Gerard P. Lundquist On Friday evening, April 18, at its 6th annual Pineapple Ball to be held at the Garden City Hotel, 7 p.m. until midnight, the Garden City Chamber of Commerce will honor Gerard P. Lundquist as Garden City's Citizen of the Year. Gerry will be feted as the 37th recipient of this prestigious award established by the Chamber in 1970 to recognize volunteerism and outstanding service to the Village of Garden City.

A resident of Garden City since 1969, Gerry Lundquist is serving in the fifth term as Village Trustee and has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 1999. In addition to his term as mayor, he has also served in past years as Liaison to the Cultural and Recreational Commission, two terms as Police Commissioner, Commissioner of Public Works, Fire Commissioner, plus two terms as Commissioner of Finance. Gerry has also served on several sub committees including the Traffic Commission, the Public Zoning Committee to fill vacancies for boards and commissions, as a member of the Board of Ethics, and the Executive Compensation Committee. He has also held the positions of Deputy Mayor and Second Deputy Mayor.

A major factor in Gerry's decision to continue as a Village Trustee is to provide continued effort on the significant issues that affect our Village including the St. Paul's main building, the LIRR third track, the Nassau County development (HUB, P Zone, Ring Road), light rail, and others. He has been instrumental in gaining support from neighboring Villages including Mineola, Stewart Manor, Floral Park, Westbury, and member Villages of the Nassau County Village Officials Associations, focusing attention on common issues that also affect their communities. He has also involved Local, State and Federal representatives and made them aware of the Village's concerns and opinions.

Prior to his tenure as Trustee, Gerry served the Western Property Owners' Association in several capacities including President, Vice President and Director. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Water Authority of Western Nassau from 1996 through 2002 and was instrumental in the early stages of the transition of Jamaica Water to the Water Authority of Western Nassau, resulting in significant savings to the residents of Garden City that are served by the Authority. As President, he also chaired the Joint Conference Committee consisting of members from each of the Property Owners; Associations.

Professionally, Gerry has been employed by KeySpan Energy (now KeySpan/National Grid) and is currently the Director of Construction for the NYC Region including Long Island. His responsibilities include insuring the safely, security and reliability of the natural gas distribution system. Prior assignments have included Project Manager for the JFK Airport Cogeneration Facility, and the Stony Brook Cogeneration Facility. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Northeast Gas Distribution Council consisting of utilities throughout the region.

Gerry has a Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering from the Cooper Union, a Masters of Business Administration from Adelphi University, and a Masters of Science in Economics and Finance from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He is a New York State Registered Professional Engineer.

Gerry is married to Mildred, an elementary school tether. They have three grown children who attended Garden City Public Schools. Matthew is a graduate of Cornell University and Stony Brook Medical School and is currently a Resident Intern at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Daniel is a graduate of Cornell University and is working for Bank of America, and Lauren is a junior at Binghamton University. Gerry has been a supporter of youth programs and has previously coached in Garden City baseball and football leagues for more than 10 years.

Gerry Lundquist will share honors at the Pineapple Ball with Dennis Donnelly,

Recipient of the Community Achievement Award, and Stuart Lubow, Business Person of the Year. The Chamber acknowledges with thanks three "Gold" sponsors to date: Community National Bank, KeySpan Energy/National Grid and Sperry Credit Union.

For reservations, sponsorship or Journal ad information, please call Tracey Gittere at Legendary Events (416) 222-0550 or visit the Chamber website at www.GardenCityChamber.org.