Date: Mar 31, 2008

Hempstead for Hofstra/Hofstra for Hempstead to Host 34th Annual Scholarship Ball

Ted Adams '76, Mary Burns, Scott Clark, Paul Conte, Jacqueline Jones-Ford to be honored

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – The 34th Annual Hempstead for Hofstra/Hofstra for Hempstead Scholarship Ball, which raises money to help Village of Hempstead students attend Hofstra University, will be held on Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Dining Room of the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center, North Campus.

Scholarship money raised from this annual event has helped hundreds of Hempstead students pursue their higher education goals at Hofstra.

The Scholarship Ball committee also presents the Unispan Award to individuals for their community work. The award, named for the original pedestrian bridge over Hempstead Turnpike that unites Hofstra’s north and south campuses, symbolizes the close ties between the University and the Village of Hempstead. This year’s Unispan Award recipients are Ted Adams ’76, Mary Burns, Scott Clark, Paul Conte and Jacqueline Jones-Ford.

Ted Adams ’76 – Mr. Adams has coached the Hempstead High School varsity basketball team since the 1980s. He has lead his Hempstead team back to prominence and to numerous state and Long Island championships over the years.

A member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, his coaching and community service awards include Teacher of the Year, United Black Christian’s Martin Luther King Award for Education, Salvation Army Others Award, Hempstead/Uniondale Rotary Club Service Above Self Community Award, Newsday’s Long Island Coach of the Year Award, New York State Coach of the Year, and the Kodak-Downtown Athletic Club Legend of Coaching Award.  He also has been director of the Hempstead Salvation Army Community Center since 1980, where he continues his outreach to local youth through recreation and cultural arts programs, counseling and tutoring.

Mary Burns – is a respected community advocate and second deputy commissioner of information and technology for the Town of Hempstead.  She was a member of the Hempstead Neighborhood Advisory Council (HNAC), served on the Hempstead Board of Education for six years, and is an active member of the Hempstead Branch of the NAACP, where she is a Life and Golden Heritage member.  Ms. Burns served as treasurer, 1993–2000. Ms. Burns has been a member of the Kiwanis Club of Hempstead since 1990 and is currently secretary and distinguished past president. She is also lieutenant governor for the Long Island South Central Division of Kiwanis International and Kiwanis advisor to the Hempstead High School Key Club (1996-present).  In 1996, in collaboration with the HNAC and the Nassau County Youth Board, she worked with the Key Club members to prepare a plan that resulted in the formation of the Boys and Girls Club in Hempstead. 

She served in the United States Marine Corps, two years active duty, one year inactive reserves, where she attained the rank of sergeant.  Ms. Burns is a member of American Legion Post 390 in Hempstead, and currently serves as treasurer of the Post.  She has worked on the New York State games for the physically challenged since 1990. Ms. Burns has given a scholarship for academic improvement and community service to a graduating senior at Hempstead High School every year since 1992.  She lives in Hempstead with her husband Bill.

Scott Clark – is chief of the Hempstead Volunteer Fire Department and supervisor for the Village of Hempstead Department of Public Works.

He was elected unanimously as fire department chief in 2007 and leads the 220-member department into its 175th year. After joining the fire department in 1995, Mr. Clark worked his way up the ranks by demonstrating his leadership qualities along with his dedicated and diligent service on both the company and department levels.  He is a New York State certified EMT and a member of both the Rescue Squad and Fire Police Squad.  Mr. Clark is also an active member of the two-time New York State Champion Yellow Hornet Drill Team. Born and raised in Hempstead, he and his wife, Robyn, and their son, Daniel, live in West Hempstead. 

Paul Conte – has been a member of Hofstra’s Conservators (renamed Calkins) Society since 2001.   His wife, Dr. Hope Conte, received a master of arts degree in psychology from Hofstra in 1969, and a Ph.D. from New York University. After she passed away, Paul decided to honor her by establishing the Hope R. Conte Endowed Memorial Scholarship at Hofstra University.

Mr. Conte has been involved with the automobile industry for almost 60 years. He has owned Paul Conte Cadillac in Freeport for 27 years and is also president of Paul Conte Chevrolet in Freeport. His many civic awards include “Man of the Year” for the Freeport Chamber of Commerce (1990), “Man of the Year” from Italian Americans in Government Service (1993), and “Citizen of the Year” from the Freeport Salvation Army (2002).  He is a former president of the Hempstead Chamber of Commerce and a “Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International.” He served as president of the Hempstead/Uniondale Rotary Club, vice president for the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency (1995-2005) and director for the Friends of Nassau Seniors (1997-2005).

A native of Rockville Centre, Mr. Conte graduated from South Side High School and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, before serving in the U.S. Navy. He later finished his undergraduate education at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. Paul and Hope had two children, both of whom work in the family business.  Mr. Conte supports his late wife’s alma mater because Hofstra is a leading academic institution that is also involved with the community.

Jacqueline Jones-Ford – is a detective with the Hempstead Village Police Department and director of the Village Police Athletic League (PAL).  She has been in law enforcement for nearly 12 years; two of those years she served as a New York Housing Authority police officer.

A product of Hempstead schools, she graduated from St. John’s University with an associate’s degree in applied science in accounting.  Detective Jones-Ford is New York certified as an instructor, which enables her to teach any New York State curriculum to the police department, and a self-defense instructor with rape prevention certification.  Detective Jones-Ford is the past co-coordinator of the Civilian Police Academy where Hempstead residents take a seven-week course on the operations of the Police Department.

As director of the Hempstead PAL, Detective Jones-Ford leads a group of volunteers to provide after-school and weekend programs to the youth in the Village of Hempstead.  Programs include basketball, cheerleading, dance, karate, kung fu, bowling, ice skating, roller skating, roller hockey, skiing, education field trips, computer classes, tutoring and community service

To make a reservation for the Scholarship Ball or to donate to the scholarship fund, please call 516-463-6636.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students find their edge to succeed in more than 140 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 23 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence, cutting edge technology, extensive library resources, internships and special educational programs that appeal to their interests and abilities.  The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.