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PUBLIC AGENDA

MONDAY , SEPTEMBER 11

Valley Central Board of Education . 6:30 p . m . Administration building , 944 Route 17K , Montgomery .

TUESDAY , SEPTEMBER 12 Gardiner Town Board work session . 7 p . m . Town Hall , Route 44-55 , Gardiner . Pine Bush Board of Education . 7-8 p . m . Pine Bush High School , 1951 Route 302 , Pine Bush .

TUESDAY , SEPTEMBER 18

Walden Village Board of Trustees . 6:30 p . m . Village Hall , 1 Municipal Square . Montgomery Village Board . 7:30 p . m . Village Hall , 133 Clinton Street .

WEDNESDAY , SEPTEMBER 19

Village of Walden Planning Board . 7:30 p . m . Village Hall , 1 Municipal Square .

HOW TO REACH US

OFFICE : 300 Stony Brook Court Newburgh , NY 12550

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WEBSITE www . timescommunitypapers . com

The Wallkill Valley Times , ( USPS 699-490 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , N . Y . 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , N . Y . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Wallkill Valley Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . 12550

By LAURA FITZGERALD lfitz @ tcnewspapers . com

Fitzpatrick is currently serving or has served as the past president of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce , a member of the General Montgomery Day Parade Committee , the Bandstand Committee , the St . Pat ’ s Ramble Committee , a founding member of the Montgomery Car Show , a founding member of the Christmas Celebration , and a founding member of the “ Breakfast Club ,” a group made up of members of the community that help charitable causes .

A kid from the Bronx , he moved to Pine Bush before his senior year of high school and played basketball . It was a big adjustment , but it set him on a path that would change the course of his life .

“ It was incredible how my life started , and the journey became here , in Orange County ,” Fitzpatrick said . “ So , my father made the right move .”

Several long-time friends said he could have gone to college on an athletic scholarship , but he chose to enter the workforce instead . He married his high school sweetheart , Charlene , and started his career in 1974 as a window clerk at the post office in Pine Bush .

At the age of 22 , he moved to the village of Montgomery after buying a house on Chandler Lane , where he still lives with his wife today .

He retired in 2009 as an executive at the James A . Farley Building in Manhattan , the largest post office in the U . S . Then , he began his second career as a committee member , founding member and chairperson for countless committees and charitable organizations in Montgomery .

His charitable and community pursuits are sparked by his love of the village and his excitement for creating things with a large group of people . He takes pride in seeing the community come together for events such as the weekly bandstand or the St . Pat ’ s Ramble .

“ It ’ s like putting on a Broadway play ,” Fitzpatrick said . “ The curtains go up , after all the readings and tasks and agendas and phone calls and Facebook posts , then the show goes on . And when it ’ s over , you know you had a hit .”

He also loves the community pride that

Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , September 5 , 2018

Brian Fitzpatrick is the grand marshal of the 2018 General Montgomery Day parade .

comes from the town ’ s Main Street . He loves to help the business community , the sponsors for so many community events .

“ Small businesses are the heart of the community , so when you give back to them , you bring in a crowd , you bring in the parades , that ’ s the revenue ,” Fitzpatrick said . “ That ’ s investing in the people that have invested in your community .”

But , he stays humble , attributing his success to an army of volunteers .

Paul Satkowski is one of those volunteers . Satkowski created the first Copper Bowl Golf Outing , a fundraiser for St . Pat ’ s ramble and other local charitable causes . At first , Satkowski was reluctant to take on such a large project , but he signed up for the outing after a ten-minute phone conversation with Fitzpatrick .

“ Sometimes you ’ re working on something and it ’ s hard or it ’ s difficult , but when you ’ re doing it with Brian he makes it easy-going and fun ,” Satkowski said .

Fitzpatrick ’ s ability to motivate people stems from his leadership abilities . Several friends described him as a “ natural-born leader ,” a person that knows how to get things done and have fun doing it .

Fitzpatrick said he sees everything he does as a connection with other people . Most of those connections turn into longtime friends .

Jane Samuelson met Fitzpatrick when she moved to the village in 2005 and started working with him on the bandstand committee . Samuelson said he was a great contact to have when she was new to the village .

“ He ’ s just a great mentor of getting things done in the village because he knows everybody ,” Samuelson said .

Despite his involvement in the community , Fitzpatrick shuns the spotlight . Satkowski said that when he tried to honor Fitzpatrick for his involvement with the St . Pat ’ s ramble , he left the room before Satkowski could finish the speech .

“ We call him the man behind the curtain because one thing about Brian is he does all the things for everyone in our community and he never wants a pat on the back and he doesn ’ t want any credit for it ,” Satkowski said . “ Most people don ’ t even know he ’ s the one doing all the things .”

Fitzpatrick ’ s mind is constantly buzzing with ideas for how to improve things in the village . Those ideas translate into tangible events and promotions .

Friend of Fitzpatrick and Montgomery Car Show committee member Bob Schultzel said Fitzpatrick had the idea of handing out $ 10 gift certificates for Montgomery businesses to every participant in the car show , promoting the town ’ s businesses . The idea put money back into the villages ’ businesses instead of asking for donations , as most community events do .

“ That ’ s the kind of visionary he is when it comes to this village ,” Schultzel said .

Fitzpatrick said he plans to slow down with his charitable involvement soon to spend more time with his family . However , his definition of “ slowing down ,” might be a little different than the average citizen ’ s .

“ Maybe it ’ s slowing down for him but for the rest of us it would three times as much as we do now ,” Satkowski said .

The General Montgomery Day Parade will be on Sept . 8 at 10:30 a . m . General Montgomery Day begins with a continental breakfast at St . Mary ’ s Hall at 7:30 a . m . and ends with fireworks at Veterans Memorial Park at 8:30 p . m .