Thursday, October 1, 2026
The East Rockaway Kiwanis Club has spent 75 years serving children and families, and now its decades of community involvement have a permanent marker in the village.
Club members and village officials gathered Aug. 25 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating a new 75th-anniversary sign next to McNulty Park, on Ocean Avenue. For members, the sign represents not only the club’s history, but its hope to remain a visible part of East Rockaway for generations to come.
“It’s recognition,” longtime member Danny Gilloon said. “People come into the village and see it, know we’re there, have a long history and are still going.”
Gilloon, an East Rockaway resident, joined the club in 2006 after completing his term as chief of the village Fire Department. His mother, Ethel Gilloon, a two-time Kiwanis lieutenant governor who remains active in the organization at age 88, first encouraged him to attend a meeting.
Gilloon went on to serve for four years as vice president and four years as president of the club. On Oct. 1 he will begin serving as lieutenant governor of the Kiwanis’s Long Island Southwest Division, which includes nine clubs.
His connection to community service extends beyond Kiwanis. Gilloon is marking his 50th year as a volunteer firefighter, and has served as an advanced life support medic and an EMT as well.
For Gilloon, reaching the 75-year milestone demonstrates the club’s ability to endure and adapt. “It shows we have a lot of history, and we’re resilient,” he said. “We’ve had highs and lows. We can always use more members, and we’re always recruiting.”
The East Rockaway club supports scholarships, school-supply and food drives, local food pantries and Camp Kiwanis, a summer camp that serves children, including those with special needs, among other causes. Members have also volunteered at Ronald McDonald House, which provides lodging and support for families while their children receive medical care, preparing meals and baked goods for those staying there.
The anniversary sign, Gilloon said, could help introduce another generation of residents to the organization.
“We’re a service organization to help the children, and it’s nice to have that recognition within the village,” he said. “Everyone has different strengths, and we can use that to do different projects, make the club stronger and get more fundraising to help the children better.”
Michaelene Abbott-Cooper, a past lieutenant governor of the division who was unable to attend the ribbon cutting, has been a member of the East Rockaway club for 15 years and previously served as its president.
“It was an honor and a privilege to lead the Long Island Southwest Division for one year as lieutenant governor in 2024-25,” Abbott-Cooper wrote in a text. “I am proud to serve the club in its 75th anniversary year, and I look forward to the club’s growth in the future.”
Past president and current club Treasurer John Chen said that seeing the sign installed was particularly meaningful because of the work members have done locally.
“I personally felt honored to have the sign up in our hometown,” Chen said. “We do a lot for the children in our town and the community, and when I pass the sign, it’s like a constant reminder that it was all worth it.”
He added that he hoped the sign would encourage residents to learn more about the organization. “I feel that being a Kiwanian is a worthy cause,” he said, “and I hope more people can see the difference it is making and hopefully join us in our future endeavors.”
As the club looks beyond its 75th anniversary, Gilloon said he hoped its traditions — including scholarships and programs benefiting local children — would continue while members find new projects and welcome more people into the organization.
“We need younger minds to help out,” Gilloon said. “I’d like to see us take on new projects, get more members and have a bigger awareness in the community.”
