Christine Sciandra and Eleanor Landau Receive the Thomas Sobol Service Award

Christina Sciandra with Village colleagues.On a beautiful October afternoon, Scarsdale’s Village and School leaders attended a joyous luncheon to celebrate the recipients of the “The Thomas Sobol Service Awards.” The ceremony, hosted by Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Services (SFCS), marked the fourth time since 2016 that two individuals were recognized for their tremendous contributions to our community.

As Janice Starr, SFCS President, explained in her opening remarks, the award honors the legacy of Dr. Thomas Sobol who served as SFCS President Janice StarrSuperintendent of Scarsdale Schools and Commissioner of Education for New York State. In addition to this commendable work, Starr noted that Dr. Sobol was also instrumental in establishing the Scarsdale Community Youth Service Project (YSP), a unique collaboration between the Scarsdale schools and the Village that has “significantly contributed to the well-being of our middle and high school students.”

Carl H. Pforzheimer III, a friend of Dr. Sobol, dove a little deeper into the history of the award explaining that he and two other friends (and former members of Village and School Boards) didn't want Dr. Sobol’s accomplishments and his deep commitment to bringing the resources of both the Village Board and the School Board together to be lost. And so the friends created this award in his memory, an award that honors one recipient from each board who personifies the idea of the boards working together for the good of our community. This year, that honor was bestowed upon Christine Sciandra representing the Village of Scarsdale and Eleanor Landau representing the Scarsdale School District, both whom were described by Starr as, “going beyond their job descriptions to care for all they come in contact with.”

Eleanor Landau with well wishers from the Scarsdale Schools

Scarsdale Village Manager, Alexandra Marshall also described Ms. Sciandra as someone who goes above and beyond for others but added that “she always does it with a smile.” Before listing all the special ways that Sciandra contributes to her office and the Scarsdale community at large, Marshall related, “In addition to keeping us organized, Christine is truly the glue that holds us together in the manager’s office. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Christine over the past three years, but she has been a dedicated employee since she started with the village in April of 2008.”Mayor Justin Arest with Harriet Sobol

Ms. Sciandra thanked Marshall for her kind words and expressed her gratitude for the incredible recognition and for the amazing people she is fortunate to work with. She went on to thank her family and friends who came to the luncheon to help Sciandra celebrate the remarkable honor.

Superintendent, Dr. Drew Patrick, introduced the next honoree, Elenor Landau. He started by thanking Landau for her decades of service in the SHS Math Department and highlighted the tremendous amount of inspiring work she has accomplished there since 1980. Patrick also painted a picture of Landau as a generous, kind, and knowledgeable teacher and department chairperson, who knows the curriculum better than anyone, adding she often consulted with teachers and acted as a professional learning support for new hires in the department. Most importantly, Landau supported all of her students and helped them believe that they too, are a “math person.”

Surrounded by many in the math department and other SHS faculty members, Landau graciously accepted her award and humbly thanked everyone for the recognition and support saying it was such an honor to receive the award.

Adding to the touching ceremony, Harriet Sobol, wife of the late Dr. Sobol, helped to present the awards to the honorees.

Jay Genova, the Director of Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Services, was also on hand to applaud the two award recipients. In a heartfelt moment, Genova shared that when the world can feel a little stressful, it is wonderful to come together to focus on, and to celebrate the actions and great work of people who go above and beyond, but who usually work quietly without recognition.

Superintendent of Schools Drew PatrickMr. Genova went on to describe the historical significance of holding the luncheon at Wayside Cottage, explaining that SFCS was first formed when women gathered at the cottage to discuss how they could help immigrants back in 1904. Now, 104 years later, SFCS is a vital community resource with innovative programs that serve every age group. As Janice Starr explained earlier in the program, “Our open doors mean that no one is ever turned away. Client fees, grants and fundraising form the basis of our income…but SFCS also relies upon the generosity of individual contributors.” To find out more about the wide array of services offered by SFCS see https://www.sfcsinc.org/

Jay Genova and Eleanor Landau

Carl Pforzeimer III