‘I take pride in who I am today, the positive impact I make and my ability to overcome my past.’

Susan Perna, Farmingdale

“Growing up, I experienced a history of child abuse in my family. I knew that I didn’t want to repeat the same cycle and become like my mother. Instead, I aspired to be a loving and supportive parent, providing my future children with the confidence and courage they need to succeed.

“My desire to break free from my family’s past and to be different motivated me to create a better life for my children. Today, my children are my everything. They inspire me to be the best mother I can be.

“My passion for giving to them the best life possible also led me to get involved with charity work. What started as a fun Facebook group called Dine-LI [that I] I co-founded became a platform to support local restaurants and food-based businesses during the pandemic and quickly evolved into something much bigger. It became a way to give back to the community and raise awareness for important causes.

It became a way to give back to the community and raise awareness for important causes.

“We organized an annual small business market and craft fair, raising an impressive $80,000 over four years, which we donated to organizations like first responders, Last Hope Animal Rescue, Fires & Drums, Beyond the Badge and more. Our fundraiser in partnership with lipizzastrong.com raised $102,000 for Farmingdale High School’s marching band.

“I have a passion for giving back to my community, which is why I spent 19 years with the Junior League of Farmingdale. During that time, we were able to raise thousands of dollars for the Farmingdale School District. I also enjoy creating baskets filled with Mary Kay goodies to donate at charity events. My goal is to empower women, make them feel important and, most importantly, loved. I take pride in who I am today, the positive impact I make and my ability to overcome my past.”

Interviewed by Starr Fuentes

‘I stayed interested in cooking as I got older, but wasn’t sure what to do with my life.’

St. James

“I started cooking around age 5, fooling around in the kitchen where my parents lived in Queens. I wasn’t watching ‘Sesame Street’; I was trying to copy what I saw Julia Child and ‘The Frugal Gourmet’ did on TV.

“My mom said she would flip through the channels, and the first time I saw Julia Child’s show, I told her to stop there. She saw that I was drawn to cooking. She passed away in 2010, but before that we used to watch the original Japanese version of ‘Iron Chef Showdown’ together. She would say that one day I’d have my own TV show, which I dismissed at the time, but she would insist and say, ‘You’ll see.’

“I stayed interested in cooking as I got older, but wasn’t sure what to do with my life. Growing up in North Bellmore, I followed my dad’s plan to use my art skills, and I studied graphic design in college, but also kept messing around with cooking classes.

“After graduation, I interned for a post-production company in the city and was offered a job in their client services department. As it turned out, that job had me passing through Manhattan restaurants, where I got to taste a lot of food, and it made me finally realize what I wanted to do.

“About a year later, I opened a restaurant with my dad in Bay Shore. It went well, but about a year and a half later, my father got sick, so we sold it. I then went into large-scale catering, and while that was fun, I knew it wasn’t what I really wanted to do.

“I was in my mid-20s and still trying to figure myself out. I started dabbling in sales and fundraising before taking a job at a small local college in its admissions department. Then after five years, I moved on to do admissions at a culinary school. It was fun, but I was getting burned out, and it was my wife who finally said I needed to do something else.

“In 2014, she found out about a casting call for ‘MasterChef.’ She said I was wasting my time behind a desk, and that my talents should be seen by everyone. I was hesitant at first, as we needed money to live, but she said, ‘Nope, we’ll be OK,’ and would also bring up what my mom said about me having my own TV show one day. I went for it. But I also promised her that I would make something bigger out of it.”

As I promised my wife, I used my 15 minutes of fame to build something.

“During the four-month process of picking finalists, I was one of three chosen from the New York area, and then brought to California to audition. In the end, I made it to the top 40 and the cast, but didn’t win.

“However, as I promised my wife, I used my 15 minutes of fame to build something. In fact, the night I got home from California, I made a website and from there started networking.

“I began doing private dinner experiences and going to events, using my ‘MasterChef’ recognition to build a brand. I made sure to be searchable on Google and reached out with offers of free cooking demos and samples for about a year, plus [I] did more shows and more TV.

“I also competed in the televised World Food Championships in 2016. I continued to do TV for the Food Network and the Travel Channel, and also did some small roles in TV shows and movies, learning more along the way about how TV production worked.

“My goal was to have my own entertainment production company, and my wife came up with an idea about doing a show that involved helping people. I then came up with the next step, about helping people right here on Long Island, people going through tough times.

“We’d give them a platform to tell their stories and show that there’s still hope and people that want to help them. Of course, we connected it to food, like using an old family recipe that for one reason or another fell away, and we’d help revive those recipes, and that’s how our show, ‘Family Kitchen Revival,’ came about. We shot eight shows, and it took off, running on streaming platforms.

“We’re now working on season two, which will focus on essential workers. I’m also working on a new show that will be shot in my home, which will feature guests, easy-to-create recipes and cooking, but also lots of talking and having fun.”

I run out of steam sometimes, but thinking of my family, that changes everything and keeps me going.

“I suffer from a rare muscle disease called Shulman syndrome. I’ve been dealing with that since I was in my 20s, and it affects my muscles and my range of motion.

“I can’t turn my neck certain ways. Certain foods can cause inflammation. There’s a lot of cramping. It was so bad, at one point my mom had to help me get dressed. I still can’t turn my neck, but I hide it really well.

“There are times I can’t get out of bed, I’m on medication, I lose feeling in my foot and leg, but I push forward because I have a family to take care of.

“As I get older, I’m winding down on cooking for people, and my plan is to instead focus on developing shows and entertainment. I can do this because I’ve come to a point in life where I’m more established. But I still can’t take my foot off the pedal though, not when you’re living on Long Island and have to support a family.

“One thing I try to show my kids is not to give up. Yeah, there’s going to be failure; that doesn’t mean there can’t be success down the line.

“Even though I work so much, I still cook for my family as much as possible and try to do as much family time as possible, even if I’m exhausted. It’s important to make time for your family. I think that’s how I was raised by my mom.

“My mom, she put her career aside to care for my brother, who has special needs, and now my wife helps take care of him. My wife is phenomenal; she’s been through it all with me. I couldn’t have done this without her being so supportive.

“We’re like a love story. She’s never said anything negative about anything I’ve done. I would be nothing without her today. When my mom and wife met, they clicked, which makes sense as they’ve both supported me, inspired me and have been a big part of my success, as have my three daughters.

“I don’t think I could do any of this without having my family, from my mom to my wife to my children. I run out of steam sometimes, but thinking of my family, that changes everything and keeps me going. I want to do this for them all.”

Interviewed by Ian J. Stark

‘Once you commit to the Lincoln look, it’s hard to turn it off. Even when I’m in street clothes, people ask for pictures and I’m happy to comply.’

Sea Cliff

“I began dressing up as Abraham Lincoln for my middle school students on the Friday before Presidents’ Day weekend. It was a cheesy costume with a fake beard, but it worked!

“Having grown up in Sea Cliff, home of Jim Foote, the late, great Teddy Roosevelt impersonator, I had acquired an appreciation for a quality presidential impression.

“So, I upgraded the outfit, grew a beard, and began speechifying at Civil War reenactments in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

“It was enjoyable but required long hours in the scorching heat while wearing a black wool frock coat. Then I met an entertainment agent in Washington, D.C., and I’ve been getting steady bookings ever since.

“I don’t by any means have an encyclopedic knowledge of Lincoln’s life. There’s always more to learn. But I’ve read enough books and articles to be able to answer most questions that come my way. I’ve always believed that Lincoln was a hero who saved the Union.

You haven’t lived until you’ve been on a conga line with Ben Franklin, Rosie the Riveter and 50 accountants!

“Maybe he acted too slowly in some areas and was heavy-handed in others, but it’s indisputable that he held our country together and abolished slavery.

“It’s been a fun experience. I’ve done weddings, parades, marathons and an episode of ‘The Bachelorette,’ but mostly I’m meeting and greeting at corporate and professional association gatherings in the Washington, D.C., area.

“Whether it’s politicians, turkey veterinarians, crop insurers or cataract surgeons, my job is to mingle, chat them up and pose for pictures. Sometimes I work alone, sometimes with other characters.

“You haven’t lived until you’ve been on a conga line with Ben Franklin, Rosie the Riveter and 50 accountants! I enjoy engaging with people from all over the world, talking about Lincoln and learning about their own lives. I live in an area with a steady demand for my services, so I’ll keep opening the door while opportunity knocks.

“Once you commit to the Lincoln look, it’s hard to turn it off. Even when I’m in street clothes, people ask for pictures, and I’m happy to comply. Kids are the best. A young boy at the Lincoln Memorial once asked, ‘How come the statue looks younger than you?’ It was the first time I was speechless!”

Interviewed by Saul Schachter

‘As he got older, I just wanted to give him experiences. I’m not that mom who’s going to coddle him and say, “Oh, he can’t do that, he can’t see.”’

Levittown

“My son, Anthony, turns 20 in July and is totally blind due to a disorder called osteopetrosis. I thought I was having a perfect pregnancy, and he wasn’t diagnosed immediately after birth. A couple of months later, I noticed something was off. When I realized what was happening, I felt robbed. I felt like, ‘What did I do to deserve this? What did my kid do to deserve this?’

“I couldn’t look at pregnant women, I couldn’t go to a baby store, I had a hard time with it. He was born without osteoclasts, which break down bone to allow for new bone development while growing. Since he didn’t have that, his bones were growing on top of one another. Because of this, all the spaces in the body become solid. Bone marrow spaces where stem cells are made become closed off; it’s usually a fatal disease if untreated. Nasal passages and optic canals become small, pinching the optic nerve, which leaves a lot of these kids blind. Without a stem cell transplant, survival is unlikely. At 5 months old, he received a week of chemo to give the stem cells a fighting chance. Then it became a waiting game. He ended up having roughly 150 blood and platelet transfusions at 5-6 months old, after having a craniotomy at 4 months old. Seven days into the chemo, he was put on a ventilator, which was how he spent his first Christmas. It was awful.

“He came off the ventilator on New Year’s Eve and was doing well. He was discharged on Jan. 31, 2003, after three months in the hospital. He then went on round-the-clock meds, and I needed to care for his feeding tube. Life at home involved therapies, seeing lots of therapists, but he came off all his meds just before age 2. The next step was working on his feeding. He had a wonderful feeding therapist who worked with him for eight years; she was my Anne Sullivan, my miracle worker, who taught Anthony how to feel hungry. As he got older, I just wanted to give him experiences. I’m not that mom who’s going to coddle him and say, ‘Oh, he can’t do that, he can’t see.’ For me, I had to learn how to be the parent of a normal kid. The first few years of his life was about trying to keep him healthy, but then we just introduced him to normal things.”

When it happened, it hit me, he’s come so far; my kid is playing onstage. There was a time he was not expected to even be here.

“When they told me my son was blind, back when he was 3-4 months old, I said, ‘I’m not going to treat him like he’s disabled, and he’s going to experience everything he can.’ I started thinking of different ways how to do that, and I noticed he likes toys where you’d push a button and it’d make a noise, so I’d buy him those toys. I bought him bilingual toys, too, and he would master those toys. It was incredible. His sighted relatives couldn’t figure these toys out like he did, so from early on I knew music would be his thing.

“Today, he can speak several languages, and he started playing piano, for which he has a gift. He’s got perfect pitch and can play anything. He actually played onstage with singer Gavin DeGraw at The Paramount when he was about 11. At one point during the show, I told Anthony to come up to the stage and put your hand up, hoping Gavin would give him a high-five. He did, but when he tried to wave to Anthony, Gavin realized he couldn’t see, and came back. He started asking Anthony questions and was holding his hand, but when Gavin started to walk away, Anthony wouldn’t let go. Apparently, Anthony told Gavin he plays piano, so Gavin asked security to bring him onstage! I’m thinking, ‘Oh God, what is Anthony going to do up there?’ But once on the stage, he played a piece he played with the New York State School Music Association as a warm-up. The crowd started getting into it, and then Anthony started to play Gavin DeGraw’s ‘Not Over You,’ and the crowd went crazy! The band didn’t even get to that song yet, but they started playing it, and then Gavin starts singing it. It was such an incredible, unplanned experience. It was priceless. When it happened, it hit me — he’s come so far; my kid is playing onstage. There was a time he was not expected to even be here.”

I never thought I’d say any of this, but he is who he is today because he can’t see.

“The fact that he is graduating high school is a milestone for someone with osteopetrosis. Back when he was diagnosed in 2002, all I could find on the internet at that time was that this was a fatal diagnosis. Everybody always says, ‘Pat yourself on the back,’ but I don’t feel that way. Anthony always had a great disposition, and he has an excellent hands-on dad. I wanted to make sure that my son was a good and decent human being, but I feel like he just turned out that way. I don’t know if I can take credit for that. He’s just a happy kid all the time.

“Sometimes, I’m like, ‘Look how far we’ve come,’ because he changed my life too. He caused me to change my career path. I was working in the hair field and had a real fear of needles, but because of everything Anthony went through as a baby, I realized I had to buckle down and overcome that fear. I became a blood donor after seeing all of Anthony’s transfusions, so I could give back —and I’m a hospital phlebotomist now. He’s taught me so many things that I wouldn’t have known prior to having a child, let alone a child who can’t see.

“Looking back, upon hearing he was blind, I felt like that was more traumatizing than anything else, but in hindsight, I feel his vision impairment is actually his gift. When I started to see his strengths, it didn’t really bother me anymore that other kids could see and mine couldn’t. I got over that. I could have been that parent who said, ‘Oh, no, Anthony, you couldn’t do that, you’re blind,’ but I’m not. I never thought I’d say any of this, but he is who he is today because he can’t see. He has a whole different perspective of life than the average person. I’m not the ‘Face of Long Island,’ he’s the one who’s been through hell and back. He has persevered, not letting his vision impairment stop him. I’m just his mom.”

Interviewed by Ian J. Stark