IT'S SPRINGTIME AT MAMMA LOMBARDI'S

Our CEO, Bill Leonardi

The official date for Springtime is not the usual March date being that it is too cold and windy. It is not a calendar date that we all recognize. The official date for spring is when the annual Staff Appreciation Day occurs. This is a date dedicated to staff who have milestone anniversaries ranging from 5 years to 35 years of continuous service dedicated to AHRC Suffolk, the place where I spend time and love doing so.

Working for the agency won't get you riches, nor will you see fame as much as you will get love, and lots of it. The agency is not-for-profit and serves people with disabilities both physical and mentally. It is these wonderful people who our staff is so dedicated to, who do so much to make lives that are challenged better.

Every year we hold a winter Polar Splash, a family bar-b-que, and a Candlelight Ball, a golf tournament or two and various other fund raising events. These are all focused on raising money for the agency, and there are parties and dances for the participants of our many programs, all eagerly attended by our participants. One dance is the annual Holiday or Christmas dance, that I play the role of Santa Clause. Although taxing, it is a great time for me.

But the one event, the day that makes Spring ‘official' is our annual Staff Appreciation Day!" It seems so sunny and bright in Mamma Lombardi's dining room with the glass windows and ceilings, white tablecloths and chair covers and the buffet that lines its outer walls.

But that is not what makes it spring, it is the smiling happy faces of the various staff members who will be recognized for their continuous service with a voucher for a day off and a gift selected from a catalog that coincides with the amount of continuous service.

Perhaps the most important asset the agency has is not the buildings or equipment, the fleet of vans or furnishing, but these wonderful dedicated servants that do the work of God. It makes me happy to just share in their joy, and like I said, it is the beginning of spring for me.