O’Flaherty, Skinner are up for reelection

Longtime East Meadow residents Brian O'Flaherty and Walter Skinner are both running uncontested in the school board reelection race this year.

Brian O’Flaherty

Brian O’Flaherty is a lifelong East Meadow resident who graduated from East Meadow High School in 1981. He also attended Prospect Elementary and Woodland Middle School. He earned a Bachelor’s Science degree in Accounting from Hofstra University in 1985.

Through the years, O’Flaherty has served as the East Meadow Board of Education president (2008-10) and has been on the board since 2003, serving on multiple committees including Business & Finance and Facilities.

O’Flaherty currently serves as East Meadow Kiwanis Club treasurer and has been a member since 2005. He also serves as the President of the Board of Managers for the East Meadow Townhouse Condominium and has been on the board since 2007 where he has helped set policy and procedures and plan capital projects.

As a volunteer on the Financial Advisory Committee for the Board of Education from 1994 to 2003, where he served as chairman for three years, O’Flaherty studied issues facing the school districts, made recommendations to the board and helped determine what was in the best interest for students without financially affecting the East Meadow taxpayers.

He is also an East Meadow Chamber of Commerce civic member and Community Association of Stewart Avenue member.

Professionally, O’Flaherty worked for Compu-Tax, a computer software company that assists accountants in preparing computer tax returns and began his experience in commercial real estate in 1987 as a staff accountant with E.F. Hutton Commercial Real Estate Partnership Administration department. In 1990, he joined Equitable Real Estate Investment Management Company as the Assistant Director of Finance and moved over to Compass Management and Leasing in 1992. After numerous promotions, he became the vice president and general manager of 500 Park Avenue where his responsibilities include daily oversight and preparing the annual budget and financial reporting requirements for the property.

O’Flaherty currently holds a Fire Safety Director Certificate of Fitness with the New York City Fire Department and a NYS Real Estate License. He is also a member of Building Owners and Management Association (BOMA).

O’Flaherty was raised in East Meadow with his five siblings.

Walter P. Skinner

Walter P. Skinner has been a lifelong resident of the East Meadow Community. After growing up in East Meadow, he married Kim VanderBrink and they decided to live and raise their family in East Meadow. Walter and Kim are the proud parents of two boys, 16-year-old Corey and 13-year-old Kyle.

Walter opened an Allstate Insurance Agency on Front Street in East Meadow and he followed in the family footsteps, continuing the community service he started back when he was in high school when he would volunteer along with his father.             Walter is past president of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce and a member of the East Meadow Kiwanis Club, formerly serving on the Board of Directors.

He is a Fourth-Degree Knight and a member of the Pope Pius XII Council of the Knights of Columbus. He also volunteers at the local school as a member of the East Meadow Board of Education and served on the PMT committee at McVey and at Woodland Middle School.

Walter is a past den leader for Cub Pack #291 and is currently an Assistant Scout Master of Troop #291. He was also involved in PAL as a basketball coach.

He sponsors numerous activities for our youth in the community such as the East Meadow Soccer club, East Meadow Little League, PAL Lacrosse to mention a few.

Walter served in the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce working up through the chairs to president. Most recently, Walter was named the Small Business Person of the Year for the East meadow Chamber of Commerce.