Community Service: Marie T. Carella has been president of the Greater Astoria Historical Society since January of this year.
The Greater Astoria Historical Society is a nonprofit cultural and community-oriented organization dedicated to preserving the past and promoting Long Island City’s and Astoria’s future.
Background: Carella has been a lifelong Astoria resident. Besides volunteering at the Greater Astoria Historical Society, she also volunteers at Immaculate Conception School on Ditmars Boulevard, where she is president of the Alumni Association.
“Having a public relations background, combined with good organizations skills, I enjoy working with the public, organizing and attending events and meeting new people,” she said.
Favorite Memory: Carella says her fondest memory would be the “It’s a Small World” boat ride at the Pepsi Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair.
“As a young girl, the memory of those animated figures representing different countries was amazing,” Carella said.
Inspiration: “My outlook on life is always positive with a good balance thrown in,” Carella said. “I feel that life has its ups and downs and for everything bad that happens, there is always a good reason for it. I believe in following the ‘do what it takes to get the job done’ rule for success.”
Biggest Challenge: According to Carella, the biggest challenge faced at the Greater Astoria Historical Society is being underfunded and recruiting additional volunteers.
“There are so many great ideas at work at the Greater Astoria Historical Society and often times the lack of funding stands in the way of doing a program or not,” she said. “We also find that having more volunteers can bring additional exposure to the society and the programs.”
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