Caretakers Name Hall of Fame           

"The Caretakers hope that this event will bring to light the importance of volunteerism in the city," said Paul Dunleavy, President of the Cohoes Caretakers.

Three individuals will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. These individuals are the unsung heroes who make Cohoes a better place to live. They are the people who give of themselves and never ask for anything in return. The Hall of Fame inductees are Ella Mann, Mary White, and Reverend Mario Pacini.

Ella Mann was a schoolteacher in the Cohoes Public School system. Because of the influenza outbreak of 1918, she volunteered to take time out of her teaching duties to tend to the sick. Due to her dedication, many of the Cohoesiers that were overcome by the flu epidemic recovered. However in October of that year, after helping so many others, she caught the deadly influenza and died at the age of 35.

Mary White is being recognized for a lifetime of volunteering her accounting expertise to a variety of community, religious, fraternal, and service organizations. She has helped many organizations prosper by following sound management practices. Some of these organizations include St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, the OCA Club, and the Cohoes Senior Citizens Center, where she still gives her time freely.

The late Reverend Mario Pacini was Pastor of St. Rita’s parish for 17 years. Besides his

dedication to his parish, he is being recognized for volunteering as Chaplain of the Cohoes Police and Fire Departments, his unending help to immigrants who moved to Cohoes, and his years of giving time to the youth of Cohoes, especially the developmentally disabled.

A special Community Selection group, assembled by the Caretakers, reviewed numerous nominations for the annual community awards. Representatives of the St. Rita’s Rosary Society, the Spindle City Historical Society, the Friends of the Cohoes Library, and the Cohoes Chamber of Commerce announced the following honorees.

The Firefighter of the Year is William Carlson. Carlson is being recognized for his untiring efforts to raise money to purchase a thermal imaging unit that senses heat in a burning building, making it much easier to detect people inside a building or fire inside walls.

The Volunteer of the Year is Walter Adams. Adams is being recognized for his volunteer work with numerous community organizations and churches, especially his service to the Salvation Army.

The inductees to the Hall of Fame will have their names displayed on the wall of Honor in the second floor Conference Room at the Cohoes Music Hall. A plaque describing the recipients' deeds will be part of the display. A Caretakers Hall of Fame award will be presented to the recipient or his or her family.

A special plaque is also on display where the names of the Firefighter and Volunteer of the Year will be added to the names of previous honorees. Individual awards will be given to the recipients.

The Hall of Fame reception will include a special recognition ceremony with by entertainment by the Clifton Park Players, followed by refreshments and a cash bar. Reservations may be made by calling the RiverSpark Visitor Center at 237-7999.

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