Kiwanis honors one of its own

When the East Meadow Kiwanis Club installs its new officers, one name you don’t see inducted is Gary Fromowitz. While many club members move up the hierarchical ladder, ascending from secretary to president, Fromowitz stays right where he is as the club’s vice president.

Or as he puts it, “The Vice President in Perpetuity.”

It’s that desire to stay under the radar — to help the group in as many ways as he could without seeking political credit — that defines Fromowitz, his Kiwanis colleagues say.

“That’s the type of guy he is,” said Brian O’Flaherty, the club’s newly installed president. “He worries about the club more than he worries about himself moving up the chairs."

Fromowitz joined Kiwanis 11 years ago, after hearing positive things about the club from a friend, Dr. Steven Perrick. He decided to check out a weekly club meeting, and said he was immediately was drawn to its altruistic nature. “I’m looking at this and seeing just how unselfish everybody is,” said Fromowitz, 62. “They really help out families in need."

Traditionally, when a Kiwanian becomes an officer, they move up a position each year. But when Fromowitz became vice president four years ago, he said he was perfectly happy remaining there. "I just kind of sit there and everybody jumps over me,” he said, laughing.

Fromowitz is a co-chairman of the club’s annual pancake breakfast, which last year set a record by raising $8,000. He’s also a staple at the club’s monthly Bingo game, at the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility in Uniondale, which he used to chair, before handing it over to member Mel Kussoy. Between the pancakes and Bingo, O’Flaherty joked, Fromowitz “gets the senior crowd going."

It’s the club’s outgoing president who selects Kiwanian of the Year, and this year it was Kevin Kamper who picked Fromowitz. "He's one of the unsung heroes,” said Kamper. “I don't think he realizes how much he means to our club. When you need something done, he's there.”

Fromowitz is known for his easy-going and approachable nature, and quiet sense of humor, said club members. When Kamper informed the club’s executive board of the decision, “They all said we couldn't have picked a better person for it,” said Kamper. “They all know his value to the club."