FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:     
MAY 19, 2009

CONTACT: DEBORAH HARRIS
LEGISLATIVE AIDE
    Office: (631) 854-5100
Fax: (631)-854-5103
 Email:  Deborah.Harris@suffolkcountyny.gov

LEGISLATOR STEVE STERN JOINS GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR GOLD STAR FAMILIES MONUMENT

Obelisk at Armed Forces Plaza to recognize Sacrifices of Military Families

Pictured (l-r): County Legislator DuWayne Gregory; Bill Beatty, Korean War Veterans Association; Rich Kitson, President, Viet Nam Veterans of America; Legislator Steven Stern; Legislator Brian Beedenbender; County Executive Steve Levy; Tom Ronayne, director of Suffolk County Office of Veterans Services; Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko; Brookhaven Deputy Supervisor Kathleen Walsh; Mel Guadalupe, director of Office of Minority Affairs; Legislator Kate Browning; Michele McNaughton, President, American Gold Star Mothers; and Carol Rocco, Coordinator of Veterans Affairs, Town of Huntington.

HUNTINGTON, NY –Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern (D-Huntington) 16^th LD, Chairman of the Veterans and Seniors Committee, joined with County Executive Steve Levy, Tom Ronayne, director of the Suffolk County Office of Veterans Services, local elected officials and Gold Star families in a groundbreaking ceremony for a Gold Star Families Monument to be placed at Armed Forces Plaza in Hauppauge. 

The Monument will be installed and dedicated on September 26, 2009.  The obelisk will feature a single Gold Star to recognize all families who have lost a family member to enemy forces. 

“I am proud to join with County Executive Levy, The Veterans Services Agency, and especially the Gold Star families, who have sacrificed so much for our freedom and security, in the groundbreaking of this important monument,” Legislator Stern said.  “We must always remember their sacrifice and provide them with the support they need and with our eternal gratitude.”