Chamber honors Maria Burns;
Grand Island Moose Lodge

Grand Island Dispatch, March 24, 2006

Grand Island Moose Lodge and Family Center No. 180 will receive the Organization of the Year Award. Some members of Moose Lodge No. 180 join the board of directors. Shown in the front row, from left, at a recent fund-raising event are: Joe Foresta, administrator; Mike DiVita, trustee; Rick Halas, governor; Dennis Lesika, treasurer; Kevin Lipp, trustee; Don Hoover, trustee; and Steve Jones, past governor.

The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce has announced that Maria C. Burns will receive the Civic Award and the Grand Island Moose Lodge and Family Center No. 180 will receive the Organization of the Year Award at the 40th annual Citizen of the Year Banquet.

This year’s event will be held at the Holiday Inn Grand Island Resort and Conference Center on Thursday, April 27, at 6 p.m. Channel 2 News Anchor Erika Brason will return as Master of Ceremonies.

Maria C. Burns has been chief clerk of the court for the Town of Grand Island for the past six years and a court clerk for 19 years. She serves as court clerk for town justices Sybil E. Kennedy and Mark J. Frentzel. Burns also worked for retired town justices Francis B. Pritchard, Eric L. Reimann and Randall D. White.

She is a member of the New York State Magistrates Court Clerks Association. She also is vice president of the Erie County Court Clerks Association, and has served as its director.

Currently, Burns is president of Zonta Club of Grand Island, an international women’s organization that awards scholarships to Grand Island High School senior girls.

Chief Court Clerk Maria C. Burns will receive the Civic Award at the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce 40th annual Citizen of the Year Banquet.

Active in Fund-raising

Burns previously served a term as a Zonta director and has also served as chairman and organizer for a number of Zonta fund-raisers. In addition she has worked on the committee for the Zonta District fund-raiser, whose proceeds benefit Roswell Park Memorial Cancer Institute.

Burns serves as marriage officer for the Town of Grand Island. She is also responsible for creating the Judge’s Wall in the Upper Lobby of Town Hall.

A member of St. Stephen’s Church, she is married to Bruce Burns, and has a son, Bruce. Her hobbies include knitting, crocheting, embroidery and arts and crafts.

Moose Lodge Honored

Grand Island Moose Lodge and Family Center No. 180 is committed to helping those less fortunate. The lodge’s generosity and dedication to the community is overwhelming, with more than $10,000 being raised last year and donated to local charities.

The Grand Island chapter opened in the basement of Mallwitz’s Island Lanes. Currently, it is located in a newly renovated building at 2524 Grand Island Blvd.

The membership holds many fund-raising events each year including spaghetti dinners, chili cook-offs, corn beef and cabbage dinners and raffles.

Some organizations that have benefited from their fund-raising efforts include: the Niagara Cerebral Palsy Association, Grand Island High School Band, Chamber of Commerce Youth Ambassador Program, Special Olympics of WNY, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, Mercy Flight, the Grand Island Fire Company, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Grand Island Little League, Disabled American Veterans, the Erie County Sheriff’s Police Benevolent Association. the Niagara Falls Food Kitchen and the U.S. Air Force Unit.

Moose Scholarships

In addition, the group funds two scholarships each year in memory of Laverne “Bunny” Luther and hosts a Thanksgiving dinner at the Islandview Apartments senior living facility. The Moose also held a welcome home party for U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. James Balcom and Staff Sgt. Patrick Buell when they returned to Grand Island after serving in Iraq.

Moose International is a fraternal and service organization of 1.5 million men and women in four nations, dedicated to bettering the lives of children and elderly in need, to helping communities on both the national and local level and to providing family recreation at a modest cost.

Mooseheart and Moosehaven

On of these is Mooseheart, a child city and educational center as well as a complete community for young people in need. It is situated on 1,000 acres of prime Illinois farmland in the Fox River Valley, about 38 miles west of Chicago. Mooseheart contains its own homes, schools, a cathedral, farm, health center, stores, post office and utilities.

After the 1913 founding of Mooseheart, the fraternity turned its attention to plans for a home for its dependent retired members. Moosehaven is a 65-acre community founded by the Moose organization for its members and their spouses. It is located on the banks of the St. John’s River in Orange Park, Fla., 15 miles south of Jacksonville.

Other Chamber Honorees

Other Citizen of the Year honorees to be recognized this year are Niagara Frontier Publications, as Business of the Year; Carol Volk, Business Person of the Year; Jayne Playfair, Service to Youth; Rebecca Cacciatore, Education; and Dr. James Dempsey, Special Lifetime Achievement.

The public is invited to join the Chamber in honoring these businesses and individuals. To purchase dinner tickets, call the Chamber office at 773-3651.