COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Devon O’Connor – founder of Welcome to Whitestone – a group dedicated to the promotion of Whitestone business and prosperity, is responsible for working with local businesses and schools to endorse neighborhood venues and community service projects. O’Conner has worked closely with the World Journalism School in Flushing, the 109th Precinct, and numerous local elected officials towards mobilizing enrichment programs available to the Whitestone community.
PERSONAL: O’Conner, 19, has lived in Whitestone his entire life and attended Bayside High School as an adolescent. He has two younger brothers and a father who worked in the event planning business for over 30-years. O’Connor is also part-owner of Dabby’s Party World, a local hall utilized for children’s events and community meetings.
PROUDEST MOMENT: “Receiving a letter from Dan Halloran commending me on work for the community has probably been my favorite memory with the Welcome to Whitestone group.”
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: “At first, I went to all of the businesses and gave them the idea, there were a bunch of businesses that weren’t interested, but then once they started seeing me in the paper and I was on NY1, then they thought I was the real deal and they called me and said they wanted to help out.”
FAVORITE MEMORY: “Doing our poetry contest, where 50 participants from the neighborhood submit pieces, was probably my favorite memory with the Welcome to Whitestone group. Jason Antos, author of the Whitestone history book, and I judged the contest and it was a lot of fun.”
INSPIRATION: “Going back to my childhood, in Whitestone there’s nothing much to do here and I wanted to create programs to get the community involved. The idea of giving back to the community and have those businesses involved is what inspired me.”
– Ramiro Funez
