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DECEMBER 26, 2024 - JANUARY 1, 2025
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Vol. 31 No. 53
HERALD PERSON oF ThE YEAR NaResh siNgh
Reviving, starting a new Lions Club legacy Naresh Singh named Baldwin Herald’s Person of the Year. By HERNESTO GALDAMEZ
During the past year, the Baldwin Lions Club has stood out as pillar of service and a champion for the “beautiful” reputation that the hamlet of Baldwin has earned — and leading the charge has been its president, Naresh Singh. The local chapter of the Lions Club was first charted in 1947. It is a service organization with more than 1.4 million members globally and was not well known, even prior to the coronavirus, according to longtime community members. The pandemic hampered the Baldwin Lions Club, eventually reducing the organization to just three members and temporarily halting many of its initiatives. But ever since Singh took the helm of the Baldwin Lions Club earlier this ou do year, he has brought back what the organization was originally founded to well, but do — provide strength for the commuyou have to nity, as well as assist those in need. As a result, Singh was chosen as give back, and Baldwin Herald’s 2024 Person of the that's one of Year. Singh, 48, has called Baldwin home the core tenets for more than 20 years. He grew up that I want to in Brooklyn and eventually moved to pass on to the the hamlet in the early 2000s. Now, as a father of two children, Niam, 9, community and and Maya, 13, he told the Herald that my kids. he was inspired by what he wanted to leave behind for his children and the NARESh SINgh community. "As you get older, have settled down Baldwin and have a family and kids, you realize you want to leave a legacy,” he said, "(and) leave the world a better place and make time." As a partner at Lenox Advisors, a wealth and insurance advisory firm in Manhattan, Singh said he does not have much extra time, but he seems to find it to help his community. His wife, Sweety, a Baldwin Middle School PTA member, can vouch for that commitment. "He's very busy with work," she said. "People have time to do a lot of things, but you're picking through what you make time for." And he makes sure to dedicate any extra time he has to the Lions Club. His wife said his inspiration for taking charge came over the last few years when he began donating to dog rescues. Eventually, the family rescued a dog of their own. "I believe that kind of action of giving and helping out kind
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of started that," she said. "He wants to help — communities, people. When you're blessed with everything you have, giving back is nice." "You do well, but you have to give back, and that's one of the core tenets that I want to pass on to the community and my kids," the Lions Club president said. "If you're fortunate enough in life to have things, you have to give back to your community." As of December 2024, the club’s membership has grown to nearly 20, and Singh said inclusion was important for him when the club restarted in February. The Lions, he said, had historically been considered an "old boys' club," with members aging out and not opening up to new people. To change that, his wife began recruiting women to join the club, including Subrina Singh, who also serves on the PTA and is a longtime Baldwin community member and school district graduate. Subrina Singh is not related to Naresh Singh. The first test of the club's prominence in the community was a fundraiser held at the Baldwin Coach Diner, located at 790 Sunrise Highway, on March 2. Community members, along with U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, attended to show their Continued on page 2 Courtesy Naresh Singh
Naresh Singh, Baldwin Lions Club president, was selected as the Baldwin Herald’s Person of the Year for 2024.