David Raizen Draws Record Crowd to 2014 Scarsdale Bowl Dinner

It was a night of firsts for the Scarsdale Bowl Dinner – with the youngest honoree in the history of the Bowl, drawing the largest crowd ever to a new venue for the event. Bowl Chair David Brodsky greeted the 440 guests to the Fountainhead in New Rochelle, and thanked friends, former Bowl members, SCARVAC volunteers, the Mayor, the Bowl Committee, local officials and the community for turning out to honor David Raizen for outstanding community service. A special shout out went to Deb Pekarek, a newly-minted Village trustee who served as secretary/treasurer of the Bowl Committee and Evelyn Stock who is both a trustee as the Scarsdale Foundation and a member of the Bowl Committee for extraordinary efforts in arranging the festivities. Brodsky noted former Bowl Honoree Eda Newhouse who passed away recently and also thanked Scarsdale School Superintendent Michael McGill who will be retiring at the close of the school year.

After a blessing from Rabbi Bruce M. Freyer, the speeches got underway. As a lifelong resident of Scarsdale, the founder of Scarsdale Security and President of the Scarsdale Village Ambulance Corps., Raizen has a wealth of friends who purchased seats to the event and came to laud his efforts on behalf of the Village.

Scarsdale Foundation President and former Village Trustee Richard Toder was eloquent as always and quoted Benjamin Franklin who said, " He that drinks his cider alone, let him catch his horse alone." Calling Franklin the father of volunteerism he quoted him again saying, "The good men may do separately is small, compared with what they may do collectively,' and added "I have no doubt that if Franklin had the good fortune to live in Scarsdale, he would have been awarded the Scarsdale Bowl." He thanked Bowl Chair David Brodsky for his "herculean efforts" to move the Bowl to a new venue and presensted Deb Pekarek with a beautiful bouquet of red roses.

First up was Fire Chief Thomas M. Cain, in full uniform. He revealed that he began his 29-year friendship with David over a cup of coffee and a diet coke at the Heathcote Deli in January 1985. Cain worked part-time at Scarsdale Security and noted that Raizen always put the needs of the ambulance corps before the business, staying up all night on calls. He credited David with building the "most highly regarded volunteer ambulance services in Westchester County," and said Raizen was "an extraordinarily intelligent and compassionate community- minded individual who selflessly gives of himself to his friends, his employees, his neighbors, his relatives, as well as thousands of complete strangers on a continuous basis."

Steve Rambone, who has known David since high school gave a comic recap of their lives together. He joked, "What a crowd! Did you offer everyone a free alarm system? He called David "Mr. Scarsdale" and remembered that they started their first business together, "Raizen and Rambone Home Repairs." They both drove Chevy Impalas to high school and shared a passion for electronics and carpentry. In fact, the two launched the alarm company in Raizen's garage and while Raizen built the business, Rambone went on to teaching. He said that Raizen "designed, built and staffed one of the finest ambulance buildings" and called him a dedicated father and a great employer.

Former Mayor Peter Strauss joked that in elementary school, Raizen "was a little boy running around the classroom sticking pins into sockets, eager to see what would happen – all the while making his teachers crazy. That little boy was wired – and as we know today - a large part of the world has been wired by that little boy!"

Strauss continued, "That restlessness, that patience, and that persistence have never left David; they are at the heart of everything he has done since – in his family, in his security business, Scarsdale Security Systems, and in his extraordinary leadership of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps."

He said that Raizen "is continuously solving the problems facing his multi-faceted world – in his family, in his business, and in the unrelenting pressure of the daily needs of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps," and credited him with strengthening the total emergency services in the Village.

The big moment arrived and Raizen was awarded the Bowl. He lost his characteristic worried expression and beamed as he held the bowl aloft.

He opened by saying "Scarsdale is my home. ...It's the site of all of those elements and memories, large and small that comprise a life—my failures, my successes, and my many milestones: learning to walk, learning to talk, learning to drive. My first date, my first kiss. So I think you will know what I'm talking about when I say it feels a little odd being awarded for service to my community because serving my home is the most natural thing in the world."

Discussing the calls he said, "At the ambulance corps, it's a lot of missed meals. A lot of interrupted holidays. It's time away from spouse and children, not only for all of the emergency calls, but also for the hundreds of hours of training."

"So why do we do it? Of all the ways we could serve our incredible town, why the ambulance? To the dismay of Chief Brogan, my response to that question is often, "Where else in the world do I get to go 90 miles per hour, down the wrong side of the street, chasing the cops!!"

Remembering his early experiences with EMS he said, "I didn't get to go on my actual first call until I was 18. That first call was a DOA. Maybe that should have discouraged me, but I was nervous, and it was comforting to see right away that I couldn't really screw this one up. "...This is a calling. I didn't choose the EMS. It chose me."

He thanked the entire corps, many who were in the audience saying, "And I'm not the only one. I may be the face of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps, but there are seventy-five other volunteers and career staff alongside me, and any credit I receive equally goes to them."

He told the group, "I love what I do as President of SCARVAC, and I hope to do it for years to come, as long as the membership allows me to and will put up with me."

Encouraging others to volunteer, he said, "The best way we can show we're grateful for our town is to serve it. So, to all of you currently not serving Scarsdale, I ask you—find your calling, and do your duty. Serve your home."

He closed by saying "When I say good-bye to people, I often joke by saying, "See you later. Well, actually, I hope I don't, but you know what I mean." To all of you, I want to say, "See you later," and this time, I hope I do. And you know what I mean. Thanks."