Community News

Wellness Council plans fall events

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It may still be two months away, but preparations for the Seaford Wellness Council’s annual Hot Chocolate Run are heating up. After a summer hiatus, the organization re-grouped on Sept. 23, as about a dozen residents gathered in the middle school library to set the fall agenda.

“We’ve got a lot coming up,” said Wellness Council President Mike DiSilvio.

The Hot Chocolate Run, a 5K race through the streets of Seaford, will take place on Saturday, Dec. 6. The event is the biggest fundraiser each year for the Wellness Council and draws about 1,000 runners, making it one of the largest events of its kind on Long Island.

The race will have two honorary starters. Dr. Gary Sgroi, a local chiropractor who will be honored as the Seaford Chamber of Commerce’s small businessperson of the year, will be one. The group is looking for a noted community leader for the second position. It is also seeking a musical group to play for the runners near the train station, which is roughly the halfway point of the race.

This is the 11th annual race since the Hot Chocolate Run, a popular event in the 1980s, was revived in 2004.

DiSilvio noted that runners will have the benefit of new pavement on two of the four streets the race heads down, Seaman’s Neck Road and Brooklyn Avenue. Participants can go to www.active.com to register.

The registration fee is $20 in advance. DiSilvio said the group is considering raising the fee in 2015, possibly by $5. “5K races all around are going for more than we’re charging,” he said.

Frank DiGregorio cautioned against raising the prices too much higher, because he doesn’t want to burden families who may have several people taking part in the race.

Before runners take their steps, the Wellness Council will be putting up the Field of Honor, a row of American flags along Sunrise Highway by the Seaford train station. The flags were put on the front lawn of Seaford High School for the Sept. 11 ceremony, and now are stored in the athletic director’s office.

The flags will be placed on Nov. 1, and will be kept out through Nov. 30. “That would give a full month of the flags,” DiSilvio said. “I think the community would like that.”

Several members of the Wellness Council will put out the flags, but they are also looking for volunteers from local scouting units.

Angela Egan, treasurer of the Wellness Council, said residents can sponsor a flag in honor of a loved one for a $25 donation. A ribbon, imprinted with the person’s name, would be placed on the flag. The donations are split between the Wellness Council and Seaford American Legion Post No. 1132.

Last week’s meeting featured some newcomers to the group, including Robert Blasi and Donna Romano. Both said they are looking to give back to Seaford, and thought the Wellness Council would be a good start.

“I just wanted to help out,” said Blasi, whose wife has been a member of the organization.

Romano, a phys. ed. teacher in the city, said with her youngest son off to college, she has some more time to contribute. She is particularly excited about helping out at the Friday Night Live event for middle school students in March. “It would be nice to give back to the adolescents in the neighborhood,” she said.

For the Hot Chocolate Run, Romano said she plans to help the Wellness Council set up, then will be off and running as she has done in years past.

The group will be holding a special planning meeting about the run on Oct. 15, and then its next regular meeting on Oct. 28.