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“The Macy” Briarcliff’s Hidden Gem

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While Savannah, Georgia might be where the Girl Scouts were founded by Juliette Gordon Low, the Edith Macy Conference Center in Briarcliff is considered by many to be the organization’s secondary birthplace. “The Macy,” owned by Girl Scouts of the USA, is a facility filled with a rich past that has evolved into a sought-after conference center attended by people from all over the world.

“You’re moved by the history” walking the 400 acre campus, according to Dorothy Forcina, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer of Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson.  Yet few even know it exists.

University in the Woods

The Macy is named for Edith Carpenter Macy, chair of the Girl Scout National Board of Directors from 1919 to 1925.  Her husband, V. Everit Macy, purchased and donated land adjacent to an existing Girl Scout camp to build a training headquarters in her memory, said Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society President Karen Smith. Since that time, the property known early on as the “university in the woods” was expanded in 1962 with construction of Camp Edith Macy featuring the Great Hall, and in 1982 a modern building of wood, stone and glass officially opened as the Conference Center. Four years later, the Creedon Education Center, containing meeting spaces and a living area, was added to the complex, which now houses more than 10,000 square feet of meeting space and 52 guest rooms.

“[Edith Macy] was very active in the Girl Scouts movement,” Smith said, “and the international aspect of Girl Scouting.  The Great Hall looks like the United Nations inside, with different flags.”  Indeed, in 1926, the site hosted the Fourth International Conference on Scouting, the first international Girl Scouting event held on American soil, attended by 56 delegates from 31 countries, according to Girl Scouts USA officials.

There haven’t been many changes to the campus since, but it has remained a consistent draw to corporations and organizations – not just Girl Scouts – for meetings, retreats and events, according to Sherri Hoy, Director of Sales and Conference Planning. The appeal – and credibility – of the Macy is that it is an International Association of Conference Centers (IACC) certified conference center in a retreat setting, she added, awarded the IACC Gold Level of Sustainability in 2009 per its website.

“To have IACC certification on 400 acres of wooded property is a huge draw to Girl Scout training and retreats,” Hoy said, adding that it is an invaluable resource for Scouts locally and around the country. Hudson Valley Girl Scouts are fortunate to have the Macy so close, Forcina added, noting the hundreds of girls who visit each year. Girl Scouts and organization leaders gain invaluable experience, bird watching, letterboxing, geocaching, and exploring the ponds, getting in touch with nature.

Harnessing the Past, Embracing the Future

The welcoming center fulfills Edith Macy’s dream of an instructional facility staffed and equipped to offer high quality training and guidance for Girl Scout leaders, according to Bernice Johnson, Vice President of Procurement, Vendor Management and Properties at Girl Scouts USA.

“Being in the space, surrounded by history yet poised to impact the future, I thought to myself Girl Scouts really do ‘make the world a better place,’” Johnson added, quoting a basic tenet of the organization.

The Macy campus is run by Benchmark Resorts and Hotels, a hospitality management company based in Texas. Several longtime employees have been critical to the center’s operations; Peter Stafford has been the Director of Operations since it opened in 1982, and Hoy has been with the center for 21 years.

“I love what I do, love the property, the people that I work with, my customers,” Hoy said. “I think the longevity of the employees says a lot for the property itself. They put their heart into the work that they do and they deliver the customer service that shows how much they care about the property and our guests,” she added.

Yet still many local residents remain unaware of the gem in their backyards.  Briarcliff resident and Chamber of Commerce President Mike Milano called the Macy a “hidden secret,” only learning of it when picking up a friend after he had lived in Briarcliff for several years.

“I had no idea it even existed,” Milano said. “When you think of conference centers in this area, they’re upright buildings, not tucked away in the woods. It’s obviously unique in that fashion. It’s got more character.”

Similarly, Briarcliff Village Manager Philip Zegarelli likened the Macy to a cabin in the mountains. He’s attended the conference center several times and always looks forward to it. “It’s just one of those little gems that takes you back to a different era,” he said.

Comic Relief Plus Support for Planned Parenthood of Hudson Peconic

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Comedy Night Event Chair Susan Chatzky during her keynote talk which also featured clips from the work of her grandmother, comedian Jean Carroll

Story and Photos by Grace Bennett

An all evening January fundraiser featured a line up of wonderful women comedians and a male emcee who took no prisoners during a time when unique Planned Parenthood faces dire challenges. Headlined “Dirty Mouths Dirty Martinis Comedy Night,” the packed event in Irvington raised much needed funds for Planned Parenthood of Hudson Peconic, and was chaired by Susan Chatzky of Briarcliff Manor. I caught up with Chatzky post-even to ask her about the eve’s purpose and goals:

1. Why a Comedy Night as a theme during a time when Planned Parenthood is under attack?

SUSAN: I love stand-up comedy. It’s probably in my blood. My grandmother was a comedienne and my grandfather was Dean of The Friars Club in NYC. To me, it’s the most honest art form. I wanted to start a tradition of comedy fundraisers for Planned Parenthood. Last year we hosted a reading of The Vagina Monologues and people loved it. This year I waited until the anniversary of my Grandmother’s birth (and death 1/7/1911-1/1/2010) and had a stand up night in her honor. We’re going to make it an annual event…People who support Planned Parenthood already know what we do and the challenges we’re facing. I just want to show them a good time in exchange for their support.

2. Tell us more about why you opened the evening featuring your grandmother. Not hard to see why; I thought she was awesome, but do tell.

SUSAN: Thank you! I think she was awesome too! My grandmother was born in Paris 1/7/1911. Her family emigrated to the US in 1913. She started working in vaudeville when she was 13 as a dancer. When she would mess up or get lost, she would tell a joke. Then it became a thing. She and my grandfather, Buddy Howe, had an act together, when he went into the Army she kept it going on her own. When he got back, they realized she was better as a one-woman show.

Buddy became her manager and agent and went on to become CEO of ICM in the 1970’s. Jean was the first woman to earn $10,000 for an appearance on Sullivan!Jean was a progressive, liberal, Democrat. She spent her time and her money contributing to causes she believed in. She taught me to do the same.

3. Can you clarify what is at stake right now and why fundraisers for Planned Parenthood are critical at this juncture.

SUSAN: With Republicans in all three branches of our Executive Government, there’s little doubt that Medicaid will no longer cover Planned Parenthood health centers. This is what they mean by “defunding” us; we don’t get a blank check; we get paid by Medicaid for the services we provide. Roughly one third of our patients are on Medicaid.

Even with those Medicaid payments, we need to fundraise, because Medicaid payments do not fully cover the cost of the services. We also turn away no one. People should know that Medicaid doesn’t cover abortion services. Every abortion is paid for by the patient, or if she’s unable, Planned Parenthood will use donated funds.

4. What are your goals for the funds raised for the immediate future?

SUSAN: The comedy event was to raise funds for Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, the healthcare provider, and help women and men access high quality healthcare whenever they need it. The 10 Planned Parenthood centers in our affiliate. It is a C3 and has no political ties.

We are also beefing up security in light of the current political climate. Since the 2015 shooting (at a Planned Parenthood Center) in Colorado Springs, we’ve become very sensitive to the need to protect our patients and staff.

President Trump et al have also promised to defund us, meaning we’d no longer have access to title 10 funding or Medicaid reimbursement. Planned Parenthood would then have to fundraise to continue to provide care for people who would otherwise not be able to afford it.

On the political side, but having nothing to do with our C3, we hope to strengthen and update New York State law and bring it in line with Roe V Wade. The Reproductive Health Act affirms that NYS law recognizes a fundamental right of privacy and equality which will protect New Yorkers from hostile laws aimed at severely limiting abortion access providers.

 

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A Special Kid Learns to Shine at Sunshine Children’s Home

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Innovative Assistive Technology Gives Voice to the Voiceless

Ossining, N.Y. — In an ordinary household, on an ordinary day, a seven-year-old boy might see lunchtime as an opportunity to sharpen his negotiating skills and press for chicken nuggets when Mom offers salad.

When seven-year-old Antonio requested chicken nuggets over salad for the first time, it was anything but ordinary. In fact, until recently, Antonio couldn’t ask for lunch at all.

As a non-verbal child with significant cognitive and physical limitations, Antonio could only gesture and hope the loving adults who care for him full-time at the Sunshine Children’s Home could correctly read his cues. They usually could and always tried to the best of their abilities – they’ve been working with Antonio for much of his young life. But while his support team worked tirelessly to meet his daily needs, they wanted much more for Antonio. They wanted him to enjoy the things that typically developing kids can take for granted – things like choices, a sense of control and, perhaps most importantly, the feeling of connectedness that comes so much more easily to those who can communicate and interact with others.

Antonio
Antonio

It didn’t happen overnight. One by one, various modes of communication were trialed for a period of time, without success. No tool was able to meet Antonio’s complex needs and help his communication skills advance beyond basic gestures — until the beginning of this school year.

In the fall of 2016, Antonio was introduced to an app called Proloquo2go – a program that enables him to tap a picture on a tablet to express what he wants to say. Antonio had finally been given a voice.

For a boy like Antonio, there’s no such thing as an overnight success. His journey began with a single picture on a tablet. He received training. He practiced. He made mistakes.

And then one day, for the first time in his seven years of life, Antonio asked for his lunch.

The significance of this success was profound – and it was only the beginning. Once Antonio had mastered the concept of using the tablet to make a verbal request for a basic want, he was given the opportunity to communicate a preference – he could choose what he wanted for lunch from a selection of foods.

The Sunshine Children’s Home is specially equipped to give children with complex medical needs a safe, loving home, a school experience, social connections and recreation. And over time, Antonio’s tablet has been programmed to assist him throughout every part of his day, including nursing, recreation and school. There are buttons for morning meeting, for math and for physical education, so he can have the opportunity to actively participate in the program.

Antonio still needs reminders – he spent seven years using gestures to communicate, so at times he understandably reverts to his old habit of communicating that way. But his progress is significant. He has used his buttons to communicate spontaneously; he has requested for specific buttons to be added.

Recently, Antonio had the opportunity to go out into the community for a day to go shopping at a toy store. There, he achieved an important milestone: With verbal cues, he was able to use his tablet to choose a toy and interact with the shop owner.

Antonio still needs excessive verbal and visual cues as he works towards his next goal — increasing his core vocabulary in order to be able to formulate simple, three-word sentences.

The road toward greater independence is long. At the Sunshine Children’s Home, the caring, creative and innovative team will continue to see to it that Antonio has the support, encouragement and technology he needs, every step of the way.

The mission of the Sunshine Children’s Home and Rehab Center is to create a loving and supportive environment that provides the highest level of quality pediatric care for children who need it. Sunshine provides a quality home for children from birth to 18 years of age who require post-acute medical care and/or rehabilitative therapy, combined with psychological and developmental interventions. About 46 percent of the children in residence require palliative care, while an equal percentage of others improve enough with care to be discharged to a group or community facility, or ideally, at home with their families. For more information, visit www.sunshinechildrenshome.org.