Joann M. Neal of Bellport was recently recognized for a lifetime of service, leadership, and dedication to family, community, and faith, receiving the commendation during a special ceremony hosted by Assemblyman Joe DeStefano.
“Joann Neal’s extraordinary commitment to her family and the Bellport community is an inspiration,” DeStefano said. “Her decades of volunteer work, professionalism, and leadership across so many organizations have touched countless lives.”
Born and raised in the Bronx, Neal is one of four siblings and a graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School. She earned her A.A. in Liberal Arts from CUNY Bronx Community College in 1967 and a B.A. in Psychology from Dowling College in 1990, where she was named Alumna of the Year in 1995. In 1968, she married the late William A. Neal, Jr., moving to Bellport in 1969. Together they raised eight children—four biological and four adopted—fostered eight more, and are proud grandparents of twelve.
Neal has been involved with the Bellport Area Community Action Committee, South Country Youth Services, Harry Chapin Inn family shelter, and served 17 years as a therapeutic caseworker in adoption and foster care for SCO Family Services. She later supervised the Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area day care program.
She also founded and directed the Bellport Steel Drum Band, served more than 30 years on the South Country Library Board, contributed to the South Country School District Board of Education, and has been involved with the Girl Scouts, Habitat for Humanity, Long Island Families Together, the Pilot Club of Patchogue, and the Greater Bellport Coalition.
A devoted member of Old South Haven Presbyterian Church in Brookhaven, Neal has served as both Deacon and Elder, as well as on the Presbytery of Long Island’s Committee for the Self-Development of People, reflecting a lifelong mission to empower others.