Mt. Kisco Committee Plans to Honor Former Head of Boys & Girls Club
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The Village of Mount Kisco plans to honor a man whose lasting impact on the lives of young men still resonate with those who had the privilege to be under his tutelage.
An ad-hoc committee reached out to village officials earlier this year to create a park between Gatto Drive and Lieto Drive off of Lexington Avenue to pay tribute to Wilfred Jennings, who led the Boys Club (now the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester) in Mount Kisco in the 1960s. An annual award, the Wilfred Jennings Leadership Award, is bestowed on a local youth at the club.
Luke Scala, one of the leaders of the committee that is spearheading the effort to bring the project to fruition, said there were so many important life lessons that Jennings imparted with his firm but compassionate guidance. One of the most important lessons he learned was to treat everyone with respect.
“The committee acts as one because we all so loved Mr. Jennings, that he gave so much to us kids and the kids that aren’t here anymore and are gone,” Scala said. “It provided, for me, lifelong friends.”
Jennings, a World War II and Korean War veteran who served in the Marines, died in 1995 at 75 years old. But those that remembered him from their youth, said he helped shape their lives and was as influential as their parents, in some cases. It was more striking because it was not necessarily common to have a largely white community have the utmost respect for a Black man.
“He was a great guy,” said Ray Buzzetto, who was mentored by Jennings at the club and is part of the committee. “He did a lot of things for us, took us to the side and had talks with us as we were growing up, and he even was a second father to a lot of us, believe it or not.”
Committee members said they would raise the money necessary to develop the small park and name it after Jennings and his son, also named Wilfred, who drowned in Croton Lake when he was a child. It is hoped that the park will, in some way, reunited father and son in perpetuity, Scala said.
He added that the committee and its supporters will raise the money needed for supplies and any work that needs
Mayor Michael Cindrich said the village will lend its staff, if needed to help with the project. He said the village would aim to dedicate park on or about June 1, at about the same time Mount Kisco is planning its sesquicentennial celebrations.
Jennings’ daughter, Karen Jennings Richardson, said it would be a great honor for her father and their family to be recognized.
“My dad loved everybody,” she said. “He loved working together, he never saw color, he just saw people for being people, and that is what he instilled in me and all the young people that grew up under him, is that we can all work together and be together.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/