Pastor welcomed to town meeting

family moved to Long Island because her husband Rich, who is also a pastor and originally from Parsippany, New Jersey, gained admission to a Ph.D program in clinical psychology at Adelphi University. Since then they have lived and thrived in Syosset, raising their two young daughters, Grace and Erin, through early childhood education years in the community and now with them in the Syosset Central school district, at Village Elementary.

Sheridan was also instrumental in rebooting the Faith Nursery School run by the Church after it paused due to the pandemic.

Supervisor Saladino commented on Pastor Sheridan’s leadership in the local area, as she is active on the board of the Long Island Council of Churches as well as in the Syosset-Woodbury Interfaith Clergy Council.

“With March being Women’s History Month it is always a pleasure to point out the accomplishments of exceptional women in our town, and you Pastor Sheridan are certainly one of them! Pastor Sheridan has a BA in English and Secondary Education from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota – where I imagine the winters are very different than ours – and she earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where she met her husband,” he noted.

Saladino also shared with the audience since the new administration began presiding over Town business in early 2017, the board instituted an opening prayer immediately preceding the Pledge of Allegiance.

“For the young people in the room, you might learn in school about the separation of church and state. But that has a different connotation, and in terms of starting our meetings with prayer where I served as a New York State Assembly member and Councilman Steve Labriola served in the State Senate and Assembly – all of the public meetings started with prayer. We felt that is appropriate, and it’s not a prayer to any one religion but it represents prayer for everyone to be inclusive for everyone. That is what we’re going to do today as we always do, and I wanted to provide education to what and why we do this. We ask a religious leader from the community, ecumenically (from every different religion, to have turn coming to the Town Board meetings so we get to know about the different churches, temples, synagogues and religious groups and we learn more about one another’s cultures,” he said.

Women of Distinction program

After the opening prayer and Pledge, Supervisor Saladino made the announcement that the nomination period has opened for this year’s Town of Oyster Bay Women of Distinction program. Honorees must live or work in the Town of Oyster Bay.

The Town Supervisor noted the beginning of March which is Women’s History Month, and the board meeting this week took place March 7th – one day prior to International Women’s Day on Wednesday, March 8th. “We are proud to continue recognizing the great work of women, and many times we have recognized the great work of the women here on our Town Board and all the incredible women who work in the Town of Oyster Bay government and administration – we appreciate all of you!” he said.

Nominations may be submitted for any achievement or honorable cause performed by the nominee. The Town seeks to recognize individuals for their contributions to the arts, education, environment, athletics, community or civic service, volunteerism or business.

Councilwoman Michele Johnson serves as the chairperson of the Women of Distinction Committee. She explained, “Each year, the Town has the honor of recognizing women who go above and beyond to improve the lives of those around them through our Women of Distinction Program. If you know a special woman who helps make your community a better place to live, we invite you to nominate her to be a 2023 Town of Oyster Bay Woman of Distinction.”

The 2023 Women of Distinction honorees will be recognized at a special awards ceremony hosted by the Town Board in May.

“We look forward to sharing the honorees’ stories and recognizing their efforts to make our community, families and Town a better place to live, work and raise a family. Anyone who knows a special woman who helps make their neighborhoods and communities a better place, feel free to nominate her online, at oysterbaytown.com/women or call (516) 624-6380 for an application,” Saladino said.

Reflecting on her appearance at the March 7 Town Board meeting, Pastor Rebecca Sheridan commented that it was an honor to be invited to represent women faith leaders by opening the Town Board meeting with prayer.

“I am proud to serve on the Syosset Woodbury Chamber of Commerce Board as one of several female Board members, and to support female nonprofit business owners and leaders of religious organizations in our commu- nity in particular. From the local to the international level, our church is active in empowering women in leadership through participation in the Long Island Council of Churches, the Syosset Woodbury Interfaith Clergy Council, and as a member of the Lutheran World Federation,” she said.

Syosset Woodbury Chamber of Commerce President Russell P. Green, who like Sheridan has two daughters, both Syosset High School graduates, also commented on the amazing women in leadership he works with in the community, as several from Syosset have been recognized as Town of Oyster Bay Women of Distinction, including Green’s predecessor as Chamber president – Woodbury resident Maureen Nickel, owner of BrightStar Home Health Care.

Green noted, “The Syosset Woodbury Chamber of Commerce has been active in recognizing and supporting women in their efforts as business leaders in our community. The Chamber’s Women in Business group has grown substantially over the past few years, providing women a forum to discuss issues unique to them and an additional opportunity to network and promote their businesses.”

“Local business women have a substantial voice in the direction of the Chamber as they represent a majority of the board members including Vice President Kerri Winans-Kaley (Encore Luxury Living) and Board Secretary Amanda Johnson, a Syosset resident and business owner/manager. As president of the Chamber, I very much appreciate their perspective on how to help promote and support local businesses during these challenging times,” Green said.