Man of the Year?

Michael Cecere raises money forLeukemia and Lymphoma Society

Posted

Over the next two-plus months, Baldwin resident and business owner Michael Cecere III will try to raise as much money as possible for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Long Island Chapter.

That’s nothing new for Cecere, who got involved with the organization after a friend’s family member was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005. These days, however, Cecere has some added incentive besides helping to fund cancer research and treatment: he’s a nominee for the Long Island Chapter’s Man of the Year.

Six other dedicated men have been nominated for the award, and four women are vying to become this year’s Woman of the Year. The nominees take part in a 10-week-long fundraising competition.

“We’re all in this for the same thing — to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,” Cecere said, “but there’s a friendly little competition going on.”

He has owned the Cecere Family Funeral Home, on Grand Avenue in Baldwin, since 2004. He lives in the community with his wife, Bethany, and son James, 14. His three oldest children — Michelle, 28, Jessica, 26, and Bethany, 23 — moved out after growing up in Carle Place. The family moved to Baldwin in 2009, and Cecere quickly got involved in local organizations like the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and the Baldwin Civic Association. He attends St. Christopher’s Parish and plays guitar at a weekly Mass.

Robin Rostron, a volunteer with the LLS and a member of its leadership committee, informed Cecere about his nomination over the winter. The two had met in 2008, when Cecere and his wife raised money for the society by running a half marathon in Nashville, Tenn. Rostron was their fundraising coach.

When the leadership committee was mulling potential nominees, Rostron said that Cecere’s name instantly came to mind. “Saying he’s an upstanding citizen is really an understatement,” she said. “I’ve come across a lot of volunteers in my day, and he just really stood out to me as someone who really exemplified the mission.”

Page 1 / 2