What a Saturday!! What a Community!!

A parade…a concert…a community honoring and celebrating our heroes and our students.  It’s gonna be a good day!

Will you be honoring on Saturday?  The boys and I will be set up on Croton Avenue before 3:00 to ensure we see Ossining’s Volunteer Fire Department leading the parade.  Paxton and Levon are excited to see their babysitter Dan Farrell march with Ossining’s Junior Fire Fighters.  Volunteer fire departments hold a special place of admiration in our family.  Eric’s beloved Aunt Jackie served as her department’s first female Deputy Fire Chief in Old Saybrook, CT where she continues to be active today.  Perhaps someday my boys will be inspired to serve in Ossining’s Fire Department.

Immediately after the parade, we’ll race back up the hill to our house so I can get dressed for the Ossining MATTERS benefit concert and reception.  Have you purchased your ticket yet to see Derrick N. Ashong and Soulfège perform at the OHS auditorium?  Tickets are only $15 for students/seniors/OUFSD teachers & staff, $35 for adults, and $125 for the concert plus the after-show reception and auction at Atria. 

You don’t have to wait until Saturday to start bidding on silent auction items.  Heck you don’t even have to attend the concert or reception on Saturday to win one of the hundreds of auction items.  I placed my first couple of bids online yesterday. 

Amy Seiden is the current president of Ossining MATTERS.  Last weekend she and her husband Mark were honored with the Ambassador Award at a brunch benefitting the Ossining Town Democratic Committee.  The piece below is something I wrote that was included in the event program about the Seidens’ contributions to Ossining.  There are as many great reasons to love Ossining as there are ways to dedicate your time and service to making our community stronger.  I’m looking forward to Saturday’s inspiring demonstration of Ossining’s Volunteer Spirit.  I hope to see you there!

Mark and Amy often speak with prospective homebuyers about their experience living, working, and raising a family in Ossining.  The choice to live here is also a topic of conversation with their children Lindsay, Rachel and Ben.  The Seidens are especially grateful for the rich diversity that Ossining provides their family.

Amy has served on the Ossining MATTERS’ board for five years.  This is her second year as president.  The 2011-2012 school year has been Ossining MATTERS’ biggest as the foundation awarded over 25 grants.  For years Amy served on PTA boards.  She is most proud of her work with the After School Clubhouse at Brookside, which offers a wide-range of enriching programs at a very affordable price.  Amy is heartened by the increasing participation of parents with young children that are actively supporting the Ossining School District today.

Mark established his Mark Seiden Real Estate Team in the Village of Ossining in 2003.  Business grew so well, he expanded to a larger space on Pleasantville Road.  Last year Mark’s office became the first business in Briarcliff to go solar.  Mark is also a Paul Harris Fellow with the Briarcliff Manor Rotary and a member of the Ossining Public Library Foundation Board, and the Briarcliff Manor and Greater Ossining Chambers of Commerce.  Together Mark and Amy support many local organizations including the Ossining Children’s Center and the Ossining Food Pantry.

Amy believes there is, “no greater gift you can give your kids than to help them be well rounded, self-confident and happy.”  Ossining’s diversity is integral to fostering these traits.  Mark points out that from a pragmatic business standpoint, “With technology, you can’t be on your own island.”  Mark and Amy, proudly and with enthusiasm, chose Ossining to live and raise their family and they never looked back!