The 80th annual meeting and third annual Pineapple Ball was held April 22 at The Garden City Hotel. The Chamber of Commerce honored the following distinguished members of our community: Trustee Peter A. Bee, Esq., partner in the firm of Bee, Ready, Fishbein, Hatter & Donovan, LLP as Citizen of the Year, Patrick S. Smalley, executive vice president of Fairhaven Properties and The Garden City Hotel, with the Community Achievement Award, and Francine Nelson, general manager of the Seventh Street Café, as Businessperson of the Year. I want to congratulate each of the honorees on their well-deserved recognition.

The board of trustees joins me in extending our sincere gratitude to former Chief Thomas J. Foley for the dedicated and professional level of service that he rendered to our village during his tenure as chief of the Garden City Fire Department. Special thanks to his wife, Colleen, for having shared Tom with us.

As a result of the fire department election held, the new chief is Edward S. Moran. First Assistant Chief John P. Casey, Second Assistant Chief James J. Meehan and Third Assistant Chief William J. Graham will aid him during the coming year. We wish them well and thank them for their involvement.

Arbor Day is said to date back to antiquity when forests and their trees were venerated during religious rites. Today it is observed in many countries of the world. It was first celebrated in this country in 1872 in Nebraska where trees were planted to counteract deforestation.

The village celebrated Arbor Day Friday, April 22 at 10 a.m. in front of the Garden City Fire Department monument on Stewart Avenue.

Members of the Civic Beautification Committee and classes from Locust School assisted Village Arborist Michael Didyk in planting a beautiful Sugar Maple. Within the next weeks the Parks Division of the Department of Public Works will be planting approximately 250 new trees at locations throughout the village.

It is with great pleasure that I announce that Garden City has once again been awarded the designation of Tree City, USA. This award, granted by the National Arbor Day Foundation, in cooperation with the US Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters, recognizes communities that meet detailed, objective standards applied to trees on public property. These standards involve ongoing tree planting, maintenance and preservation of trees and the number of variety of trees planted per year in the community. Evaluations are made on the basis of four standards: a legally constituted municipal tree body, the adoption of tree ordinances, a comprehensive Community Forestry Program and the observance of Arbor Day.