Robeson County Native to be Honored on Long Island

“We all knew Gaitley by his first name, Robert, growing up, but even as a young man it was obvious that he was destined to do great things and to give back to his community,” said Stevenson-Mathews’ High School choir teacher, Penny McDonald. “It has been a joy to watch him move from strength to strength in his career in music, theatre, public service, and as someone committed to making a difference in the lives of others.”

Stevenson-Mathews will be presented the Community Service Award on November 4, 2023, at Glen Cove’s The Metropolitan on the North Shore of Long Island (NY). The event is sponsored by the Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce and four other honorees will also be presented awards at the annual celebration. The full roster of honorees is included on the chamber’s website noted below.

A freelance communications professional and speech coach, Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews worked for many years in arts administration and is a former Glen Cove City Councilman. "Gaitley makes it his business to be everywhere all the time in our city!" stated Co-Chair of the Awards Ceremony, Dr. Maxine Mayreis. "He is either on the board of directors or a lay member of several local nonprofits, dedicated to doing good deeds and serving the needy. Gaitley is famous in Glen Cove, propagating alliances among businesses, residents, and organizations. He knows all the business owners by name, he is out taking pictures of everyone and posting all our events on social media, sending out either recorded or live stream videos hawking upcoming events, and rallying the residents and business people to come out and participate. He encourages all to enjoy the many fun concerts and happenings around town. I think his crowning achievement here is establishing the Tribute and Honor Foundation which duly honors and celebrates our veterans with fanfare at a huge annual gala. We can never thank our service people enough! Gaitley is a do-er and a planner, touching many, many lives with compassion, earnestness, and humility. Gaitley also served in the Glen Cove government on our city council. I think it’s fair to say that if, by chance, you reside here and still don’t know Gaitley, then you must live under a rock!"

In addition to his work endeavors, to date, Stevenson-Mathews has founded three non-profit organizations. They include a theatre company in Dallas (TX) that received national acclaim within a year of being created, The Flora Macdonald Legacy Foundation in Red Springs (NC) that continues to support the preservation of a historic building, and, most recently, the Tribute and Honor Foundation, an organization based in Glen Cove (NY) that pays tribute to veterans and veteran supporters from across Long Island.

Thanks to Stevenson-Mathews' vision, the hard work of his board, and the gracious support of the community, in less than three years the Tribute and Honor Foundation has honored close to 20 Long Island heroes and has raised nearly $50,000 to help with the rebuild of a VFW Post that was severely damaged by a devastating fire in 2021. The Foundation has supported other initiatives such as the Glen Cove Library’s VetNOW program. Plans are already underway for the young non-profit’s Third Annual Awards Ceremony to be held at the Crescent Beach Club in February of 2024.

According to Glen Cove resident, Jo Ann Russo, Stevenson-Mathews is always looking out for area seniors. When Tropical Storm Isaias hit and an area senior housing unit was without power, Stevenson-Mathews was quickly on the scene with flashlights and water and immediately began working with the building’s super to see what else could be done. Stevenson-Mathews was on the phone with upper-level elected officials and the Police Chief. Soon, the Glen Cove Police arrived, checking with seniors and keeping them safe as they walked the hallways with bright flashlights. While it was several more hours before the power was restored, Stevenson-Mathews made sure the restoration happened as quickly as possible and that the seniors were safe. “Following the storm,” said Russo, “Gaitley worked tirelessly urging the management to secure a generator for the senior housing facility, which was installed four months later.”

This same tenacity for getting things done also came into play when a senior living in an area apartment building was challenged by an unsafe situation related to a poorly constructed handrail. When Stevenson-Mathews heard of this, he immediately approached management. When management refused to make the repair insisting that the rail was “up to code," Stevenson-Mathews not only contacted the owner who lived out of state, but also sent photographs, diagrams, and a note to the owner emphasizing, “If you had an elderly relative living in this building, would you feel they were safe with this railing?” A week later, the railing was replaced.

When COVID hit, Stevenson-Mathews not only helped identify elderly people who wanted to get vaccinated and those who needed medical attention, but he also joined with residents as a Founding Member of NOSH Delivers - a food delivery service for lower-income families. He made deliveries through the height of the pandemic and continues to make deliveries every Thursday on his lunch break.

During the pandemic, Stevenson-Mathews also put his talents to work as a singer, sometimes joining with friends in bringing songs to those in nursing homes or who were housebound. When the St. Patrick’s Day Parade was canceled, Stevenson-Mathews joined fellow Glen Cove Resident, Alex Kern, and local bagpiper, Robert Lynch, making the rounds wearing a kilt and singing traditional Irish songs to anyone who needed to be reminded that even COVID could not put a stop to celebrating a beloved holiday.

Stevenson-Mathews credits his parents and his grandmother for giving him a sense of the importance of serving the community. “It’s just what we did,” states Stevenson-Mathews. “We really didn’t think about it. It was just what one did as part of the community, lending a hand to one's neighbor regardless of their race, background, creed, or station in life. It was not more complicated than that.”

Former Red Springs Mayor, John McNeil, commented, “As the expression goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Like Gaitley, his parents, Jean and Jim Mathews, were very active in the community and their church and made a point to help others in need. We are very proud of Gaitley and pleased to hear about this honor.”

The current President of the Flora Macdonald Legacy Foundation was reached at her home in Winston Salem (NC) and shared, “I was so pleased to hear of Gaitley being honored. He was the force in creating and initially pulling together our foundation and I am sure that same force is at work as he serves people of Glen Cove and Long Island.”

“There is an extra gift that I feel in giving back,” stated Stevenson-Mathews. “Whenever I’m making my rounds delivering food to families in need, or lending a hand at a turkey giveaway, or wrapping gifts at an annual toy drive, a feeling sometimes comes over me that I can’t explain, but in that moment I feel more one with God than any other time in the course of my week.” Stevenson-Mathews, who lost both parents in a car accident in 1997, also says in that same moment he feels a closeness to his parents. “I can’t explain it, but I do know it is bigger than me, and for that, I am thankful,” said Stevenson-Mathews.

In addition to the organizations noted above, Stevenson-Mathews is an active member of several boards including Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce, SAGE Foundation, Glen Cove EOC, Age Friendly Glen Cove, North Shore Historical Museum, and the Morgan Park Summer Music Festival. Additionally, he serves as President of the Tribute and Honor Foundation, 2nd Vice President of the North Shore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Public Relations Ambassador of Comité Cívico Argentino, Chair of the Bilingual Community Easter Dawn Service, and is an active member of Loggia Glen Cove #1016 Order of Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, where he lends a hand with the lodge’s photos and social media content. He is also an Elder at the Presbyterian Church and an Associate Member of Calvary AME Church, where he sings in the choir.

Prior to his work as a producer and voice and speech coach, Stevenson-Mathews worked as a professional actor for close to twenty years. During his acting career, he received two Leon Rabin Awards (Dallas’ version of the Tony Awards) for Best Actor in a Musical, was a featured performer in “Barney and Friends” playing Monty the Mountie opposite the big purple dinosaur, and performed a broad spectrum of roles from stage plays and Shakespeare to musical theatre and opera.

Recent professional honors include the North Shore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award, Comité Cívico Argentino’s Community Service Award, and Calvary AME Church’s Leadership and Fellowship Award. For his support of Glen Cove’s VFW Post 347, Stevenson-Mathews takes special pride in having received the Post’s Appreciation Award for meritorious and distinguished service in furthering the aims and ideals of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Stevenson-Mathews holds an AA in Business from Louisburg College (NC), a BA in English from Berea College (KY), and an MFA in Theatre from Southern Methodist University (TX). Professionally, he belongs to the National Association of Arts Administrators, served on the Cultural Affairs Commission for the City of Dallas, and has been a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association (AFL-CIO) for more than 35 years.

Stevenson-Mathews is the son of the late Jim and Jean Mathews of Red Springs, the grandson of the late Annie Culbreth Gaitley of Red Springs, and Martha Catherine Riggan Mathews of Townsville (NC), nephew of the late Richard and Alma Mathews of Henderson (NC), and nephew of Doris and Lewis Reavis of Warrenton (NC).

For more information on the Awards Ceremony and Gala including the names of all five honorees, visit www.glencovechamber.org/Gala