Another neighbor, Helen Meittinis, the president of the community association, was surprised to learn recently that Rosenking is an Eagle Scout, a distinction he earned in 1977. “He has many, many skills,” said Meittinis, who has known Rosenking for 17 years. “There aren’t very many made like him.”

Jeffrey and his wife of 19 years, Carol, have raised two daughters, Jacqueline, 18, and Taylor, 16. “While it’s true that one person can’t change the whole world, or even their whole community,” he said, “they can make a difference all by themselves. That’s what I try to do, and have focused on teaching my children. Find something you believe in, feel passionate about and can help others, then do it.”

Thanks to Rosenking, the “campsites” that are the East Meadow and Salisbury communities are much, much better places. An unsung hero no longer, Rosenking is the Herald’s 2013 Person of the Year.

He is a graduate of Division Avenue High School in Levittown, where he grew up. He earned an undergraduate degree at the State University of Stony Brook in 1983, and a master’s at the New York Institute of Technology in 1987.

He obtained a pilot’s license in 1990, and a year later he joined the Civil Air Patrol, an arm of the U.S. Air Force. There he has aided search-and-rescue missions in tracking lost ships at sea and Silver Alerts for missing persons. After Hurricane Sandy he was part of a team that flew over affected areas, taking photos of the erosion and escorting government officials to survey the damage.

For the past three years, Rosenking has volunteered for Honor Flight Long Island, an organization that sends World War II veterans to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., free of charge. He escorts the veterans on the trip, assisting and caring for them throughout the day.

Armand Tarantelli, a World War II veteran who took the Honor Flight trip a few years ago, also happened to teach Rosenking at Division Avenue. He reunited with his former student at MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma the morning of his trip. “Lo and behold, [Jeff] was down at the airport in uniform,” said Tarantelli, 87, a former industrial arts teacher. “He recognized me and I recognized him.”

Whenever he sees a veteran in public, Rosenking will give him an Honor Flight brochure. “If we had more Jeff Rosenkings in the community,” Tarantelli said, “we’d be flying high in Nassau County.”

For Rosenking, family comes first. His wife and daughters also volunteer with Honor Flight, and Jacqueline took part in a recent flight with Jeff. “He teaches his girls to get involved and give back,” Perlish said. “And that’s so important today.”

The Rosenkings’ youngest daughter, Taylor, was diagnosed with type 1 juvenile diabetes when she was 5. Since then, the family has raised more than $32,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. “We look at it as a way to make lemonade out of lemons,” Rosenking said. “Taking a bad situation and turning it into a good thing.”

When he’s not working or volunteering, Rosenking is an avid cyclist, and in recent years he began running as well. He has ridden in the Five Boro Bike Tour in New York City five times, and served as a riding marshal in the event for the past five years. In 2010, the same year he became a school board trustee, he took part in the annual Run with the Rams 5K race at W.T. Clarke High School for the first time. Since it was his first race, he told fellow Trustee Brian O’Flaherty that he was going to walk it. “I said, ‘You’re a board member, you’re not walking the 5K. You’re running it,’” said O’Flaherty (who was the Herald’s Person of the Year in 2011). “And sure enough, he ran it. He did it under a half hour, too. He runs more than I do now.”

Rosenking has run a number of races since then, including the Queens Half Marathon in 2012, and he is a member of the N.Y. Road Runners Club’s 9 +1 program, which qualifies him for entry in next year’s New York City Marathon.

Carol Rosenking is active in the East Meadow School District’s PTA. She's a past president for Meadowbrook's PTA, and was treasurer for SEPTA. “They’re definitely a power couple,” said O’Flaherty.

In Salisbury, Rosenking is known as “Father Chrisanukkah,” because he sets up the giant Christmas tree and menorah for the community’s annual holiday lighting. “He’s found a good work-life balance, and family and community,” said Perlish. “He seems to be juggling a lot of things and really making them work.”

“His heart is bigger than his bow tie,” joked Meittinis (who was Person of the Year in 2010). “He’s one of those special inventions in life.”

While we agree that the community would be a better place if there were more Jeff Rosenkings around, we’re happy there’s at least one.