Friday, October 23, 2026
Baldwin residents Mary Jo Stuparich and Kevin McShane, along with Abby and Miguel Melendez, of Baldwin Oaks, were among 24 honorees recognized at Assemblywoman Judy Griffin’s 2026 annual Community Heroes Awards ceremony last month, recognizing their dedication to public safety, youth development, cancer advocacy and community service.
Held at the Rockville Centre Public Library on Sept. 29, the ceremony celebrated residents from across Assembly District 21 whose contributions have strengthened their neighborhoods and the greater Long Island community. The honorees included first responders, veterans, educators, coaches, mentors, advocates and health professionals.
“What makes a community hero is not a title or position, but a willingness to step forward when help is needed,” Griffin said in her welcome remarks. “Their generous actions serve as a reminder to us all that each one of us can have a worthy impact which can create a ripple effect that inspires others to also act.”
The Baldwin honorees were celebrated for their work in emergency response, inclusive athletics, cancer advocacy and patient support.
Mary Jo Stuparich
Stuparich has been a Baldwin Fire Department volunteer for 22 years, and a Nassau County police medic for 15 years.
Her commitment to helping others extends beyond emergency response. In 2022, recognizing the emotional and psychological toll that difficult calls and traumatic experiences can take on first responders, Stuparich approached the fire department’s chiefs and commissioners with a proposal to establish a peer-support program. The initiative has since grown into a team of seven trained members who provide confidential support to fellow first responders, as well as professional resources when additional assistance is needed.
In 2024, Stuparich, 41, expanded the effort to include wellness education for department members. She now distributes a monthly newsletter addressing physical, mental and emotional well-being and coordinates events designed to give first responders practical tools for managing stress and maintaining their health.
Her work is rooted in personal experience and an understanding of the lasting effects that unaddressed trauma can have on those who regularly respond to emergencies. She has helped create an environment in which first responders can seek help without stigma and understand the importance of caring for their own mental health.
Kevin McShane
For more than 20 years, McShane has helped children and adults with disabilities experience the teamwork and enjoyment of playing baseball, managing the Baldwin Senior Challenger team and coaching a Senior Challenger team in the East Meadow Little League for 20 years, making inclusive sports a central part of his volunteer work.
McShane first became involved with Challenger baseball when his son, Michael, who has autism, joined a team for children with disabilities in Baldwin Little League at age 8.
“Helping children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities play sports is extremely important,” McShane said. “I have many of the same players on our team from the time I started. They come back every year and we play every week. It’s a joy to give them the chance to play ball!”
Since 2018, McShane, 77, of Freeport, has been a professor of philosophy at St. John’s University in Queens. Before entering academia, he spent more than 30 years as a creative director at several major pharmaceutical advertising agencies in New York, earning a number of industry awards.
An avid athlete, McShane has run the New York City, Boston and Long Island marathons several times. He also volunteers at the Long Island Cares food pantry in Freeport, helping residents facing food insecurity.
A father of four grown children and the grandfather of two boys, McShane lives in Freeport with his wife, Susan, and their son, Michael, now an adult.
Abby and Miguel Melendez
For the Melendezes, community advocacy grew out of personal experiences with cancer.
Longtime Baldwin Oaks residents and retired educators, the couple have both faced cancer and transformed their experiences as patients and caregivers into decades of support for others navigating the disease.
Abby, 67, a former special education teacher, is a 28-year thyroid cancer survivor. Miguel, 70, a retired school psychologist, is a 17-year prostate cancer survivor who also lost both parents to the disease.
“It’s an honor, of course,” Abby said. “We don’t do this volunteering life for the accolades, by any means. We survived, and it’s our way of giving back. It’s rewarding to know that you’re helping others.”
Having supported each other through their health challenges, the couple now help other patients and survivors find resources, guidance and a sense of community. Recognized as a “dynamic duo” within the American Cancer Society, the Melendezes have led grass-roots initiatives focused on education, patient support and fundraising.
In 2001, Abby founded ThyCa Long Island, a support group offering emotional guidance to people diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Her husband later joined her as a co-facilitator, helping patients navigate diagnosis and treatment.
After the coronavirus pandemic, the couple helped bring Relay for Life back to Baldwin, raising tens of thousands of dollars for cancer research and support programs.
Miguel has also volunteered for over a decade with the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program, offering patients free transportation to medical appointments throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties and Queens.
The couple also promote cancer awareness and health equity in the Latino community through initiatives such as ACSí Se Puede. They take part in local events and are active in the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, advocating for increased research funding and improved access to health care for underserved populations.
Their contributions have earned them recognition including the Nassau County Heart and Soul Award, in 2018, and the St. George National Award, the American Cancer Society’s highest honor for community volunteers, also in 2018.
“We were really, really honored,” Miguel said.
