BK Munguia and Jon Mark to Receive the 2020 Scarsdale Bowl Award

B. Kathleen (BK) Munguia and Jon Mark, an extraordinary couple with decades of dedicated volunteerism to Scarsdale, will be the 2020 joint recipients of the community’s highest award, the Scarsdale Bowl.  The Scarsdale Bowl is awarded annually to "one who has given unselfishly of time, energy, and effort to the civic welfare of the community," according to the Bowl founding documents. 

“BK and Jon are a couple who have volunteered in every area of civic life in Scarsdale.  They have dedicated their lives to giving back to our community, and Scarsdale is a better place for their indefatigable commitment,” said Nancy Michaels, chair of the Scarsdale Bowl Committee. 

Munguia and Mark will be honored at The Scarsdale Foundation Bowl Dinner on Wednesday, April 22nd, at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase.  Michaels encourages all members of the community to attend. “It is a night to celebrate the spirit of volunteerism in Scarsdale. The Bowl Committee, a diverse group of 15 community volunteers, selects the recipient(s) after reviewing many worthy candidates who are nominated by the community annually.” This will be the fourth time that a couple is receiving the award in the Bowl’s 77-year history. The Bowl Committee will send out invitations on March 2nd; however, one need not receive an invitation to attend.  The entire community is invited to this wonderful, celebratory event.  

Sunday evening, the Bowl Committee voted to honor Munguia and Mark.  Delegates from the committee, including Michaels, Scarsdale Foundation President Randy Guggenheimer, Foundation liaison to the committee Seth Ross, and committee secretary/treasurer Abby Sroka, together with committee member Dara Gruenberg, arrived unannounced at the Munguia/Mark home to surprise the couple with the committee’s selection.  Mark commented, “I am honored. I have to sit down.” Munguia, equally stunned, hugged Jon, and after a few moments of quiet astonishment said, “This is so overwhelming. I just can’t believe it. I am speechless.” 

Reflecting on the significance of the Bowl Award, Munguia and Mark expressed their deep gratitude to the many Scarsdale volunteers they met along the way who also contribute to the dynamic community that is Scarsdale and to whom they extend their thanks for this honor.

Munguia began her volunteer work in Scarsdale at Heathcote School, where she organized gardening projects in the atrium and around the school grounds.  She served on the School Board’s Legislative Committee, and the School Board Nominating Committee and Administrative Committee. Munguia also served on the Scarsdale Bowl Committee.  Munguia, a tireless advocate for youth and teens, has spent several decades volunteering for the Girl Scouts in various capacities. Munguia served on the Citizens Nominating Committee, the Procedure Committee, and chaired the Scarsdale Citizens Non-Partisan Campaign Committee.  She served on the Board of the Scarsdale Forum and as its president in 2011-2012. Most notably, Munguia was a board member and president of the now closed Scarsdale Teen Center, starting her service in 2001 and concluding with the closing of the center in 2018.  She is also a trustee of The Scarsdale Foundation. Known as a quiet workforce behind so much of what goes on in Scarsdale, “BK embodies the essence of what the Bowl honors: unselfish devotion of time, energy, and effort for the civic welfare of the community. She has shaped so much of what Scarsdale is today, oftentimes quietly and behind the scenes.  She is always willing to do the work others don’t want to take on, because that’s just who she is,” Michaels said.The Bowl Committee surprised Jon and BK when they visited their home to let them know they had been selected to win the Bowl.

Mark, who grew up in Scarsdale, attended Scarsdale schools from kindergarten at the Griffen Avenue School, to Quaker Ridge School, to Scarsdale High School, Class of 1965.  He spent the first part of his volunteer life in Scarsdale identified mainly as “BK’s husband” who helped wherever he was asked. However, for the last decade, Mark has created his own reputation as one of Scarsdale’s most dedicated volunteers.  Mark served as a two-term Village trustee before becoming the Mayor in 2015. Mark also chaired the Scarsdale Bowl Committee in 2014-2015.  In 2017, following his service on the Village Board, Mark joined the board of trustees at Westchester Reform Temple, where he currently serves as a vice president. Concurrently, he was the president of the Scarsdale Forum.  Additionally, Mark chaired the Citizens Nominating Committee and then co-chaired the Scarsdale Non-Partisan Party Campaign Committee. “One of Jon’s most striking qualities is his humility. He has a quiet strength that pervades his leadership, and he treats everyone with respect.  He is often the last to speak as he wants to hear all sides of an issue. He possesses a tireless work ethic. Jon is always willing to roll up his sleeves, no task too small,” said Michaels. 

Evelyn Stock, a longtime friend, declared enthusiastically when she heard the news, “I have lived in Scarsdale for 50 years and have known them and worked with them for over 20 years.  I cannot think of a more deserving couple to win the Bowl Award. They are both remarkable volunteers in their own right who have given so much to this community, and their service has no limit. They are extraordinary!”  

For more information about The Scarsdale Foundation or The Scarsdale Foundation Bowl Award Dinner, please visit http://scarsdalefoundation.org.