New York, NY – After two years of Covid-induced virtual events, the New York City DOE Emerald Society returned live earlier this month with its 50th Anniversary Scholarship Dinner Dance, honoring the accomplishments of Irish men and women who have gone above and beyond serving the DOE community.
“We were supposed to celebrate our 50th Scholarship Annual Dinner Dance [on March 13, 2020],” NYC DOE Emerald Society President Donna McGuire explains. “At the time, we never saw anything like this — a pandemic closing Broadway or closing schools.”
With the traditional celebrations temporarily shelved — the DOE Emerald Society decided to move the party into virtual space.
“This was a time when we could invite people from around the world — anywhere, as long as they were willing to be in our time zone for that event,” says McGuire, one of only two female Emerald Society presidents in the U.S.
The DOE Emerald Society was founded in 1968 by Dr. Philip Boger, former statistician for the NYC Board of Education, and Dennis Mitchell, who was Custodian for the New York Board of Education. Since its inception, the Emerald Society’s mission has been to preserve Irish culture and promote the contributions of Irish people around the world, as well as recognizing the accomplishments of Irish-Americans in education — including those who promote an understanding of Irish contributions and history across the global diaspora.
Those honored at the Emerald Society’s 50th Anniversary Scholarship Dinner Dance included Kevin Moran, Chief School Operations Officer; Jonathan Daly, Principal of Eximius College Prep. Acad. D9; Lorraine O’Shea Willsea, Teacher at D75 P168X; Dennis Gault, UFT District 1 Representative; Angela O’Dowd, Principal of D27-PS62Q; Michael King, Custodian Engineer, D10 X080/843; Barbara Tremblay, Principal of 721K — and Frank Cassidy, in memoriam, Bronx Director of School Improvement.
College scholarships were also awarded to a select group of outstanding students.
