Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice The Garden City Hotel tradition of its Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony continues for a 26th year on Monday, November 30 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

A who’s who of Long Island business and community leaders will assemble to usher in the holiday season, joining families from the Village of Garden City and neighboring areas, at what has become one of Nassau County’s most anticipated business and social gatherings.

The special event shares the cheer of the season with festive caroling, a winter wonderland with Santa Claus, his elves and model trains, illumination of the hotel’s cupola in festive shades of green and red, and, the ceremonial lighting of a spectacular 30-foot blue spruce tree at the hotel’s grand entrance.

“Each year, we set aside one special evening to bring together families, friends, neighbors, business associates and community leaders as we join in this heart-warming celebration,” says Cathy Nelkin Miller, president of The Garden City Hotel. “As we do each year, the tree will be decorated from top to bottom and lit by an outstanding member of the Long Island community.”

“We are delighted that Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice will help us to launch the holiday season as this year’s guest of honor. We admire all of her successes from being one of our local Garden City High School graduates to serving more than one million of us in Nassau County as our chief law enforcement official,” adds Nelkin Miller

Elected as Nassau County’s District Attorney in 2006, Rice oversees the work of more than 175 lawyers and a total staff of more than 370 to stay one step ahead of criminal behavior. The office’s mission is to investigate and prosecute violations of state and local criminal statutes occurring within Nassau County. It is one of the largest district attorney offices in the country, serving one of the nation’s largest and safest counties with a diverse population of 1.3 million residents.

Prior to becoming the first woman in Long Island’s history to be elected district attorney, Rice served as an Assistant United States Attorney under Attorney General Janet Reno in the United States Department of Justice’s Philadelphia office. Rice began her career as a prosecutor in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

Rice has received numerous awards and recognition for her service as a state and federal prosecutor. She has been the recipient of the United States Inspector General’s Integrity Award and the United States Attorney General’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. As District Attorney, Rice has been honored by Touro University, the North Shore Animal League, the National Organization of Women and 100 Black Men of Long Island, among many others.

Rice is the 3rd Vice President of the District Attorney Association of the State of New York, a member of the New York State and Nassau County Bar Associations, the National District Attorneys Association and the Board of Governors at Touro Law School, and a board member of New York Prosecutors Training Institute, Inc. The graduate of Garden City High School, Catholic University of America and Touro Law School resides in Locust Valley, New York.

“We all look forward to welcoming Kathleen Rice as our esteemed guest of honor. Her career is dedicated to ensuring legal justice across the communities we live and work in. She fights for us all whether it’s against the epidemic of drunk driving, modern crime’s identity theft and consumer fraud, or public corruption. She fights too for the fragile among us. Her team is dedicated to the protection of children and the elderly; and the prosecution of domestic violence. The issues addressed by District Attorney Rice’s office are important to so many of us in both our personal and business lives,” adds Patrick Smalley, executive vice president, The Garden City Hotel.

The highlight of the festivities will be the moment Rice lights the tree. She will officially launch the holiday season and illuminate the elaborate decorations that will be admired by thousands through the New Year. Performances of holiday carols by the St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Choir will close the ceremony.

“This event gives The Garden City Hotel the opportunity to exchange holiday wishes and give thanks to our clients and community members for their valuable support throughout the year,” concludes Smalley.