Ilene Dixel
Dixel has been with the Merrick Herald five years. Before this, she was a merchandising representative for Liz Claiborne Inc. Dixel has lived in North Merrick for five years. She was born and raised in Carnarsie, Brooklyn, and lived there until moving here with her two daughters.
Dixel is most known for her volunteer work with the Merrick Kiwanis Club and as community adviser to the Calhoun Key Club, the state's largest Key Club. She was recently elected as the Merrick Kiwanis Club's first female president in its more than 50-year history.
Dixel is also active in the Merrick Chamber of Commerce, volunteering for the chamber's Fall Fest and Kids Fest, among numerous other events. She is also a member of the Bellmore and East Meadow chambers.
Dixel graduated South Shore High School in Brooklyn and attended Kingborough Community College.
She thanked the Merrick Chamber of Commerce and Merrick Life for honoring her with its Woman of the Year distinction. She also thanked Herald Community Newspaper Publishers Cliff and Stuart Richner and advertising Vice President Rhonda Glickman for all of their support of her charitable activities.
Bernie Stein
Stein, a retired Mepham High School social-studies teacher, is a trained social worker with a private practice. In the wake of Sept. 11, he helped organize and administer the Bellmore-Merrick Community Caring to aid the families of terrorism victims. He also served as team leader for Project Liberty, which provided counseling for Sept. 11 victims.
At Mepham, Stein helped start the school's Peer Leadership program, train and supervise peer mediators, and organize and advise the district's first Gay-Straight Alliance.
Stein is a volunteer for Child Abuse Prevention Services who presents workshops on child abuse and date rape awareness to students and parents throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Stein is now vice president of the Community Wellness Council. In this role, he has played a big part in creation of the Youth Sports Consortium and the Alcohol Awareness Committee.
He is a past president of the Merrick Kiwanis Club, and like Dixel, has devoted hundreds of hours to the club's charitable activities.
