‘A quiet hero’ honored by Inwood Civic

Inwood native and current Hewlett resident, Chris McGrath, has been an active citizen his whole life, dedicating his time to making his community a better place so being named Citizen of the Year comes as no surprise to many of his colleagues and friends.

McGrath, a trial lawyer and 1976 Lawrence High School graduate, will be honored as Citizen of the Year at an Inwood Civic Association dinner on March 26 at 7 p.m. at the Inwood VFW.

When asked what it feels like to be honored, McGrath is quick to point out he is not one who enjoys the spotlight. “It’s an honor because there are so many people from that neighborhood who have done so much but there are so many people who are more deserving than me,” he said. “And the fact that I grew up there makes it that more special.”

Michael Gliner, the current president of the Inwood Civic Association, said they wanted to award someone who has done something for the community. “The organization felt this was a no-brainer because he’s always doing stuff and not asking for anything in return,” he said.

As a two-time president of the Peninsula Kiwanis, past president of the Nassau County Bar Association, current co-chair of We Care, a fund through the Bar Association that provides charitable grants to improve the quality of life for those in need in Nassau County, and on the board of Dream Christmas, a group that operates out of Our Lady of Good Council in Inwood and provides toys and clothes to children, McGrath certainly keeps himself busy in the community.

Members of Dream Christmas learned many kids in the district we’re not going to school because they didn’t have coats and weren’t going to gym class because they didn’t have underwear and were embarrassed to change in front of other kids. “We started collecting coats and underwear for the kids,” McGrath said. “We also provide school nurses with underwear so if the kids have an accident they don’t have to sit in the nurses’ office all day. They can go back to school and learn.”