East Alums Honored with Proclamations from County

Chris DeMairo and Leanne Ambrosio, two recent graduates from Sachem East were honored with proclamations from the Suffolk County Legislature last week.

These students have participated in tobacco prevention efforts organized by Sachem teachers Pat Broderick and Marissa Boscia in conjunction with the School Health Education Initiative administered by Eastern Suffolk BOCES and the Suffolk County Health Department.

They were further honored with the Don Mackay Scholarship.

In 2004, Eastern Suffolk BOCES and the Suffolk County Department of Health commissioned a musical comedy revue entitled, “Hey Kids! It’s Time to Butt-Out!” Performances were held throughout the 2004-2005 school year by students, ages 13 to 17, for the purpose of spreading a tobacco-free lifestyle message. While the cast rehearsed in one of the BOCES facilities, Don Mackay, who worked in the building and was a lifelong smoker, was moved to quit smoking just by observing these young people’s dedication to the message and their volunteerism, Broderick said.

“He disclosed some months later that he had quit smoking as the direct result of their hard work and had learned many things about cigarette smoking that he didn’t know before,” said Broderick.

Mackay died just a few months after that conversation as the result of a massive heart attack at the age of 43. A scholarship was created in his name that was awarded to one Butt-Out student volunteer in June 2005.