Club News

The Sag Harbor Lions Club continues to ramp up its effort to help locals in need.  On Thursday morning Jan. 19, with funding provided by the Club, an aluminum accessory ramp was installed at the home of Dorothy Giles, who has resided at her house in the village of Sag Harbor for 62 years. 

Ms. Giles, 94, who depends on the maneuverability of a wheel chair and assistance from her daughter Gay, found it increasingly difficult to enter and exit her home from the steep steps that lead to her front door.

“It became an increased challenge to get my mother in and out of the house safely,” said Gay, who relocated back to Sag Harbor from Virginia six years ago to live with, and take care of her mother.  “I asked around to a few people and friends on ideas or who to contact for assistance, and someone suggested that the Lions Club could help.”

Gay, who works as a teacher’s aide in the Bridgehampton school district, made a call to Paul Zaykowski, the co-head of the Sag Harbor Lions Club.  Discussing the request, the Lion’s Club board agreed to authorize the purchase of the much needed ramp for Mrs. Giles.

“The ramp has been a real blessing,” said Gay.  “Ironically, the very next day we used it to take my mother for an unscheduled doctors appointment.  The timing was perfect.  I am so humbled and grateful to the Lions Club.”

While the J-shaped ramp was ultimately installed in a few hours on a rainy morning, there was a lot of evaluation work that needed to done in advance of construction. Much appreciation goes to Keith Dutcher and Bruce Bennett, both local craftsmen and builders who also reside in Sag Harbor, who spent hours volunteering over several days discussing and drawing out measurements, materials, designs and placement of the proposed ramp. “We could not have done this installation without Keith and Bruce. They are both perfectionists and they made sure everything was done right” thanked Zaykowski.

“It was an honor and privilege to help the Giles family,” added Zaykowski.  “Bruce, Keith and myself knew several of Mrs. Giles children when we attended Pierson over the years.  When we received the call from Gay, we knew we had to act. They are such a great family.”

Here are Lion’s Glenn Paul, Tom Cartino, Sean Kiely, and Paul Zaykowski with Bunny a very happy customer ( December 2, 2021)

Truman Yardley—Truman’s career choice is Engineering (aerospace, mechanical, or robotic). Truman plans to attend Georgia Tech.

Sara Schoen—Sara’s career choice is either to be a mathematics teacher or pursue pre-med. Sara plans to attend Villanova University.

Thaily Ribadeneira-Amaguay—Thaily’s listed her career choice as biomechanical engineering; but, in her personal essay she said she wants to be a doctor so that she can help her Latino Community.

Thaily plans to attend the Stony Brook University

To read the full story in the Sag Harbor Express of the 2021 Scholarship Recipients click THIS LINK

Cailen Riley [ Sag Harbor Express]  writes a wonderful story about Iaiela. Here is a brief excerpt:

When Pierson High School guidance counselor Margaret Motto pulled Iaiela Saldivar-Tellez into her office near the end of the school year, Iaiela was initially worried she’d done something wrong. It was the look on Ms. Motto’s face, she said, that had her thinking bad news was about to be delivered.

“She looked so serious,” Iaiela recalled, saying Ms. Motto asked her if she’d checked her voicemail recently. She said no, adding, “I told her if I did anything wrong, it’s not my fault.”

So Iaiela checked her messages. There was one from someone associated with the Sag Harbor Lions Club. Ms. Motto urged Iaiela to return the call. That’s when she got the news, and it certainly wasn’t bad. The Pierson High School senior learned that she’d earned a $2,000 scholarship from the club, which had created a Special Award category just for her, after reviewing the application she’d sent in for one of the three scholarships handed out by the organization to Pierson students each year. Ms. Motto congratulated Iaiela, and that was a strange feeling, she said. “She started praising me, and I got really emotional, because I’ve never really been praised before,” Iaiela said in an interview earlier this week. “I was just speechless. I couldn’t even say thank you, so Ms. Motto took the phone and said thank you for me. It might not seem like a lot of money for some people, but for me it’s an incredible amount of money.”

Participating: Robert Loesch, Glenn Paul, Ted Van Erk, Mark Poitras, and John Touhy

In an email to the Sag Harbor Lions Club members, the Scholarship Selection Committee introduced the 2020 Scholarship recipients:

Halle Brooke Kneeland— Halle’s career choice is to be a pediatric nurse or a children’s oncology nurse. In her personal essay, she stated that she “would love to work with children in a cancer treatment center…” Halle plans to attend the University of Florida.

Henry Wagner Brooks—Henry’s career choice is either business or law. In Henry’s essay, he stated that he wants “to pursue opportunities to continue…to make the Sag Harbor Community proud.” Henry plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lola Rita Lama—Lola would like to be an actor or a playwright. In her essay, Lola wrote about volunteering at East Hampton’s LVIS thrift store where she “learned so much about giving back.” Lola plans to attend NYU Tisch School of Arts.