|
On Thursday, June 7th,
Vera House welcomed
nearly 300 guests to a wonderful luncheon
at the Doubletree Hotel.
The agency's Annual Recognition &
Celebration Luncheon
is a special opportunity to honor the contributions
of the many community
members who generously support
our mission with their
time, energy, compassion, commitment & leadership.
Vera House Outreach & Advocacy Program Coordinator,
Melissa Bornstein, proudly presented the 2007
Sister Mary Vera Award to her friend and colleague,
Rami Badawy, Director of Judicial Affairs at
Syracuse University.
|
|
Judy Flanagan,
Owner & CEO of Data Key Communications
presented the 2007 Vera House Foundation
Scholarship
to Takara Hunter. Data Key underwrites this
generous
$20,000 scholarship which has helped fund the college
educations
of a number of worthy young women. Also pictured are
previous scholarship recipients, Kara McKinnon
& Danielle Currier.
|
|
[l-r]
Rick, Diane & Dick Clark - son,
daughter-in-law and
husband of founding Vera House Foundation Trustee
and
beloved, longtime VH supporter, Margaret “Peggy”
Clark
accepted a posthumous Special Recognition Award
in her honor.
They are joined by VH Development Director,
Margie Burstein
who was also honored at the June 7th
luncheon for her years of
dedicated service to the agency – Margie is retiring
later this summer.
|
|
Vera House Director of
Communications & Special Events,
Chris Benton with representatives of The
Post-Standard
who were honored with a Special Recognition
Award for
the paper’s outstanding, thoughtful and inspiring
coverage of
recent domestic violence tragedies in our community
throughout
the 2007 White Ribbon Campaign. Domestic violence
murder victim,
Wendy Dirk was a long-time employee of The
Post-Standard
and a treasured friend to many of her co-workers.
Pictured l-r: Chris Benton with Pam Lundborg,
Fred Fiske, Saundra Smokes, Sean
Kirst & John O’Brien.
|
|
Vera
House Victim Advocate and Assistant Coordinator of
the Syracuse Area Domestic & Sexual Violence
Coalition,
Elisa Morales joins Special Recognition
Award recipient
Hugo Acosta, Owner & Publisher of CNY Latino.
Hugo has supported the mission of Vera House by
featuring
Elisa’s monthly column in his bi-lingual publication
– information
which has facilitated the agency’s outreach to
victims
in the Spanish-speaking community.
|
|
Father Louis Aiello
and Marie Cullen of the
St. Charles Food Pantry Outreach Program
received a
Special Recognition Award in honor of their
many years
of generous support to the agency and our mission.
Joining them is Roxanne McMaster, VH
Volunteer Coordinator.
|
|
Rami graduated from Syracuse University’s Law
School in 2000. He was employed at Smith, Sovik,
Kendrick & Sugnet until joining the Onondaga
County District Attorney’s Office Special Victims
Bureau in 2001. He left the DA’s Office in 2006 to
become Director of Judicial Affairs at Syracuse
University. Rami has been an
active member of the Syracuse Area Domestic &
Sexual Violence Coalition for many years,
currently serving as Co-Chair of the Diversity
Task Force. In addition to his
work with the Coalition, Rami took a very active
role in this year’s White Ribbon Campaign. He was
a member of the White Ribbon Campaign Steering
Committee, encouraged his colleagues to
participate, and graciously accepted numerous
television and radio interviews to publicly reach
the community with a message about which he feels
very passionate. |
Rami Badawy
Director of Judicial Affairs
Syracuse University
2007
Sister Mary Vera
Recognition Award Recipient |
|
As a prosecutor at
the DA’s office working with victims of domestic
violence and sexual assault, Rami extended his
kind and caring nature by taking the time to
explain the process to victims, keep them updated
on developments and allow them to ask the
questions they needed to ease their minds during a
difficult period in their lives.
Rami’s nominator
wrote: “Rami is an example for all men of how to
positively contribute to our community. He takes
perpetrators to task daily for their insensitive
and cruel actions against women…He gives 110%
every day to those who need him the most. Rami
will tell you that he has learned from the best.
But, I contend that he is the best and others
should be learning from him.”
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
