Gotham Avenue students were buzzing when a visitor came to Elmont as part of Assemblyman Tom Alfano's signature Mentors and Leaders Program. That visitor was Secretary of State Randy Daniels who is the highest ranking African-American state official in New York. Daniels accepted Alfano's invitation to come to Gotham and take part in his trailblazing program. Alfano and Daniels were the guests in a special Elmont Town Hall meeting where the duo took questions from the audience and were entertained by students from Gotham's sister schools.

"This is a great honor to have the secretary come here to our community and listen to our young people, get ideas and see what great work we do right here in the 21st district," said Alfano who noted, "We've had some great speakers in this program. This is the second state official who has come to Elmont for our children. I'm proud of that and our community can only benefit from it."

Daniels arrived at Gotham where he was welcomed by Gotham Avenue student president Andres Mendoza. Along with Alfano and Mendoza were Superintendent Dr. Maria Palandra, Principal Marshall Zucker, PTA president Danilo Archbold, Board of Education members Ken Williams, Joy Madera and community liaison Norma DeBartolo. Gotham's own Terry Lewis, a fifth grade teacher, was part of the team that put together the town hall meeting along with help from art teacher Alice Katz and assistant to the principal, Dennis Cowan.

Secretary Daniels has had a long and distinguished career even before he arrived in state government. He was a radio personality in Chicago for WVON and then went into television where he served as a correspondent for CBS News. He served CBS News as their chief foreign correspondent in seven wars and many notable historic happenings. At CBS, Daniels was stationed throughout Africa and assisted countries in setting up their own news networks. He later served on the board of SUNY, Empire State Development Corporation and worked on urban revitalization in our nation's cities. He also served as the president's appointee on the Erie Canal Commission.

The town hall meeting kicked off with three selection presentations from Elmont schools. Billy Rothwell from Covert Avenue School sang a thunderous rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and then lit up the crowd of Gotham students with The Lion King's, Can You Feel the Love Tonight? Next, students from Gotham Avenue School performed short skits from stories like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and historic events. Lastly, the Agudelo brothers from South Floral Park wowed the crowd by playing two selections on violin.

Secretary Daniels gave a short speech entitled Dreams where he encouraged Elmont's young people to aim high and never let people say you can't do something. He also told Elmont's students that his own childhood wasn't without setbacks. "Each time," Daniels said, "I took responsibility and worked harder to become a success."

"Randy did a great job of listening to what our young people had to say and he connected with them in a personal way. He did a great job and made a real impression on them. I can't thank him enough for taking time to come to Elmont and being a part of the program," said Alfano. Daniels joins other leaders who have spoken to Elmont in his mentoring series. Former surgeon general and current NYS Health Commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello, Justice George Bundy Smith, Lt. Governor Mary Donohue, Commissioner John Johnson, former NY Knick and Judge Barry Kramer, Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, former DA and Supreme Court Justice Richard Giardino have all been speakers in Alfano's program.

During the town hall meeting, students asked Daniels and Alfano questions ranging from the war in Iraq to their ideas on making Elmont a better place to live. Some students asked questions about leadership and why they became interested in public service. The meeting is styled after what Senator John McCain of Arizona held to hear the concerns of Americans during his presidential run.

Gotham Avenue student president Andres Mendoza said, "It was really great to meet the secretary and show him and Assemblyman Alfano around our school. He talked to us a lot about service and working hard. I showed him our September 11 marker in the back of the school and our tree plantings and new playground."

Dennis Cowan, assistant to the principal of Gotham added, "This was a unique experience for our young people to meet a state leader who has had an interesting and relevant life story to our children. Assemblyman Alfano's meeting allowed Gotham's students to ask questions to both of them and have a real dialogue on issues that matter to our young people."

"One of the objectives I have with this program is to demystify government and show that our leaders are everyday people. One of the students asked Secretary Daniels if he had children and he told them their ages, what they do and their dreams. The kids responded to that because it demonstrated that he's a dad too along with being a leader," Alfano noted.

At the end of the town hall meeting, student president Andres Mendoza took Alfano and Daniels on a tour of the school and brought them to a special memorial marker for victims of the September 11 terror attack at the World Trade Center. "It was a special moment for everyone," said Assemblyman Alfano who added, "Everyone was affected and the marker is a special symbol of hope from our leaders of tomorrow."

At the end of the special day, students presented Daniels and Alfano with special T-shirts from the class of 2003-2004.