Like mother, like daughter

Valley Stream Trustee Virginia Clavin-Higgins is the daughter of Rosanna Clavin, the village’s first female board member, whose picture hangs in Village Hall.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

Rosanna Clavin, right, a board member from 1983-91, handed out awards one year to swim team members at the village pool.

Courtesy Virginia Clavin-Higgins

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While dozens of citizens have served on the Valley Stream Board of Trustees since the village’s inception in 1925, only three women have ever been elected to the local governing body. It took more than a half-century for Valley Stream to get its first female trustee, and no two have served at the same time.

Rosanna Clavin made history in 1983 when she was elected alongside Mayor Ralph Greco and Trustee Harold Igoe. She would serve for eight years on the board, and now her daughter is making her mark in village government. Virginia Clavin-Higgins was appointed to fill a vacancy in October 2011 before winning a full four-year term the following March.

Clavin, speaking from Florida where she now spends part of the winter, said it was an honor to be elected. She said her major issue was beautification of the village, and some accomplishments included planting more trees on Rockaway Avenue, adding holiday lights and improving the playing fields. People in the suburbs, she said, want nice playgrounds and parks.

Another interest was creating more cultural arts programs for children and adults. As the mother of five children, Clavin said she brought the perspective of the average family to the board. She was also a working mother, employed for the state Department of Mental Health at the time of her election.

Clavin, now 83, moved to the village when she was a high school student at St. Francis Academy in Brooklyn. She raised her four daughters and one son in Valley Stream, and instilled in them a desire to give back to the community. Two of her children are in public service. In addition to her daughter’s role on the village board, her son, Donald, has been the Town of Hempstead receiver of taxes for more than decade.

“I think in this world, you have to give back,” Clavin said. “There’s a place for everybody in a community.”

With a strong belief in public service, Clavin said local government is a great place for one to support their community. The village board, she explained, is where people can go and be heard about the issues that affect their day-to-day lives.