Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY--The 37th annual Hempstead for Hofstra/Hofstra for Hempstead Scholarship Dinner will honor six community leaders for their service on Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Dining Room of the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center, North Campus.
To make a reservation or donate to the scholarship fund, please call 516-463-6636.
For more than three decades, the scholarship dinner has celebrated and cemented the bond between the University and the Village of Hempstead, while raising money to help Village students attend Hofstra.
Among the highlights of the event is the presentation of the Unispan Awards, which are named for the first pedestrian bridge over Hempstead Turnpike connecting Hofstra's North and South campuses. The award recognizes individuals or organizations for service to the community. This year's recipients are:

Donald H. Hazelton
Donald H. Hazelton is an attorney with his own practice. Prior to beginning his own civil litigation practice, Mr. Hazelton he was an attorney in the law offices of Thomas Torto. He is a graduate of St. John’s University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s of business administration. He also earned his law degree at St. John’s, and has remained active as a board member of the law school’s alumni association. He also is an adjunct professor in business administration and management, and founded the Jean and John Hazelton Scholarship Fund, set up in memory of his parents, both professor there, to provide scholarships to needy students.
He and his wife, Maryann, have four children, Donald, Emily, Robert and Laura.

Denee Rivera Barracato
Denee Rivera Barracato is the former Associate Director for Division I Women’s Basketball at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and a graduate of Hofstra University, where she earned a bachelor of arts in graphic design and was a star student athlete who holds the school’s all-time record in career steals. She went on to play professionally for the Women’s Basketball League in Puerto Rico with The Saints of San Juan. She also was drafted to play for the National Women’s Basketball League with the Atlanta (GA) Justice.
She earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Adelphi University, and worked there as a special projects coordinator and later, as the assistant athletic director. Mrs. Rivera Barracato is a graduate of Hempstead High School, and has served as a trustee on the Hempstead Public Library Board, and has supported organizations including the Hempstead Police Athletic League and the Hempstead Salvation Army. In 2008, she was the keynote speaker at the Hempstead High School graduation, and a year later, was inducted into the Village of Hempstead Wall of Fame.
She and her husband, Michael, live in Hempstead with their daughter, Grace.

Jerald S. Carter
The Honorable Jerald S. Carter is a graduate of Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., and of Howard University School of Law, where he graduated #6 in his class. He returned to New York, and began his career as a member of the Nassau County District Attorney’s office. He later entered private practice with his father, Shirley, specializing in criminal, labor and sports law.
In 1989, Judge Carter was appointed as an associate judge for the Village of Hempstead. He was later appointed to the Nassau County District Court. He was elected to the County Court bench in 1997, and served as an Acting Supreme Court Justice for several years.
Judge Carter has been a member of the Fisk University Board of Trustees, and is a member of the Board of Directors of “The Judicial Friends”, an association of elected African-American judges. He is on the Board of Governors of Touro School of Law, where he is an adjunct professor, and has appeared as a television legal analyst on Court TV, Like It is and The McCreary Report.

Chy Davidson
Chy Davidson is interim Principal of the Senior Academy at Hempstead High School, where he has also served on various scholarship committees that have raised more than $300,000 in scholarships.
Principal Davidson’s education career began in New York City, where he was first a physical education teacher and later, the Principal of I.S. 139 in the South Bronx. During his 12-year career with the Hempstead school district, he has been an assistant football coach of the Hempstead High School team, coached both track and girls basketball for Our Lady of Loretto, Catholic Youth Organization, leading his 4th grade girls to an undefeated season.
Mr. Davidson earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island, which he attended on a football scholarship after establishing the all-time scoring record with 28 touchdowns in a single season while at Bayside High School in Queens. He earned his master’s degree in Administration and Supervision from the College of New Rochelle. He is also an adjunct professor at Adelphi University.
Prior to his education career, Mr. Davidson was drafted by the New England Patriots in 1981 as a wide-receiver. He signed with the Washington Redskins in 1982 and completed his NFL career with the New York Jets in 1985.
He lives in Hempstead with his wife, Janet, and their four daughters.

Glenn N. Deans
Glenn N. Deans is co-founder and managing partner of Deans Archer & Co., Certified Public Accountants. Prior to starting his own firm, Mr. Deans was a partner with Mitchell & Titus LLP for 11 years.
Mr. Deans earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting from New York University, and a master’s of business administration in financial management from Pace University. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the National Association of Black Accountants and the New York State Society of CPAs.
An adjunct professor at Hofstra University, Mr. Deans also serves on the board of Certified Opportunities in the Accounting Profession or COAP, an organization that introduces minority high school students to the accounting profession. A Hempstead High School graduate, Mr. Deans is very active in community organizations and has served on the boards of such groups as the Interfaith Nutrition Network, the New York Urban League, the Institute for Student Achievement and the Veterans Leadership Program.

The Rev. Dr. Sedgwick Vaughn Easley
The Rev. Dr. Sedgwick Vaught Easley has been pastor and leader of Union Baptist Church in Hempstead since April 2006. Born in the Bronx, Dr. Easley was raised in Virginia, where he graduated from Virginia Union University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and an associate major in Religious Studies. He earned a master of divinity degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology of the Virginia Union University, and earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Union Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
Before coming to Hempstead, Dr. Easley was pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church in Virginia and assistant pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church, also in Virginia.
Since being installed at Union Baptist Church, Dr. Easley has built bridges between the church and the community. He is chairperson for the Nassau Affiliate of the Black Leadership Commission on AIDSA, has been the keynote speaker at the Roosevelt High School graduation, the Village of Hempstead Black History Month celebration, and the Town of Hempstead Kwanza celebration.
He and his wife, Yvette, live in Hempstead, with their daughter, MiChaela.
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