48.0°,
Light Rain Fog/Mist Merrick Chamber honors its own, volunteers
The Merrick Chamber of Commerce celebrated in style on Jan. 22 at its 80th annual Installation Dinner at Chateau Briand in Carle Place, during which the chamber’s Man and Woman of the Year were celebrated.
The chamber recognized two longtime community volunteers –– Neil Yeoman and Betty Lippai. The Merrick Herald Life, published by brothers Cliff and Stuart Richner, sponsored the awards.
Neil Yeoman
An award-winning chemical engineer, Yeoman has lived in Merrick for more than 45 years with his wife, Loretta, and has served in many volunteer positions. He has been treasurer of the Merrick Historical Society since 1975, a member of the Town of Hempstead’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee since 1988, and the South Merrick Community Civic Association’s treasurer and webmaster since 2006 and 2007, respectively.
Yeoman is also a member of the Bellmore-Merrick Community Reconstruction Committee, a project of the New York Rising Program that Governor Cuomo started in Hurricane Sandy’s wake to help New Yorkers rebuild their battered homes and businesses.
Additionally, Yeoman has volunteered as a scout and synagogue leader and with the Overlook Preserve and Sanctuary Committee, whose efforts resulted in the creation of the Town of Hempstead’s Norman J. Levy Park and Preserve in south Merrick in 1998. The group is now called the Friends of Levy Park. His volunteer efforts are, in fact, too numerous to list here.
Betty Lippai
Lippai and her husband, Andy, have called Merrick home for nearly five decades. They first came to the community from New Jersey with their then 9-month-old daughter, Leslie. Their son, Russell, followed.
Shortly after closing on their house, the Lippais said, they emptied their change drawer to pay their dues and become active members of the Merrick Gables Association, for which Betty chaired social events and attended Town of Hempstead zoning board meetings.
Later, she became active in the Chatterton Elementary School and Merrick Avenue Middle School PTAs. Daughter Leslie is now a financial editor, and Russell is a media specialist.
