In an effort initiated by Supervisor John Venditto to recognize women whose community efforts deserve overdue praise, the Town of Oyster Bay will be holding a ceremony on Tuesday, March 23 in Town Hall, to honor influential, dedicated female residents with the first annual "Women of Distinction" awards.

Among the eight chosen, each of whom won for a specific category, are two local residents, Rosemarie Castanza of Syosset, and Rhonda Samuel of Woodbury. Castanza was entered in the Arts category, while Samuel was nominated for Volunteerism.

According to Venditto, as a town official, "One of the things that was always on my mind is that there is this little gap between what women do for this town, both inside and outside of the government, and how much is really known about their contributions. I feel that this is a really good way to close the gap, to in some way recognize those contributions."

The winners, who were originally nominated by co-workers, family and fellow community members, were selected by a panel of judges composed of prominent female town employees, including Councilwoman Christine Preston. The eight honorees distinguished themselves from a field of almost 150 entries, a number which even staggered Venditto.

It was proof enough for the supervisor that his creation had merit. Not only that, it was timely as well, considering that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Women's Suffrage movement, and that March is Women's History Month. "It seemed like everything came together at the right time and place, and it seemed like the right thing to do," said Venditto.

Among the award recipients with whom Venditto is particularly familiar is Castanza, a musically-inclined arts advocate with a storied background in education administration. Described by Venditto as persistent, but never pesky, Castanza, a member of the town's Arts Council Board, has often leaned on the supervisor to bolster town support of the humanities.

"In a nice way, she gets on my back strictly in the interest of enhancing the arts in the town of Oyster Bay," said Venditto. "She really has nothing but the advancement of the arts in her heart and we respond accordingly."

Though the council is very involved in attracting innovative cultural and artistic events into the community, perhaps its most important mission, said Castanza, is to "encourage young people who are pursuing arts as a career."

One of the council's many programs designed to benefit young people is the Arts Council Scholarship Program, to be held this year on May 8. Seven scholarships will be awarded to auditioning students who are interested in making a living out of their talents. The seven winners go on to perform at an awards reception on May 22, in order to allow people who have contributed money to the council "to see what kind of talent they have rewarded."

The council's Spring Musicale, also scheduled for May, will offer students of the BOCES Cultural Arts Center the opportunity to exhibit and develop their talents. Students and alumni of BOCES will gather in a concert setting to perform for one another. There will also be a BOCES talent competition on March 13 at the Seymour Weiner Theater. Explained Castanza, "It's very important to give these young people a chance to perform."

Other council-sponsored programs, such as the annual Sophisticated Rhythm Dinner Dance for the Arts, raise money for the council's scholarship programs.

Between her work-life, her volunteer council work and the large family she once raised in Queens - married, she now has five children and soon-to-be-four grandchildren - Castanza didn't always have quality time to pursue her own personal passion for music. Prior to her 1992 move to Syosset, Castanza was an administrator in the New York City educational system for 35 years. She entered the real estate business upon her move to Syosset "to meet interesting people and get to know the area."

Only after she retired and her last child turned adult did Castanza return to her own performing roots. "I felt that I had to get into the arts again," she said. She now is a piano accompanist, performing for auditions, school concerts and solo performances, as well as some of her own council events.

Castanza was informed that she had won last Friday, February 26. "I was quite shocked," she said. "It's nice to be rewarded and thanked for something you love doing, and that's the name of the game."

Castanza only wished that her other board members could be recognized alongside her, believing that she is no more responsible for the council's success than anyone else. "They're all avid supporters of the arts," she said.

So invested into her community is Samuel that seven different people submitted nomination forms, extolling her volunteer work, to the Women of Distinction awards committee. Nominations came in from the Syosset Central School District administration, the Syosset PTA Council and Temple Beth Torah.

A town press release on the awards describes Samuel as "an energetic and enthusiastic community member who devotes her time and efforts to innumerable volunteer efforts..."

For example, Samuel, a married mother of one, has worked in various capacities with her local PTA - first as a Walt Whitman PTA member, and currently as vice president of the Syosset Council of PTAs. She has served on a variety of PTA budget, bylaws, health and safety committees along the way.

Considered a hometown crusader, Samuel can usually be found working on some community improvement project or another. Recently, she persuaded the county to install a traffic light at the intersection of Southwoods Road and Convent Road, which neighbors considered very dangerous."I'm always writing a letter somewhere, to someone," Samuel laughed.

Perhaps her most commendable work has been her fight against cancer. Samuel, whose family has been affected first-hand from prostate cancer, has made a concerted effort to spread awareness of the disease and how one may take preventive measures against it. She is on the advisory council of Cancer Care of LI, which is currently organizing a major walk for prostate cancer awareness at Jones Beach for September 26.

Samuel even coordinated a successful effort to find a bone marrow donor for a local cancer patient whom she had never met.

She also is active with the Woodbury Jewish Center, where she serves on numerous committees.

Samuel learned about the award last Friday from a surprise message on her answering machine. "I had to play it twice," she said.

"In all the organizations that I've worked for, all of the women volunteers are distinguished, with all the contributions that they have made," said Samuel. "And I want to applaud them for their help in making our efforts a collaborative success."

Suggesting that every municipality should honor their most distinguished women, Venditto said, "I couldn't be more satisfied with the caliber of the people that were selected."

"They will stand as role models for young women in the town and will, no doubt, be the yardstick against which future awards committees will measure their selections."