By Hector Flores
Brian O¹Flaherty
Brian O¹Flaherty, a lifelong East Meadow resident, attended Prospect Avenue Elementary, Woodland Junior High School and graduated from East Meadow High School in 1981. He comes from a family of six brothers and sisters, where five graduated from East Meadow High School and one brother graduated from Clarke High School.
O¹Flaherty earned his bachelor of science degree in accounting from Hofstra University. Aside from his board of education duties, he serves as a liaison to the PTA Council and serves as vice president on the Board of Managers for the East Meadow Townhouse Condominium. ³We self-manage the community in which we live,² he said. ³We are involved in setting policy, procedures, planning capital projects and the everyday maintenance of the complex.²
Before joining the board, O¹Flaherty was a nine-year volunteer for the board of education¹s Financial Advisory Committee. He was chairman of the committee during his last three years of service.
³This committee was made up of a diverse group of East Meadow residents, consisting of educators, retired citizens, CPAs, entrepreneurs and business people,² he said. ³We would study issues facing the school district and would make recommendations to the board of education. The most important role the committee played was to look at the problems facing the school district and look for the best solutions for the students without causing a financial burden on the East Meadow taxpayer.²
O¹Flaherty also notes that he is an active member of the East Meadow Kiwanis, the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce and the Community Association of Stewart Avenue.
Professional experience
In 1987, O¹Flaherty began his real estate experience as a staff accountant with E.F. Hutton Commercial Real Estate Partnership Administration department. He left E.F. Hutton after it merged with Shearson Lehman and joined Pannell Kerr Forster in the real estate audit group. In 1990, he joined Equitable Real Estate Investment Management as the assistant director of finance and moved over to Compass Management and Leasing, a subsidiary of Equitable Real Estate. In 1992, he was the property controller for the Equitable Center, in Manhattan, which consisted of two buildings, one on 787 Seventh Avenue and the other on 1285 Avenue of the Americas that totaled over 3.1 million square feet.
In 1999, O¹Flaherty was promoted to the assistant general manager¹s position at 1285 Avenue of the Americas and in 2004, he was named general manager of 500 Park Avenue.
³I am currently the vice president and general manager of 500 Park Avenue, a 206,000 square foot property located on Park Avenue and 59th Street,² he said. ³My responsibility includes the oversight of the day-to-day operations of the building, dealing with contractors, the preparation of the annual budget, and the financial reporting requirements of the property.²
Reason for running
Although O¹Flaherty is running unopposed, he is eager to continue to tackle the issues facing the district, whether it be meeting the academic needs of the students or the concerns of local tax payers.
³It has been a pleasure and privilege to serve on the East Meadow Board of Education,² he said. ³One of the reasons I ran for the board of education was to work with the administration and successfully achieve academic excellence. In the three years that I have served as trustee, the district has been meeting these goals. All the recent successful achievements in athletics, music and academics are the result of a great team of players in the district: teachers, assistant principals, principals and administrators.²
Walter Skinner
Walter Skinner has been a resident of East Meadow for the last 40 years. He and his wife, Kim, are proud parents of two boys, Corey, 11, and Kyle, 8.
Skinner, who considers himself very family oriented, lives across the street from his parents, Walter and Patricia. Skinner has 5 brothers and sisters, but only two continue to call East Meadow their home. A product of East Meadow School District, Skinner attended Newbridge Road, McClearly and Nassau Community College.
In 1985, he worked as a New York city corrections officer for one year, but after a work related injury, he worked as chef for 15 years.
It wasn¹t until 1997, that Skinner took a stab at insurance by working for John Hancock and then National Financial. In 2001, Skinner opened his own Allstate Insurance Agency in East Meadow.
Throughout the years, Skinner has become increasingly involved in the East Meadow community. He is the current president of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce, and past board member of the East Meadow Kiwanis Club. In addition, Skinner is a Fourth Degree Knight and member of the Pope Pius XII Council of the Knights of Columbus. He also volunteers at the local schools as a member of the PTA at McVey Elementary and Woodland Middle School.
In addition, he has served on the board of education¹s planning management team committee at McVey and currently sits on the committee at Woodland Middle School as a community business member liaison. Walter is a past Cub Scout den leader and is currently an assistant scout master for troop number 291.
He is involved with the East Meadow Police Athletic League, serving as a basketball coach and is one of the major sponsors of the Lacrosse Camp held by PAL every June at the East Meadow High School. He is also a sponsor of the East Meadow Soccer Club, East Meadow Little League and PAL Lacrosse.
Reason for running
Skinner said that part of his community involvement stems from his need to give back to his community. ³Ten years ago I joined my first organization [the Knight of Columbus] just so I could give back to the community I live in, work in and grew up in,² he said. ³This is my first time running for the school board, and being a member of the community I feel that I can communicate our concerns with the school district and the community. There has been some communication missing, and it needs to be addressed.
Skinner is confident that his community involvement gives him access to the concerns of local residents. ³I have more access than most board members,² he said. ³They have jobs, but my job is the community. I get first hand knowledge that can help me when it comes to making important decisions.²
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
