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Susannah Karp, 12, Amityville resident, was recently honored with a certificate and $50 Visa gift card from Cona Elder Law, an elder law firm in Melville, for her winning essay on “What America Means to Me”. Cona Elder Law held an essay contest for students on Long Island to recognize Armed Forces Day.
Susannah read her essay to those who attended the Cona Elder Law Intergenerational Armed Forces Day Celebration on Saturday, May 19th at Huntington Hills Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Melville.
In the essay, she expressed pride as an American because of the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy. Her heroes are our troops who have left their homes and families to fight for our rights. She closes her essay by saying “When I see the American flag flying high over my head, I can close my eyes and imagine it flying high somewhere far, far away where our brave troops can see it too.” She hopes that the flag reminds them of how important they are to all Americans and how much they are appreciated.
A 6th grade student at Park Avenue Elementary School in Amityville, Susannah hopes to become a doctor. When asked why this is her chosen profession, she said “I like to make people feel better especially when they’re sad.” Susannah is a voracious reader and a book buddy at the Amityville Library. She is also an Altar Server at St. Rose of Lima in Massapequa.
Along with Susannah, many residents of the facility, including 22 veterans were honored, as family and friends acknowledged them. A special honoree was 90 year old Phil Stanziola, a Vet and Baldwin resident, who served in the U.S. Air Force for two years. After his return home, Phil worked at the Daily News and became an award winning photographer. He received a proclamation from Cona Elder Law for serving our country and photographing many historical events.
In addition, Melissa Negrin-Wiener, partner, Cona Elder Law, spoke about the little known VA Aid and Attendance benefit that provides a stipend for care at home or in an assisted living facility. Cona Elder Law offers pro bono services to complete the Aid and Attendance application for veterans and their spouses.
This is the third event that Cona Elder Law has sponsored to honor veterans. Cona Elder Law is ranked as the #1 Elder Law firm on Long Island by Long Island Business News. The firm provides creative advocacy and cutting edge planning strategies and has been featured in many publications including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, Newsday, L.I. Business News, Kiplinger’s, Reader's Digest and many others. Cona Elder Law attorneys are frequent contributors to Newsday’s Act II “Ask the Expert” column and have appeared as guests on WNBC-TV, CNN-fn, News 12, News 55, Channel 21 "Act II With Newsday" and many radio stations including WOR, WCBS AM and WFAN.
