East Meadow resident wins prestigious award

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The New York State School Boards Association awarded two school board members with the Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service on Aug. 5. One of the recipients is East Meadow resident and Nassau BOCES board member Deborah Coates. Coates has been an advocate for public education and community service in East Meadow for over 30 years, and has won numerous awards for demonstrating exceptional leadership qualities and work ethic.

According to the NYSSBA website, the Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service is “the highest honor NYSSBA annually bestows upon a single school board member.” School boards in each district throughout the state have the opportunity to nominate a board member to be considered for this award. The website also states the award is “presented annually to a current or former school board member, who, in the judgment of the NYSSBA Awards Committee, should be recognized for outstanding contributions to public education and children in his or her own school district.”

“I raised four sons, so I thought it was important as a mom to be a part of their education,” Coates said in regard to her career with the school district.

Coates began her career in the East Meadow School District in 1980 as a member of the Meadowbrook School Parent Teacher Association and served as president from 1995 to 1997, before moving on in 2002. She was also a member of the East Meadow PTA Council from 1987 to 2002 as well as council president from 1999 to 2001.

In 2002, Coates was elected to the East Meadow Board of Education where she served from 2002 to 2008. As a board member, she served as the chairperson for the Education Committee, the liaison to the PTA Council, vice president, and for the last two years of her tenure, as president.

Coates has also been an active member of the Reform Education Financial Inequities Today executive board since 2003, where she advocates locally and in Albany to secure fair shares of New York State Aid to Long Island schools. She also served as president of R.E.F.I.T. from 2010 to 2013.

In 2008, Coates was elected as a trustee to the Nassau BOCES Board of Education where she serves on the Policy and Budget Advisory Committees, is a board liaison to the Nassau BOCES Educational Foundation and serves as the District Clerk.

In 2009 she was invited to serve as a member on the Nassau-Suffolk School Board Association where she currently serves as secretary/treasurer on the Executive Committee and is a member of the Legislative and Nominating Committees.

Al Marlin, communications manager for NYSSBA said Coates, “definitely met the criteria and beyond for what the award is about.”

Coates was also a former member and chairperson of the Nassau County Jail Advisory Committee for about 20 years where she helped promote education for the incarcerated. She has been a member of the East Meadow Kiwanis Club for over 10 years, where she co-chairs the groups two largest annual fundraisers and sits on the Executive Board. Coates is also an active member of the Community Association of Stewart Avenue and the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce.

This award is not the first time Coates has been recognized for her commitment to the community. In 2014, Coates received the NYSSBA Board of Mastery Award. Last year, she received the Town of Hempstead Pathfinder Award in the volunteer category for her service in East Meadow, and was recognized twice as a Woman of Distinction by Senator Kemp Hannon and Assemblyman Tom McKevitt.

Coates said in a phone interview her passion for community service stems from her mother, who was always volunteering in their church and community. “I like giving back,” she remarked, “it’s in my blood.”

“There is not a better person that I know that is more committed and dedicated than she is,” said Alan Beinhacker, former president and member of the East Meadow Kiwanis Club.

“To think I was chosen out of the hundreds of worthy, some maybe much more worthy than me to be given this honor is not only a pleasure, but a humble experience,” Coates stated. Coates has been married for 43 years, has four sons and four grandchildren.

As for the future, Coates plans on keeping the fight going for fair equity and education. Coates and the other award recipient will be honored by NYSSBA President Susan Bergtraum during NYSSBA’s 2016 Annual Convention October 27-29 in Buffalo.