George Browne of Garden City has been chosen as Nassau County Senior Citizen of the Year for 2007, according to Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. He will present this award to Browne at the 33rd Annual Older Americans Month Luncheon/Conference May 11 at the Long Island Marriott Hotel in Uniondale. The Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs expects more than 650 senior citizens and members of the professional aging network to attend the event.

"George Browne, this year's Senior Citizen of the Year, exemplifies an individual who is dedicated to community involvement," Suozzi said. "He has been volunteering in many programs since his retirement in 1990, and has been a strong community advocate, particularly on behalf of older persons and drug prevention programs for our county's youth. He is an outstanding representative of Nassau County's many talented and committed older citizens. I look forward to presenting this award to him and joining in the festivities that are planned for the observance of May as Older Americans Month."

Browne was born in the Bronx in 1935 and lived there until the age of 27. He graduated from LaSalle Academy in Manhattan in 1953 and went on to get a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham College, a master's in science from Fordham University, and several years later, a master's in education from Queens College. His first full-time job was in the East Meadow School District where he taught science to tenth and twelfth graders for 13 years from 1958 to 1971. During this time he met and married his wife, Theresa. They lived in Forest Hills for one year and then moved to Stewart Manor where they resided for 34 years and raised their children. In 2000, they sold their home and moved to an apartment in Garden City, where they reside today.

George and Theresa Browne have four children, two daughters and two sons, who attended Garden City schools and participated in numerous extra-curricular activities. All are now married and the three oldest continue to live on Long Island. The Brownes are the proud grandparents of eight granddaughters and one grandson, who range in age from 13 years to 11 months. They enjoy having most of their family nearby. Mr. Browne mentioned that, "we often find our home becomes a hub of activity when our younger son and his family visit from New Jersey."

Browne found his calling as an advocate for drug prevention programs early in his career. He left his job with the East Meadow School District in 1971 to take a job with the Town of Hempstead, where he was responsible for creating the Town's Department of Drug and Alcohol. He became its first commissioner later that year, and was proud of the fact that "...we developed the Town's drug abuse prevention program for youths which was introduced to more than 32 school districts. This program became a model for a similar initiative introduced in the Town of Oyster Bay several years later." Browne remained in his position until 1987, when he accepted a job as the chairperson of the newly created Drug Enforcement Information Council, established by then County Executive Thomas Gulotta. The Council was given the responsibility to coordinate the activities of all county departments which had some responsibility for, or involvement with, drug offenders or prevention programs. These included the Police and Probation Departments, Departments of Health, Drug and Alcohol Addiction, and Social Services and the Youth Board. He held this position for three years and retired from service in 1990.

For many years Browne has been very active in a number of different volunteer organizations. On the local level, he joined the Long Island South Central District of Kiwanis and was its lieutenant governor in 1982-1983. He has worked with the American Cancer Society, Long Island Division and was the board chairperson in 1989. He remains involved with his local parish, St. Anne's in Garden City, where he is a deacon and has assumed pastoral duties for the past seven years. Since 2000, he has also been a chaplain at Nassau Community College and continues to visit patients at Winthrop Hospital.

Browne has pursued several different volunteer activities that are related to drug abuse prevention and education. These included participation in the New York State Coalition for Non-Smoking to Improve Health from 1988-2004; the Planning Committee for the New York State Drug Abuse Conference from 1977-1980; and the Substance Abuse Committee of the New York State Association of Counties from 1990-1992. In 1980 he presented a workshop entitled "The Effects of Drug Education on Drug Abuse." For two years he also volunteered as a science teacher with the DeSalle Elementary School in Freeport, where he was able to integrate drug abuse prevention information in the curricula.

Currently, Browne serves as a board member of the Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs' Advisory Council and as chairperson, since 2004, of the Council's Legislative Technical Advisory Committee (LTAC). These roles enable him to continue his advocacy efforts on behalf of the county's older citizens. "I enjoy working with the committee members," he said. "We research state and federal legislative initiatives, and help to educate our peers. We also have a responsibility to educate our legislators about the needs of older persons and to advocate for changes in the laws that will make a positive difference to all of us who are over the age of 60."

"George Browne is a very caring individual and a passionate advocate on behalf of seniors," Thomas V. Sobczak, Ph.D., who nominated Browne for the award and is also a member of LTAC, said. "His diverse career and educational backgrounds, both in the public and private sectors, provide him with valuable life experience. He has been involved in planning and implementing seminars on many different levels. His activities and contribution as a volunteer in the community at large, makes him a most admirable candidate for Senior Citizen of the Year."

Dr. Sharon Mullon, commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs, added, "We are pleased to have this opportunity to congratulate George J. Browne. His insightful comments and quick grasp of important issues make him a valuable asset to our advisory groups. He is a strong and caring advocate for the 257,000 older persons who reside in Nassau County, and we feel he is most deserving of the title, 'Senior Citizen of the Year.' We look forward to honoring him on May 11 at our luncheon/conference."

The 33rd Annual Older Americans Month Luncheon/Conference May 11 begins with registration at 9 a.m. The program, "Older Americans: Making Choices for a Healthier Future," includes three workshops, each offered at 9:45 and repeated at 10:30 a.m. Luncheon follows in the Grand Ballroom, featuring keynote speaker Greg Olsen, MSW, deputy director of the executive division of the New York State Office for the Aging. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi will greet the guests and make the presentation to Browne. Tickets are $35 each. Reservations are required, and tables for 10 may be reserved. For more information or a reservation, call the Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs at 227-8988.