Community Corner
"The Greatest Person" — Lynn Plaskowitz
From volunteering to spreading holiday cheer, the Orange resident is involved in her community.
When she benefited from the help of other community volunteers in Orange several years ago, Lynn Plaskowitz said she decided to give something back.
That was eight years ago, when her husband, George, was sick for 32 days.
Lynn, who has eight children, spent every day at the hospital. She was amazed when volunteers helped her by doing her food shopping, babysitting and even cooking meals for her family.
“It all comes back to you,” she said.
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She and co-chair Jody Daymon had already started running the food pavilion for the annual Orange Country Fair, which she has done now for a decade. But the help she got gave her a new appreciation for what volunteering means.
Five years ago, she was recruited to run the food and refreshment function for the Bethany-Orange-Woodbridge Relay for Life, the annual Cancer Society fundraiser that takes place at the Fair Grounds on Orange Center Road.
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This year, she has moved up to be co-chairman of the Relay, along with George Geane and Debbie Davis. The next Relay will take place April 27-28, she said.
She volunteers to help the Women’s Guild at Holy Infant Church, running the food sales for the Guild’s annual tag sale. “Again with the food,” she said. “I run the kitchen for the tag sale.”
She also volunteers for fundraisers to benefit Amity Youth football, the Orange Republican Town Committee and the Orange Special Events Committee.
Plaskowitz, an assistant tax collector, is also well known for helping to decorate the Orange Tax Collector’s office. The decorations change every month.
“You should have seen our Halloween display,” she said, explaining that they had based it on the sinister Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “Psycho.” The decorations even include a shower curtain.
“We get a lot of phone calls from people asking if we changed our motif yet,” she said.
“It puts a smile on people’s faces when they come to our office,” she added.
Editor's note: This is a new feature that highlights the good deeds and interesting stories of Orange residents. He or she could be a tireless volunteer, a super-friendly town employee who always goes above and beyond the call of duty, a favorite police officer, a school teacher or business owner. Know someone we should profile? Email teresa.miles@patch.com
