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HERALD
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DECEMBER 26, 2024 - JANUARY 1, 2025
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Vol. 24 No. 53
HERALD PERSON oF THE YEAR MElody ScHillEr
Helping East Meadow neighbors in need Kiwanis Club President Melody Schiller leads a life of service, dedicated to others By Joseph D'Alessandro
Melody Schiller is a teacher in the East Meadow Union Free School District and president of the Kiwanis Club, and her work in both the education and business worlds has given her insight into the unique variety of East Meadow community members, and made her a champion of those in need. For her efforts to improve life in the hamlet, the Herald is proud to name Schiller its 2024 Person of the Year. Schiller, 54, is a reading teacher at Barnum Woods Elementary School, chairs the school’s Planning and Manhe’s always agement Team, and has headed the Kiwanis Club since October. there — you She delights in her work as a look up and teacher, and that inspired her interest there’s Melody in Kiwanis. “I love children — that’s why I became a teacher,” she said. “I helping out, think the best way to live a happy life is to help others, and especially children.” always being Kiwanis is one of the largest nonpresent, giving profits in the country that benefits children, and the East Meadow club is part her time, her of the largest regional division of the energy, her organization in New York state. In each resources. of the school district’s nine schools, there is a service leadership program ToDD WEINSTEIN available to students that is affiliated Planning and with the service club. Management Team, Kiwanis’s programs instill the Barnum Woods importance of community service and leadership in students of all ages, while Elementary School providing school supplies, meals and home essentials to those in need. Schiller joined her husband, Ross, in the East Meadow club in 2017. After their children, David, 19, and Hailey, 23, graduated from high school, Schiller was inspired to support students across the district. “I had to give back to the community now that my kids got to go off to college, so I started to do more in the Kiwanis world,” Schiller recalled. “I saw how many amazing things they did all over the community.” Since then, Ross Schiller has watched proudly as his wife has left a mark on Kiwanis and East Meadow as a whole. “I just think what she’s doing is wonderful,” he said. “She cares deeply for the community.” Before being sworn in as club president, Melody served as president-elect for a year. As the chapter’s leader, she said, she aims to uphold the organization’s history of exemplary service.
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“Everywhere that there is a need in the community that affects children,” she said, “we are there with a wealth of support.” Schiller has notched several accomplishments in the short time since she took charge. The club’s end-of-year events — a Veterans Memorial Park beautification project, a Thanksgiving food drive and a holiday toy drive — went off without a hitch, she said. She works closely with K-Kids, the elementary-school Kiwanis affiliate, and the children who take part were involved in the beautification project. They helped plant 125 tulip bulbs, which should bloom in time for community events in the spring, Schiller said. “The K-Kids see the importance of beautifying their community, of giving back to the environment, and seeing how what they do comes full circle to make the community better,” she said. As part of its ongoing effort to reduce food scarcity in East Meadow, Kiwanis hosts food drives involving students twice a year. Its fall drive before Thanksgiving collected enough food to Continued on page 2 Holden Leeds/Herald
Melody Schiller, president of the Kiwanis Club of East Meadow, at this year’s installation dinner. Schiller is a teacher in East Meadow and a community leader, and her influence has been felt in many areas of the hamlet.