Tony Brunetta to be honored at May 1 fundraiser

Friends of Senior Services (FOSSI) has scheduled its annual Monte Carlo Night for May 1 and Rockville Centre Superintendent of Parks and Recreation will be honored as its Man of the Year.

Monte Carlo Night is FOSSI’s annual community fundraiser, an evening that draws participants for an evening of food, an open bar and gambling for prizes as the Sandel center is transformed into a glittering casino. Tickets are $50, and are currently available by calling (516) 678-9350. This year, holders of tickets purchased by April 23 will receive an additional $100 in play money at the door.

Each year FOSSI honors a senior member of the community whose activities demonstrate a commitment to Rockville Centre. This year’s honoree is Tony Brunetta — “Mr. B” — who is well known to residents of all ages. FOSSI sponsors this community fundraiser to support the enriching programs it offers to Rockville Centre’s senior citizens that are beyond village resources. In 2009, FOSSI provided a generous grant to enable the village to utilize federal Community Development funds to upgrade and modernize the center’s restroom facilities and add handicapped-accessible features.

FOSSI has sponsorship opportunities available. Sponsors receive prominent mention and their names will be displayed on the village marquis at the railroad station and in a newspaper advertisement following the event. Information is available at (516) 678-9350.

Brunetta is a lifelong Rockville Centre resident who attended St. Agnes Cathedral Elementary School and South Side High School. After serving in Nuremberg during the Korean conflict, Brunetta returned home and went to work in the family contracting business. Shortly thereafter, he married Ethel Smith of East Rockaway and together they raised four sons — Tony, Frank, Joseph and Tommy.

In the mid-50s, while still working full-time in construction, he took a part-time job with the village’s Recreation Department. He discovered he loved working with children so much that he became a full-time staff member in 1973.

Mr. B has been honored by numerous organizations, including the RVC Guild for the Arts, the RVC Education Foundation, Boy Scouts and Teen Challenge. The Herald named him Person of the Year. And he has been recognized by groups as diverse as the Catholic Youth Organization, the South Shore section of the National Council of Jewish Women, the Hispanic Brotherhood and the Dr. Martin Luther King Center. The honor that perhaps he is proudest of is The Anthony T. Brunetta Pavilion, the newest addition to the Recreation Center that is named after the man who served it so long and so happily.