ECC TO AWARD SILVER BOWL FOR DISTINGUISHED COMMUNITY SERVICE TO HOWARD HIRSCH

The Edgemont Community Council’s Silver Bowl for distinguished community service will be awarded this year to Howard Hirsch.

The award will be given at the ECC’s annual meeting at the Greenville School on Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

The ECC’s Silver Bowl Committee, chaired this year by ECC President Bob Bernstein, recommended unanimously to present this year’s Silver Bowl to longtime Cotswold resident Howard Hirsch for his more than twenty years of actively volunteering for Edgemont, the Town and our schools.

Howard and his wife Wendy Amer-Hirsch moved to Edgemont June, 1993. As first vice president of the ECC, Howard assisted in building our remarkably robust – yet low cost – online communications network which, depending on the message, allows us to reach hundreds and on occasion tens of thousands of people. As chairman these past two years of the ECC’s School Board Nominating Committee, Howard led efforts to recruit a record number of excellent candidates for the general election. Howard also played a critically important role most recently by appearing on ECC’s behalf in dozens of meetings of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee.

Before joining the ECC, Howard served for 16 years on Edgemont School Foundation where he served as chairman of the grants committee and then as co-chairman of the School Foundation. Using his experience from his home technology business, he was instrumental in getting ESF to fund hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for the latest in computer hardware and software for our schools. He also managed and coached the Junior Panthers football team, which gave our children the opportunity to play in a Westchester football league. He was active with the E Club and was part of the Board that funded the fitness center at the high school.  In addition, Howard has served on a number of school committees, including the Information Technology search committee that resulted in bringing Mike Curtin to the school district.

Outside the School District he has served as co-chairman of the Greenburgh Police Community Advisory Commission, which meets regularly with the Town’s police chief to get the Town to better understand Edgemont’s policing needs, as well as a member of the Greenburgh Budget Advisory Commission, where he became our eyes and ears on what was happening with the Town’s troubled finances.  He was also instrumental in justifying to the town the needs for the recently implemented financial software management system. Howard’s also been involved for years in the Cotswold Civic Association.

His wife Wendy has also been quite involved for many years as a member of the Health and Safety committee for the PTA and as Co-Chair of the Edgemont Committee for Community Health. She also preceded Howard on the on the Greenburgh Police Community Advisory Commission and sat on the School Board Nominating Committee for two separate terms. Together they have two children, Jenny who graduated from EHS in the Class of 2006 and Robbie who graduated in the class of 2010.

The ECC’s Silver Bowl has been awarded just about every year since 1950 to an Edgemont resident for distinguished community service.  Recipients usually received an engraved silver box, but when the manufacturer stopping making them, the ECC started awarding an engraved Silver Bowl instead.

Serving with Chairman Bernstein on the committee this year were ECC directors Matt Jaffe, Hilary Greenberg, and Tom Blank.

Howard’s service has greatly benefited Edgemont, and the larger community around it.  He has earned the respect and gratitude of the entire Edgemont community. Please join us on April 20 at 8 PM to celebrate his distinguished service.