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Presented by
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2021
lichoiceawards.com $1.00 Vol. 86 No. 31
HERALD Nomination Details Inside
Freeport Canoe Races on Aug. 1
Giblyn grad list reprinted in full
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JUlY 29 - AUGUST 4, 2021
Businesses meet pandemic challenges By ReINe BeThANY rbethany@liherald.com
Pandemic closures struck businesses harshly everywhere, and Freeport was no exception. Five very different businesses in the village exemplify the complexity of surviving Covid-19.
Ben Jackson
Reine Bethany/Herald
FReepoRT ChAmBeR oF Commerce President Ben Jackson cut the ribbon to open the Nautical Mile Festival on June 12, accompanied by Mayor Robert Kennedy, right, and business owners.
Freeport Chamber of Commerce President Ben Jackson has run Ben’s General Contracting Corp., on Suffolk Street, for 40 years. “During the pandemic we were lucky, because we were listed as an essential company,”
Jackson said. “We did jobs like building a firehouse, repairing flood work and fixing things like a tree thrust through a house. We got the [Paycheck Protection Program] loan, and I made sure everybody got taken care of, whether or not they worked.” Nonetheless, in the wake of reopening, Jackson said, “I struggle to hire.” He speculated that the extra federal unemployment money contributes to people’s decisions to stay home rather than seek work. “The lack of workers limits capacity,” he said. “We lose Continued on page 11
Patricia Fulton-Lawrence is a Woman of Distinction By ReINe BeThANY rbethany@liherald.com
Using her banking career as a platform from which to educate thousands of students in middle and high school, as well as countless banking clients, about the importance of financial literacy, Patricia Fulton-Lawrence of Freeport was one of 10 Long Island women recognized as a Women of Distinction by State Assemblywoman Judy Griffin. “Today is dedicated to women within our vibrant community who consistently show up and strive to make a positive impact in their community,” Griffin said at her third annual ceremony on
July 22, honoring women that are community leaders. “I started with Citibank when I was 17,” Fulton-Lawrence said. “It was all about helping people, not just getting the house, getting the car, but how to survive — all the women who used to have their husbands do everything, and they didn’t have a clue as to where the money was or what went on. It was helping little old ladies, when they would lose their spouse, to learn how to balance a checkbook. So it’s everything. It’s important.” Fulton-Lawrence noticed early in her career that, “When I was in banking and was a branch manager, the men used
I
t was about getting them ready for college, getting them ready for their future. pATRICIA FUlToN-lAwReNCe to go play golf on Mondays, building relationships on the golf course, and the women stayed in the branches. So I said, there’s got to be a way for us to build relationships as well.” Though she has since learned to play golf, Fulton-Lawrence’s approach was not to head for the
links. “I started volunteering in Freeport Youth Outreach, Operation Get-Ahead, all these different programs that were youthoriented because I like kids,” she said. “Then it was the Long Island Fund for Women and Girls for 25 years, the Long Island Heart Association — all the different organizations I partnered with to grow my busi-
ness, to reach out to different communities, and overall to help women.” But helping women was far from her only focus. Her outreach to middle and high school students equipped many young men for success as well. She is now known as the Bank Lady. It all started with Tiffany, the oldContinued on page 15