Lions Club installs first woman president

The Lions Club of Valley Stream installed its first female president on July 29 at its annual installation ceremony and testimonial dinner at Mia’s Restaurant in Valley Stream.

Janet Mahabir became the first woman to hold the position since the local chapter was founded in 1948. The move came about a decade after former president Joseph Scholl opened the club’s general membership to women.

Mahabir said that she was gracious and humbled to be named president of a group that practices the same philosophy of service to others that she was raised with.

“Looking back at my past, being charitable was embedded in me as a child,” she said. “I look back, and I remember that my sisters and I were growing up in Trinidad, and at that time it was deemed a third-world country…Every summer my parents would have at least 50 kids come to the house. We didn’t know the dynamics of what was happening. My parents would have a big party with gifts and games, and we loved it. But at the end of the day, they’d get on a bus and go back home; they’d go to an orphanage. What my parents did every summer was participate in giving back to the community, and that was embedded in us.”

Mahabir said that in the three years she has been a member of the club, outgoing president Jose Pastrana guided her with tough love in teaching her how it functions.

The Lions Club works to raise money for various community organizations and services, with a focus on helping the blind, which the international organization made a priority in 1925 after Helen Keller addressed a convention in Ohio, challenging members to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.”

The stated mission of the Lions Clubs International is “to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs,” according to the organization’s website.

Several local members and one non-member were honored at the ceremony for their service to the community: Wendy Fredericks received the Knights of the Blind Award; Michelle Bage received the Robert J Uplinger Award; and Bruce Abbate and Louis Sena each received an award for 50 years of service. The Robert J. Uplinger Award was also given to Judy Miccio, parish outreach coordinator at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Valley Stream. She was honored for her work in that role, including the food pantry, which the club holds food drives for.

Village of Valley Stream Trustee Vincent Grasso presented former president Jose Pastrana with a citation from Mayor Ed Fare’s office, and Nassau County Legislator Carrie Solages presented citations to Michelle Bage and Wendy Fredericks.

Pastrana served as president for three consecutive terms since 2012. He also served as treasurer for three years and secretary for three years since joining the club in 2004.