Armonk Chamber to Honor Morris, DeCicco’s at Annual Event

Considering just how much Robby Morris has volunteered over the years in his home community of Armonk, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that its chamber of commerce would give him its highest honor.

Last week, the Armonk Chamber of Commerce announced that Morris, who has been involved in array of different civic groups and efforts for about 40 years, will be its Citizen of the Year. DeCicco & Sons supermarket will also be honored as the Organization of the Year.

While Morris doesn’t mind the honor, true to form, being the man in the limelight isn’t the most comfortable place for Morris to be.

“I always felt that those who give, get,” Morris said of the satisfaction derived from his service. “So, it’s one of those things. You help people and it’s what community is all about.”

It’s been what the 73-year-old Morris has been about since growing up in New Rochelle, which was a similarly tight-knit community. He has spent about 55 years playing a clown at various events and parades in the area.

But it was after he and his wife, Carol, moved to Armonk in 1981, the year after they married, that his volunteering and community service when into overdrive. By 1987, they had three children, all of whom would be involved in youth sports, and that served as his entry into his extensive volunteerism.

“It started with youth soccer and it just continued to go from there, and I got involved in a loft of stuff,” Morris said.

Since Morris loved history, that “stuff” also included volunteering for the North Castle Historical Society, and as a physical education teacher in New Rochelle, spurred his deep involvement with the Special Olympics. He also has volunteered at the Armonk Outdoor Art Show over the years and was involved when the Armonk Chamber of Commerce launched more than 20 years ago. Today, he remains on the chamber’s board of directors.

But perhaps he is been best known as the guy behind the immensely popular Frosty Day, typically held the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Chamber of Commerce President Neal Schwartz said Morris took what was a nice idea to have a sort of winter walk to kick off the holiday season and helped turn it into such a big event that the town and the chamber doesn’t advertise it fearing the community wouldn’t be able to handle crowds any larger than it attracts.

“He’s been working with organizations, nonprofits for decades, and that’s how me met his wife, working on something together,” Schwartz said.

For anyone who isn’t closely involved in the community, it may not be apparent just how involved Morris has been.

“He’s also very unassuming, so you wouldn’t know,” Schwartz mentioned. “You wouldn’t know unless you’ve been around the block and you were at these events.”

Schwartz said that DeCicco & Sons as well as Morris, would have likely been honored sooner had it not been for the pandemic. John and Marie DeCicco, who are town residents, helped the community during the height of COVID-19 by providing food and other products to the community.

“That’s probably when they earned it a little bit more,” Schwartz said. “They’re a very visitor-focused operation to a degree that you don’t see so much anymore.”

The Armonk Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Golf and Dinner event will be held on Monday, Apr. 15 at the Mount Kisco Country Club. The day starts at 10:30, with a noon start to the round of golf, followed by the cocktail hour at 5:30 p.m. and then dinner.

For more information about attending the outing, visit www.armonkchamberofcommerce.com.