Marathoner Runs For A Cause

Jorge Jimenez completes another race in preparation for the Boston Marathon, with the support of his wife, Leanne, and children, Tomas and Karina.

By Sophia Ricco
sricco@longislandergroup.com

This April, Northport resident Jorge Jimenez will race for a cause close to his heart at the Boston Marathon.

Jiminez will take on the world’s oldest annual marathon with the YMCA of Greater Boston’s team on Apr. 15.

Throughout his life, Jimenez has been involved with the Y, utilizing their services as child, and later donating time and financial contributions. After moving to Northport five years ago, Jimenez joined the YMCA of Long Island’s Board of Directors and ran in two New York City Marathons to support the organization.

“I’m a Y kid, I grew up at the Y,” Jimenez said. “I spent a lot of time at the YMCA when I lived in Miami and volunteered for the YMCA when I was in college. It was a really great place for me growing up, so now that I serve on the board, I can give back.”

A seasoned distance runner, Jimenez was drawn to the Boston Marathon’s magnitude and grandeur. By joining team YMCA of Greater Boston, he has committed to raise $7,500 for their cause, that will support the charity’s teen programs.

“The Y is just a great, safe place for kids to play, exercise and learn about healthy living,” Jimenez said. “These are programs I probably participated in as a kid, but didn’t know it.”

Last summer, the YMCA of Greater Boston offered free three-month memberships to 17,000 teens at the Y’s 13 branches, giving them access to summer programming, swim classes, and camp. Teens were empower and engaged at events focused on safe dating, volunteerism and leadership.

“This past summer was our busiest to date with each of our branches creating programming to fit the needs of the youth in their neighborhoods, which would not be possible without funds raised by our runners,” YMCA of Greater Boston president and CEO James Morton said.

To prepare for Boston’s 26.2-mile course, Jimenez is in the middle of a 16-week training program that focuses on speed during weekdays and distance on the weekends.

“I like for my kids to see me set a very ambitious goal and work towards it, they see me checking days off my list,” Jimenez said. “It shows them that hard work pays off, because the plan starts with a 4 mile run on Sunday, then a 6 mile and so on, it builds up and they see for themselves that if you do the work, you will get better.”

To prep himself for Boston, Jimenez recently ran the Prospect Park Half Marathon in Brooklyn and George Washington’s Birthday Marathon in Washington, D.C.

“You get to practice being in a race, running with other people, drinking water from the aid stations,” Jimenez said. “And you run with all your gear, what you’re gonna wear on race day, it’s like a dress rehearsal.”

Jimenez is looking forward to a 20 mile run this weekend, though he admits the last six weeks of training, when mileage is the highest, can be grueling. Before tapering down and giving his legs a rest, Jimenez plans to run 21 miles of the Boston Marathon’s course at the end of March, as preparation for the big day.

“It varies, some days you feel good and like you can run forever and some days you’re just not feeling it… It is a lot of time and a lot of running. But the good news is you can eat all the pizza you want,” Jimenez said with a laugh.

Anyoone wishing to support Jorge Jimenez and the YMCA of Greater Boston can donate at crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/ymca-boston-2019/jorgejimenez7.

Chamber Hosts Annual Media Forum

Newsday beat reporter Deborah Morris, right, pitched questions to a panel of journalists including, from left, Kristin Thorne, Long Island correspondent for WABC Eyewitness News, Connor Beach, staff writer for The Long-Islander, and Peter Sloggatt, The Long-Islander’s publisher and managing editor.

Development projects and parking in Huntington village, gangs in Huntington High School and developments in social media were just a few of the topics that came hot off the press last week at the Huntington Chamber of Commerce’s Meet the Media breakfast.

 The annual networking event allowed Chamber members to hear from local news industry insiders about some of the juiciest stories of 2018, as well as possible headlines for the year to come.

 The event was moderated by Newsday beat reporter Deborah Morris, who pitched questions to a panel of journalist that featured Kristin Thorne, Long Island correspondent for WABC Eyewitness News, Connor Beach, staff writer for The Long-Islander, and Peter Sloggatt, The Long-Islander’s publisher and managing editor.

 The panel fielded questions from the audience, which sparked a discussion about the role of social media in the new industry. Apartment-building and parking issues, two issues near and dear to Huntington business owners, also dominated the discussion.

Student Groups Still Shouting, 'Never Again'

Co-founders of March For Our Lives Long Island Avalon Fenster and Sara Frawley speak to students following a school walk-out organized after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, last year.

Photos/March For Our Lives Long Island

By Sophia Ricco

sricco@longislandergroup.com

In the year since Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was the site of one of the deadliest mass shootings in America, students have risen up to demand gun reform and better school safety.

Just days after the shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 students and staff members dead and as many injured, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas announced a demonstration for gun legislation called “March for Our Lives.” This has been a rallying cry to students across the country to stand up and demand gun control legislation.

Local students Avalon Fenster and Sara Frawley founded March For Our Lives Long Island last March. The group has hosted school walkouts, candlelight vigils and election parties to spread their message. Members also attended a street dedication ceremony for fallen teacher Scott Beigel, a native of Dix Hills.

“As March For Our Lives Long Island has grown bigger, we are creating our own smaller branches, to get more involved with local schools and communities,” New York State Political Director of March For Our Lives Nicholas Likos said.

Likos, a high school junior from Melville got involved with the organization after Fenster selected his essay —written from the perspective of a teacher about the effects of school shootings — for a competition. Even though Long Island has never experienced a mass school shooting MFOL-LI’s mission is to combat gun violence of any kind.

“Some people say ‘gun violence doesn’t pertain to me because I’ve never been in a school shooting.’ But if you live in an area where there is gun violence, it’s just as much your issue as it is mine,” Likos said.

MFOL-LI wants to ensure the youth have a voice in every community. They take a “grassroots” approach, working with students to outline goals that they then deliver to their own school administration.

“Some communities on Long Island are afraid to take the initiative and become involved because they don’t feel either group allies with their ideals, when in reality we just need to focus on everybody, every student, and try to see what will best suit their needs,” Likos said.

Dix Hills native Scott Beigel who lost his life trying to protect students during the Parkland shooting, was honored when the street he grew up on was dedicated to his memory. Members of March For Our Lives Long Island showed their support at the renaming ceremony.

As they work to have more branches at schools, MFOL-LI hopes to bring two workshops to the local community. They want to break the negative connection between mental health and gun violence, by getting certified by the National Alliance on Mental Illness to educate and assist those struggling with mental health to find help.

The group also wants to teach educators and students how to triage crisis and deal with emergency situations with “Stop the Bleed.”

“The issue with ‘Stop the Bleed’ is you want students and faculty to be prepared. By the same token you don’t want students to be afraid by reinstating that fear,” Likos said, adding, “in a way, we kinda need to do that to provoke that this is real.”

In the days following the Parkland shooting, Likos admits he and his classmates were shaken, but took action by orchestrating the student walkout at his school. In response, his principal asked him to outline measures the school could take to improve safety.

“Now doors are locked at all times, everyone has to wear an ID, and in every classroom there is line of tape at every door that shows where the ‘line of sight’ is,” Likos said. “It’s the little things that count and it really shows that this wave the youth initiative has created is being respected by adults. They are having conversations with us.”

MFOL-LI also works to have open communication with government officials at all levels. During MFOL-LI’s recent general meeting, State Senator Jim Gaughran burst into the room to inform them that he was on his way to Albany where the governor was to sign the Red Flag Act. He made a pit stop to tell them the news.

The Red Flag Act gives educators a direct route to follow if a student poses a threat or makes others feel uncomfortable. Teachers work with students on a day-to-day basis and many at Marjory Stoneman Douglas revealed they had concerns about the shooter but didn’t know where to report it.

“This was essentially something we all were working towards, there was an uproar of cheers and everyone was so happy,” Likos said. “It was interesting and crazy to see we had a direct impact on that movement, we as individuals, who are all still in high school.”

Anyone interested in joining the cause is encouraged to email marchforourlivesli@gmail.com.