Friends of the Bay Honoring Deborah and Michael Held at Launch the Season Event

Friends of the Bay will hold their Annual Launch the Season event, taking place at Meadow Brook Club in Jericho, NY on Friday, June 21, 2013, to honor Deborah and Michael Held and celebrate the first day of summer. Launch the Season inaugurates the opening of the summer season and commemorates the bustling activities that bring the community to Oyster Bay Harbor and the surrounding waters. “We are thrilled to be honoring Deborah and Michael this year. They have been a pillar of the Oyster Bay neighborhood for more than three decades and their passion to preserve the area has played a pivotal role in helping us protect and maintain the pristine waters of our Harbor,” said Friends of the Bay board member Beth Dalton-Costello. Deborah and Michael first moved to Oyster Bay in 1979. Through the years they have realized many accomplishments together including raising four children, Jacob, Lucas, Amy and Eric, but their individual achievements are equally as stellar. Deborah, a graduate of New York Law School, is also a prolific artist whose work has been exhibited at galleries all over Long Island and New York City including the Lincoln Center Art Gallery, The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition Gallery, The Dolan Center Gallery, Post Library Gallery, and Gallery in the Round in Cold Spring Harbor. Her work has been acquired by many avid collectors and is included in New York Law School’s permanent collection. Deborah is generously donating her painting entitled Breezy Day for the Launch the Season Live Auction. Deborah met Michael, fellow classmate and husband of 36 years, during her tenure at New York Law School. Michael spent the better part of 40 years working at the family book publishing business, Michael Roger, now run by son Eric. Michael has sat on several organizational boards including Center for Book Arts, Oyster Bay Cove Planning, East Woods School, Friends of the Bay and was a co-chair on the Nassau County Innovations and Rewards Funds. In 1988 Michael, along with a group of concerned citizens, negotiated the creation of the Nassau County Tiffany Creek Preserve, a 200 acre watershed and parkland. In 2009, Michael and Deborah sold eight acres of their own property to expand the Preserve. The Held’s lush land had a spring fed pond, streams, trails and trees including the rare Atlantic White Cedar, adding valuable environmental properties to the Preserve. “We have loved living in Oyster Bay Cove for 34 years, raising four children here, with its beautiful woods, trees and wild life. We have tried to protect and preserve the beautiful natural features and water of this oasis just 30 miles from Manhattan. The undertaking to assemble and create the Nassau County Tiffany Creek Preserve for future generations to enjoy is an especially proud accomplishment,” said honoree Michael Held. “The Launch the Season is a very special and unique event that brings our donors, supporters and volunteers together to celebrate the work we do year-round for our community and we are delighted to be honoring Deborah and Michael Held at this important juncture for the organization,” said Friends of the Bay Executive Director, Paul DeOrsay. Several area businesses are supporting this year’s Launch the Season through a variety of in-kind donations for the live and silent auction as well as the treasure chests, a trademark of the Friends of the Bay events A donation of a fully installed brick patio by John McGowan & Sons of Sea Cliff made such an impression last year, it is back by popular demand. "The Patio, with Interlocking Pavers we installed as the result of the Friends of the Bay auction is absolutely beautiful! John McGowan & Sons were so easy to work with and accommodating. They did a super, professional job and we are so pleased with the result,” said Don Stevens, winner of the brick patio auction item. A preview of some of the additional items up for grabs include Sailing with Dawn Riley, the first woman to run her own America’s Cup Sailing team;; a large scale photographic canvas print by fine art photographer Deborah Webbe; a Billy Joel signed copy of the documentary Last Play at Shea chronicling the last musical performances at historic Shea Stadium where the Beatles opened their 1965 North American Tour and Paul McCartney joined Billy Joel on stage before the iconic venue was demolished; and Breezy Day, a considerable, original and breathtaking painting that evokes music, sky, earth and water by renowned artist Deborah Held. The Launch the Season cocktail reception is taking place at Meadow Brook Club, 1 Cedar Swamp Road in Jericho, NY (www.meadowbrookclub.com) on Friday, June 21 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Tickets to the event are $150 per person. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Space is limited. To reserve your spot or to find out how to sponsor the event, contact Paul DeOrsay at p.deorsay@friendsofthebay.org or call 516-922-6666. Formed in 1987 by a small group of citizens concerned about the impact of a proposed development on the Oyster Bay waterfront, Friends of the Bay has grown into a powerful voice of the community working with citizens and local government for wetland restoration and habitat protection. The New York Times identified Friends of the Bay as one of the most effective environmental organizations around Long Island Sound and in 1997. The organization received the prestigious Walter B. Jones Memorial and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Excellence Award for Coastal and Resource Management as the “Non-Governmental Organization of the Year”. In addition to community outreach, monitoring progress on Eastern Waterfront planning involving land owners, town and state governments, Friends of the Bay conducts regular water quality monitoring, a critical effort in carrying out its mission to preserve, protect and restore the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Estuary and the surrounding watershed.