Women across the North Shore were honored Friday morning at Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington as the most recent additions to the May Newburger Women’s Roll of Honor were recognized. 

This year was the 30th anniversary of the event, which first started as a way to further celebrate Women’s History Month and acknowledge the women in North Hempstead who have made meaningful contributions to their community, said Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, a 2020 honoree.

“Speaking from personal experience, the most special thing is to see your name enshrined with the other extraordinary women of our town,” DeSena said. 

The Roll of Honor is named after former town Supervisor May Newburger, a Great Neck resident who served five consecutive terms from 1994 to 2003. Newburger was the first female town supervisor in Long Island and served in the state Assembly for eight years and on the town board for two. 

The 15 women honored at the breakfast Friday were Emma Azevedo and Carla Strauss of East Williston, Melody Aziz, Judy Liman, Farangiss Sedaghatpoor and Adrienne Vaultz of Great Neck, Antonietta Maria Manzi of Manhasset, Dr. Umilesh Arya of Old Westbury, Kimberly Keiserman of Port Washington, Hiyako Fellows of Roslyn Harbor, Samantha Rubin of Roslyn Heights, Jean-Marie Posner of Sands Point, Dr. Samarth Joseph and Julie Lyon of Westbury and Kelly Melore of Williston Park. 

A special tribute was given to the Colette Coyne Melanoma Awareness campaign, which was started in honor of New Hyde Park resident Colette Coyne, who died at 30 years old in 1998 from melanoma. The nonprofit works today to increase public awareness on the dangers and causes of skin cancer and melanoma in honor of Coyne.

“The honorees don’t fit one mold, it is a mix of youth and experience,” North Hempstead Clerk Ragini Srivastava said. “Their successes are an example that everything is possible.”