Charlie Mannino – Dec 2022
The Marie Beernink Volunteer Appreciation Award for December was presented to Charlie Mannino. Charlie was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island. He attended a post-graduate year at the NY School of Printing and then served a year in Viet Nam before a career that culminated at the Fashion Institute of Technology where he retired in 2000. His interest in genealogy started in the 1990s when a cousin shared a family tree with so many errors Charlie helped him correct. He now has over 1280 researched names and 430 families in his tree.
Charlie started volunteering for WVGS in 2011 filling multiple roles currently filled by three or four different people. But he was always our photographer – from Board member photos to capturing the delivery of our new chairs – if you’ve had your picture taken at WVGS, you know Charlie.
The current Award is for his work at the 50th Anniversary celebration. The Board had thought to honor the entire Committee, but the other members unanimously said it was Charlie that should be honored. Charlie was the engine behind the celebration, from the logo to the entertainment, from the dinner to the music.
Thank you, Charlie.