Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto recently announced the 2004 Women of Distinction. "The 'Women of Distinction' awards committee has selected eight exceptional women as this year's Women of Distinction," said Venditto. "Once again, I commend the awards committee for doing an excellent job, making the difficult choices among so many fine nominees."

Venditto and the town board will honor this year's designees at the Tuesday, March 23, town board meeting, which begins at 7 p.m.

"My fellow town board members and I have invited the designees and their families to join us in publicly recognizing the Town's Women of Distinction," Venditto said. "Each recipient will be presented with a town citation and a special pin designed to commemorate the occasion."

The following women from Plainview and Woodbury area received this prestigious honor.

Carol Meschkow, a resident of Plainview, was named a Distinguished Woman in Community and Civic Affairs. She is the founder and president of the Concerned Citizens of Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, Inc., which focuses on educational and awareness activities. She has served on two Town-wide advisory committees and the HUB Advisory Committee and has taken a leading role in many community issues.

Meschkow is also very active in the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District and is currently president of the Middle School PTA. She is a founding officer of the Plainview Chinese School PTA, a member of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce and the Plainview-Old Bethpage Friends of the Library board, she holds the position on which of co-chair for publicity, and also holds a seat on the Coordinating Council for Plainview-Old Bethpage Cares.

Civic life has always been a passion for Meschkow, who began fighting for environmental issues in high school. When she moved to Plainview, she became very involved in the fight against the Hamlet. "My mother had worked for the Jericho Water District and I understood the underground aquifer," said Meschkow. "I became passionately involved at that time again. It was resurrecting a dormant interest."

She said it was then that she realized that there was no environmental organization active in Plainview. That is when Concerned Citizens of Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, Inc. was formed.

"I want to thank the town for having this program and for selecting me," said Meschkow. "I also would like to thank the groups that nominated me - The School District Title IX Committee and the POB Chamber of Commerce and also the PTA and the community. It took a community for me to make this impact. I didn't do it alone."

Meschkow also said the support of her husband Lance and son Ricky has been immeasurable. "When you do something that flows from the heart and doesn't seem to take any effort - to be recognized for it is icing on the cake," she concluded. "I would do it regardless. This is an incredible honor."

Dorothy Blumstein, a resident of Woodbury, was recently named a Distinguished Woman in Government. She has been involved with the Town of Oyster Bay's Cultural and Performing Arts (CAPA) Division of the Department of Community and Youth Services for more than 20 years. She helped develop and expand many programs such as Rotational Art, the Distinguished Artists Concerts series and the Children's Music-Go-Round. She also served as executive director of the Town of Oyster Bay Arts Council, Inc., and sits on the Selection Board of the New York State Council on the Arts' Decentralization Program.

Blumstein's career with the town began in 1973 when she started art-time work there and coordinated the pre-kindergarten program, which was natural being a former kindergarten teacher. Five years later, she started full-time and was assistant to the superintendent of the cultural arts division.

In 1985, she took over the Town of Oyster Bay Arts Council as Executive Director and coordinated many events. "I wore two hats -the community service hat with the department and the arts council was a separate entity in the same department," said Blumstein, who retired a year and a half ago, but still remains very active in the Town of Oyster Bay Arts Council and the New York State Council of the Arts Decentralization program.

Blumstein, who is unsure who nominated her for the women of distinction award, said she assumes it was someone from arts council, she said she loves working with the arts and children. "The arts council does a lot for children to encourage them to follow their dreams in the arts. We raise a lot of money for scholarships for them," she said. "This is a wonderful honor. I am very excited about this," concluded Blumstein who will be attending the ceremony with her family, including husband Neal, son Wade and daughter-in-law Robin. Her other son Heath and daughter-in-law Lisa reside in Arizona.

"The recipients of the 2004 'Women of Distinction" awards constitute the sixth group of designees in what is a fine and lasting tradition in the Town of Oyster Bay," Venditto said. "The honorees have dedicated themselves to service and achievement, and their remarkable accomplishments are an inspiration to us all. They serve as excellent role models for our young women throughout the town and are shining examples of the outstanding citizenship that has made the Town of Oyster Bay such a special place to live and raise a family. I am honored to recognize these fine individuals as the town's 2004 'Women of Distinction'."