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Patti Ann McDonald, Wife of NYPD Det. Steven & Mayor of Malverne Honored with the Christopher Leadership Award
Mrs. McDonald, a hero's wife and heroic herself, will receive the special award May 16 in NYC.
Patti Ann McDonald, widow of NYPD Det. Steven McDonald, and mayor of Malverne, will receive the Christopher Leadership Award in NYC on May 16 at the 68th annual Christopher Awards ceremony.
The Christopher Leadership Award recognizes individuals whose work, actions, and example serve as a guiding light to others. Previous winners include Captain Scotty Smiley, the U.S. Army’s first blind active-duty officer. Steven McDonald died earlier this year, but the love he shared with Patti Ann remains eternal. She has become a living witness to the Christopher ideal that “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”
When her husband, New York City police officer Steven McDonald, was shot and paralyzed in the line of duty in 1986, Patti Ann McDonald stood by his side and supported him through challenges the couple could never have imagined when they took their wedding vows a few months earlier. Steven earned deserved praise over the years for forgiving his assailant, serving as an international peace advocate, and giving witness that life with a disability can be filled with purpose and joy. Patti Ann deserves praise herself.
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Steven credited her with giving him the will to live 31 years ago, so they could together raise Conor, their son. Patti Ann’s trust in God kept Steven hopeful that better times were ahead, and her modeling of sacrificial love became the rock that Steven and Conor could always lean on. In addition, after years as a Trustee of the Village of Malverne, Patti Ann was elected Mayor and is serving her tenth year. She’s also coached tennis for a local school for 12 years; and she and Steven both coached a girls’ basketball and softball team.
The Christophers, a nonprofit organization, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. On May 16 the organization will also honor with Christopher Awards 22 winning feature films, TV/Cable programs, and books for adults and young people. These awards were created in 1949 to celebrate writers, producers, directors, authors and illustrators whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.” More information is available at www.christophers.org.
