Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year 2012: Alphonse Lage

It takes a special kind of person to pitch in and help out their community, especially when that person fails to ask for anything in return but the betterment of their fellow man.

Nonetheless, the Merrick Chamber of Commerce decided it was time to single out one such individual when they presented Alphonse Lage with their 2012 Man of the Year Award at the Chamber of Commerce Installation Dinner.

“I really didn’t even appreciate it until tonight. Now, all of a sudden, I’m overwhelmed,” he said. “Everyone’s here, I’m taking pictures with Nassau County executives – it’s great!”

According to Randy Shotland, president, Chamber of Commerce, choosing Lage as their Man of the Year was an obvious choice.

“Al’s a man that steps forward – a man that will give of himself, give to the community,” he said. “He’s been a member of the Chamber and United Cerebral Palsy is one of his babies. He’s been involved with it for years and years, since the building was built.”

Lage’s work throughout the years with the Chamber of Commerce has focused on running the ride ticket booth at their fundraising fairs, counting the money and keeping things going smoothly.

“I work with the Chamber twice a year at their events,” he said. “That’s a full-time job. I do that for three days straight. That keeps me busy two weekends a year. The rest of the time [my wife] Carmela gets me involved in things.”

Carmela, Lage’s wife of almost 55 years (and the Chamber’s 1995 Woman of the Year, with whom Lage has two children), is on the Board of Directors at United Cerebral Palsy of Nassau County, an organization that the two have given tremendous support to during the years.

“We’ve been involved with United Cerebral Palsy since the early 1960’s, since we moved to Merrick,” he said. “There’s always something to do there. We’ve helped to raise money for them, so that keeps me semi-active.”

Ever-humble, Lage humorously attributes his community activism not to a need to serve his fellow residents, but to an altogether different goal.

“I just have a lack of anything else to do,” he said. “I’ve been retired for 15 years. I sold my business in 1996. I used to have a house in Merrick and I was always busy. We have a very large backyard, a swimming pool, and I always had work to do. But now we’ve moved to condo and I’m bored!”

Nonetheless, Shotland said that, without residents like Lage, Merrick wouldn’t be what it is today.

“These are the kind of people that make our community great and not just good,” he said.