20,000 requests for services are made by clients annually. At least sixty percent of those requests related to the immigration services provided by the center’s staff. The remaining 40% constitute requests for help in the social services realm and include assistance provided with social services, psychotherapy and counseling, employment, seniors, benefits, social programming such as the senior computer, jewellery making, knitting and Irish Language classes. The center has added a senior visiting program and Meals on Wheels program to local Bronx residents and plans are underway to expand this vital link to marginalized seniors. For the third year in a row the center’s staff has seen increases in the requests for immigration aid and for food stamps under the social services realm and the staffing levels have remained static.
This year the Emerald Isle Immigration Center has chosen the following as honorees:
- John (Jack) T. Ahern – Business Manager & Financial Secretary of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 30. Jack Ahern grew up in Brooklyn, the son of a working class Irish American family whose roots are in Kilbrittan, Co. Cork. Jack exemplifies the values of integrity and hard work which he inherited from his father and grandfather both union carpenters and members of Local 608. Jack got his first union card while still in Nazareth High School in Brooklyn. Jack joined Local 30 in 1973 and worked his way up through the Local, winning the election as Business Manager and Financial Secretary in 1996. Over the past three decades he has successfully negotiated hundreds of contracts for the 4,000 members of Local 30. In 2006 Jack became Vice President of the NYC Central Labor Council and served as President from 2008 -2011. He also serves the labor movement as an officer and delegate to many labor affiliates and councils. Jack is actively involved in the Irish American Community; he is a director of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, a member of the Cork County Association and the Queens County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee. He has been honored by many distinguished groups including the Archdiocese of New York’s Building Trades Council, the New York City Council’s Irish Heritage Committee, the Sisters of Mercy, the Jewish Labor Committee, the United Irish Counties Association and the Co. Cork Association of New York.
- Patrick Burke was born and raised in the scenic village of Schull – one of West Cork’s most popular resorts. Pat is the eldest of four children born to Christy and Margaret Burke. He received his primary education at the local National School and his secondary education at Schull Community College. He studied engineering at the Cork Institute of Technology. After completing his education in May of 1994 being the lucky recipient of a Morrison Visa Pat arrived in New York all set to make his millions. He got his first job stocking shelves in a pharmacy and subsequently worked in the construction field. In 1998 he went to work in the bar business as a bartender at Cheers Bar in Sunnyside – the bar he purchased two years later with his friend Frank Ziede now known as the popular Courtyard Ale House. On St. Patrick’s Day 2010, he opened a second bar and restaurant in Manhattan – The Brickyard Gastropub on 9th Avenue and 52nd St. Pat has been actively involved in the Irish American Community and the Courtyard is the primary sponsor of the Shamrock’s Soccer Club. He is also a great supporter of the work of the Emerald Immigration Center and the Co. Cork Association. Over the years the Courtyard has hosted many benefits for needy causes. Pat is married to the former Julia Corrigan from Dungannon, Co. Tyrone and they reside in Long Beach, Long Island. They are frequent visitors to Ireland.
- Michael J Cusick is Assemblyman for New York State Assembly District 63 and has served Staten Island and New York in numerous roles throughout his career. Elected President of the American Irish Legislators’ Society of New York State in 2009, he is also a member of the John D. Kearney Division 3 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. As an Assemblyman since January 2003, he is Chair of the Assembly Election Law Committee and sits on numerous others. Cusick has worked tirelessly as a legislator to improve planning, access for people with disabilities and education, while he has also moved to ensure respect for military funerals. Graduating from Villanova University in 1991, the Assemblyman went on to work as Special Assistant to the President of the City Council. He has served as Director of Constituency Services to U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and as Chief of Staff to former Staten Island Assemblyman Eric N. Vitaliano. Assemblyman Cusick has previously been honored by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 120, Seaview Hospital and Rehabilitation Center and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of Staten Island. The Assemblyman has served on the Staten Island Board of the Directors of the Catholic Youth Organization and the Boy Scouts of America, while he is a current member of the Handicapped Parking Task Force on Staten Island. He has been to the forefront in Albany on dating violence education and tackling the obesity epidemic among children with the “Total Fitness Challenge”.
Each honoree typifies the commitment to serving the community that has become the hallmark of Emerald Isle over twenty-five years. In their diverse fields they have been model Irish-Americans, working in the interests of the community and representing the ideals of both countries.
Dinner Dance Chair and EIIC Board member Kieran J. Conlon has taken on daunting task of managing this event for the third year and recognizes the need to support the honorees and the center’s good work. “This event is really a celebration of commitment and dedication to the community”, Conlon said, “we’re brining together an outstanding group of honorees to recognize their achievements, bringing all that experience together in support of Emerald Isle. It’s a huge challenge to bring it all together, but with the people that we’re bringing together on Friday we know it’s going to be a success.”
In addition, the organization has chosen to present the Frank T. Carvill award to Margaret Fogarty. Margaret is an active member of St. Barnabas Parish and has worked with the center and volunteered on many of its senior programs, she has been previously honored by former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and WFUV.
The Frank Carvill award was established by the Center in 2004. Frank was a founding member of the IIRM and Treasurer for the EIIC . He was a 20 year veteran of the NJ National Guard and an employee of the Port Authority of NY & NJ. He was killed in action when his unit came under attack in Sadr City on June 4th, 2004.. Since it was created the award has been given to the following individuals Gardenia Diaz (2004), Jim Lombard (2006), and Sandra Boyle in 2009. The award is intended for those who represent Frank’s spirit of volunteerism to the organization.
For more details or for ticket reservations (tickets are priced at $90.00), please log on to the EIIC website www.eiic.org or call the center directly at Tel: 718/478-5502, Ext.211.
