05/31/2026
Message from the Mayor:
On Saturday May 30th I was joined by representatives from the town, county and state level in recognizing the efforts of 5 amazing young individuals by awarding them the 1st ever Village of Phoenix Youth Service Awards.
I was joined by Town of Schroeppel Supervisor JoAnn Nazarian, Oswego County Legislator Mary Ellen Chesbro, New York State Senator Chris Ryan and Brittney Jarred representing New York State Assemblyman Will Barclay. Also, as a special guest speaker, we welcomed ED23 Founder and basketball player Eric Devendorf.
The idea of the Village presenting these awards was born out of admiration and respect for a longtime community leader and mentor, Cathy Lee. To her, nothing was more important than letting all of her kids know how proud she was of them. The process and presentation of these awards was done hand in hand with the Bridge House Brats program.
To be eligible for one of these awards, the following criteria must have been met:
• Must be a high school junior or senior enrolled in the Phoenix School District or heavily involved in Village of Phoenix programs and volunteerism.
• The acts of volunteer service must have been unpaid.
• Must have 500+ hours to be eligible for the Silver Award or 1,000+ hours to be eligible for the Gold Award.
• Must have completed eligible service within a five-year period from 8th through 12th grade.
We recognized Elizabeth Bullis and Amelia Barrow at the Silver Level.
We recognized Ethan Ross, Aubrey Harris, and James Piazza at the Gold Level.
All of these young adults should be proud for going above and beyond in their daily lives to help make our community a better place.
I greatly appreciate everyone who helped make this event come to fruition. First and foremost, thank you to the elected officials from the town, county, and state levels who took time out of their evening to join us.
Thank you to the entire Village of Phoenix Board of Trustees and administration for their support and assistance. Thank you as well to Mr. Eric Devendorf. Eric’s ED23 Foundation is centered around helping youth grow and achieve their goals.
I would also like to thank Michael Lattimore Jr. of Jake’s Grub and Grog for the great food, and his personal donation to the event. As always, we have a great relationship with Phoenix Enterprise Fire Company #1 and I thank them for the use of their facilities. Last but certainly not least, thank you to the Bridge House Brats organization and its president, Ashley Gabriele. Without her assistance and support, none of the evening would have been possible.
Once again, congratulations to the five of you for all you have done and continue to do. Hold you head up high and be proud. I have no doubt we will be hearing great things about you in the future.
Finally, I would like to leave you with a quote that I shared in the event. “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." - Mother Teresa
If you wish to view the playback of the event you can do so by navigating to the Bridge House Brats page.
