Join the Tri CYA in Supporting Local Youth
For over 40 years, the Tri Community Youth Agency has been dedicated to serving youth ages 5-21 in the Huntington, South Huntington and Cold Spring Harbor School Districts. Their broad spectrum of programming includes educational, recreational, social, cultural, athletic, counseling and advocacy programs, working closely and cooperatively with the entire community.
Their annual Hall of Honor Gala is deeply sincere and does much to support their service to the youth of the Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington and South Huntington School Districts.
It’s a wonderful event.
2026 Hall of Honor Gala
When: Thursday, March 5, 2026, 6pm
Where: Larkfield, 507 Larkfield Rd, East Northport
Honoring: Robert Gilmore, Sr., Noah Levy, Barry Lites & Kelly Smith
Tickets: Include dinner, DJ, top shelf open bar, wine toss and raffle baskets. Tickets may be available at the door. See TriCYA website for details.
Forever Grateful for the Leadership Network
Special congratulations and thanks to Barry Lites and Kelly Smith, both of whom are Leadership Huntington graduates who continue to do tremendous things in service to the community.
Developed over years by diverse, engaged community members, Leadership provided a soup to nuts exploration of community and team development using the Town of Huntington as a living laboratory. It was an in-depth, hands on experience, building an engaged network across interests, perspectives and sectors whose ongoing service to Huntington, Long Island, and frankly around the globe, is remarkable.
About Barry D. Lites
(Adapted from his bio on the Huntington African American Museum website)
Barry D. Lites is a Harvard educated practicing attorney in Huntington whose firm specializes in corporate and real estate law. He represents both private and public sector clients, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, with offices in Huntington Village and midtown Manhattan.
Barry’s commitment to community is extraordinary. Barry currently serves as Chairman of the board of directors of the Huntington African American Museum. As an adjunct professor at Hofstra Law School, Barry teaches International Business Transactions, a course based on his experiences doing business in Europe and the Middle East.
Dedicated to community, Barry has also served as a director on the boards of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, the Townwide Fund, Leadership Huntington, Moonjumpers, Inc. and the Huntington Housing Authority. His firm provides pro bono counsel to Angels for Warriors, an organization that offers free legal services to the women and men of the U.S. Armed Services.
Barry received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Since 1997, he and his wife of 35 years, Dr. Leigh Ann Hutchinson, a Long Island-based cardiologist, have lived in Huntington, raising their four children: Elizabeth, Ann, Christopher and Barry Jr.
About Kelly Smith
As the Director of Member Services for the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, Kelly Smith has been a driving force in bridging the gap between strategic resources and genuine human connection since 2020. A lifelong resident of Huntington Station, she is fueled by a profound, deep-rooted passion for her hometown. She views her role not merely as an administrative position, but as a calling to help local businesses and professionals flourish through thoughtful, relationship-based networking and advocacy.
This commitment to the Chamber is a natural evolution. Kelly’s dedication was recognized early on when she was honored as a recipient of the Celebrate Long Island’s Young Professionals 30 Under 30 award in 2017, a milestone that led to her appointment as Co-Chair of the Young Professionals committee in 2019. Prior, she spent fifteen years in service to the Aquatics Department at the Huntington YMCA. Rising to the role of Aquatic Director, she developed a lifelong commitment to accountability and community welfare that continues to guide her today.
An artist at heart, Kelly has a BFA in Communications from the New York Institute of Technology. This blends well with her technical and leadership skills. We appreciate her unique ability to narrate local stories and engage meaningfully with diverse audiences.
Kelly lives her belief that leadership is defined by service. A graduate of the Leadership Huntington Class of 2019, Kelly currently channels her energy into several vital community pillars. She serves as the President of the Rotary Club of Huntington and the Secretary of the Huntington Station Business Improvement District. She also works to ensure equity as a member of the Town of Huntington’s Anti-Bias Task Force and the NAACP Huntington Branch. Her influence extends into regional development and education as the Co-Chair of the Millennial Leadership Coalition Long Island Chapter, a Director for the Huntington Township Housing Coalition, an Advisory Council Member for Western Suffolk BOCES, and a dedicated member of 100 Women Who Care About Huntington.
While she was recently celebrated as a 2024 Suffolk County Irish American of Distinction, Kelly finds her deepest fulfillment in the quiet, lasting impact of her work and her biggest joy in raising her daughter. Whether she is connecting through a lens, a poem, or a community meeting, she remains a tireless advocate for a more inclusive, vibrant, and connected Huntington.
We Look Forward to Getting to Know the Other Honorees
Kelly tells us that the other two honorees are extraordinary as well. “Noah Levy is the owner of Chick-fil-A Huntington and does a tremendous amount of giving back to the community especially at the TRI-CYA. He hires a lot of kids from there, donates food to local community organizations and is also on the board of directors at the Huntington YMCA.”
“Robert Gilmore is a dean at Huntington High School and does a lot of work with the kids outside the school He does extensive work with the TRI CYA as well.”
Here, you can read a great deal about him and his work with Habitat for Humanity.
We look forward to learning more!
We are so grateful for all who give it their best to make this world a better place for everyone. Thank you to all who support this stuff. Hope to see you there!
