Peter Strauss Honored at 2015 Scarsdale Bowl Dinner

You could not total the number of volunteer years of service of the 275 attendees at the 2015 Scarsdale Bowl dinner, a celebration of community volunteerism and the 2015 Bowl Winner, Peter Strauss. Strauss alone has put in 48 years volunteering for 25 different civic organizations and committees, his wife Laura has more than done her part since moving to town in 1966, and all the committee members and friends who offered tributes and attended have impressive records themselves.

Strauss served as Mayor of Scarsdale from 2005-7 and Village Trustee from 2001-5. He is proud of his role in developing downtown Scarsdale, installing more legible street signs and working on the new headquarters for the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps. He served on the Zoning Board of Appeals, chaired the Village Advisory Council on Human Relations, on the Procedure Committee and is a firm believer in the non-partisan system.

Held on April 22 at the Fountainhead in New Rochelle, the event was led by Scarsdale Bowl Committee Chair, and now newly-elected Scarsdale Mayor Jon Mark. He greeted guests by recognizing Strauss's extraordinary service and acknowledging all the attendees who "make Scarsdale the exceptional community that it is." He thanked the Bowl Committee for their work and named the recipients of the former Bowl winners who were in attendance at the event. He singled out Jane Veron who served on the Bowl Committee and also as the liaison to the Scarsdale Foundation for going "above and beyond." He also noted the contributions of Bowl Treasurer Robert Jeremiah, Foundation President Evelyn Stock and last year's Bowl Chair David Brodsky.

Scarsdale Foundation President Evelyn Stock thanked Peter Strauss for "giving unselfishly of time, energy and effort to the community." Speaking about the work of the Scarsdale Foundation she discussed need-based scholarship for college students, support for SVAC and Scarsdale and Edgemont Family Counseling. She quoted Richard Toder who said, "When some of our neighbors are hurting and in need of our help, we try to be there. This help is what makes our community so special. We care."

She noted that Strauss' many volunteer commitments extend beyond on Scarsdale. On a recent visit to the White Plains Hospital emergency room she spotted Strauss, who volunteers there, and brought her lunch.

Stock then extolled the benefits of volunteering telling the room, "You know it is now okay to have chocolate, eggs—the whole egg, red meat, and wine. And we learned long ago the benefits of volunteering include new friends and contacts, and improved social, relationship and job skills. But now new studies have demonstrated that volunteering benefits your mental, physical and emotional well-being. Volunteers experience a euphoric rush that releases endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. The health benefits include a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes as well as lower cholesterol levels... Harvard Medical School reports adults over age 50 who volunteer regularly are less likely to develop high blood pressure. A Carnegie Mellon study put a number to it--200 hours of volunteering per year correlated to lower blood pressure. Volunteering may reduce stress. ... Now we must admit that eggs, red meat, wine and chocolate (even dark chocolate) must be eaten or drunk in moderation. But... moderation is not needed for volunteering. Think-- you could live forever."

Former Bowl recipient Carl Pforzheimer III discussed the long hours Strauss put in when he was Mayor, and said that Strauss served with "elegance, discretion and dignity, working devoutly for the public." He quoted a trustee who worked with Strauss who said, "when Peter became mayor, he literally moved into Village Hall. The mayor's office was resurrected and Peter put in standard 8 hour days doing the people's work. His daily, on-site management style has never been duplicated before or since." Another said that Peter did a shift on the snowplows on a snowy winter night. Pforzheimer said "Peter did his homework every time. He didn't just read, he studied, he consulted with others, he came to a reasoned opinion. You could agree or disagree with that opinion, but you didn't need to question its authenticity of design."

Laura Strauss has been married to Peter for 52 years and described him as "20% small town American" with the balance distinctly German. Struass immigrated to the United States from Germany when he was 7 years old. She noted his work ethic, persistence and optimism and said he was devoted to family, even keeping a photo of his "mother-in-law on his desk." He was an involved dad and coach to their two daughters who attended the dinner with their children. Carolyn Strauss travelled from California where she is the Executive Producer of the hit television series Game of Thrones, and many fans stopped by her table to meet and greet her and her son Owen. Younger daughter Diana drove down from Brunswick Maine with her husband Kevin and two adorable daughters, Ruby Rose, 6 and Gemma Grace 4. Laura noted that Owen, now 12, was given an assignment to write a paper about his hero. He chose his Grandapa a Peter, and said that he was "kind and generous" and added that she agrees.

Lifelong friend and Scarsdale resident Victor Goldberg remembered delicious dinners at the Strauss home with a "seemingly limitless bar." He laughed about driving home after an evening of Peter's mixology and marveled that they survived. He thought of those nights often, especially when Strauss become Police Commissioner. He said that his wife was a great admirer of Peter's – calling him "elegant, well-groomed" and even "nice." He said that as Mayor, Peter knew everyone's name from the staff, to the firefighters and the water department personnel. He noted his drive for more readable street signs, saying they were Peter's way of "planning for the old age of his friends." Goldberg credited Strauss's sense of fairness, empathy, dedication, pride in his family and loyalty to friends old and new.

After a slow to emerge dinner and a long night of tributes Strauss took the stage to receive the bowl from Jon Mark and make his remarks. He told the group that his family came to America 79 years ago from Germany when his parents, ages 37 and 31 sought a better life for their family. A Scarsdale resident for 49 years, he said that Scarsdale has "been the source of a wonderful group of friends and multiple opportunities to participate in community activities." He remembered conducting difficult and contentious meetings to clear the way for a group home of mentally disabled residents, working on recommendations to improve and develop the downtown area and serving as trustee and mayor when he came to appreciate the contributions of village staff and realize that we live in a "special community."

He said that we must work hard to generate quality volunteerism to preserve the "positive aspects of our special community." He thanked everyone for honoring him with the Scarsdale Bowl and for coming out to recognize him.