LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Joseph and Mary Bonura upon the occasion
of their designation as recipients of the Caritas Award by Catholic
Charities Community Services of Orange County

WHEREAS, Individuals who give of their time and energies and serve the
best interests of their communities are an asset beyond remuneration and
cannot be sufficiently extolled; and
WHEREAS, Joseph and Mary Bonura have given not only of their time and
energies, but also of their competence, intelligence and leadership and
consequently have been designated for special recognition; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Joseph and
Mary Bonura upon the occasion of their designation as recipients of the
Caritas Award by Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange County;
they will receive this esteemed award at the 8th Annual Celebration of
Charity dinner on Thursday, April 3, 2014, at Anthony's Pier 9, New
Windsor, New York; and
WHEREAS, Joseph and Mary Bonura, of Newburgh, New York, are being
commended for their outstanding community service and unwavering dedi-
cation to communities in the Hudson Valley; and
WHEREAS, Business owners Joseph and Mary Bonura have been involved in
the food service and hospitality industry in Hudson Valley for more than
forty years; in 1971 they opened their first restaurant, a Perkins
Pancake House in Newburgh, New York, and five more Perkins and a Mr.
B.'s Steakhouse soon followed, along with their most notable venture to
that point, Anthony's Pier 9; and
WHEREAS, In 1994, Joseph Bonura and a partner purchased the failing
Radisson Hotel in downtown Poughkeepsie, transforming it into today's
flourishing Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel; their partnership continued with
the establishment of Torches on the Hudson on the Newburgh waterfront in
2001; and
WHEREAS, In 2001, the City of Poughkeepsie chose Joseph Bonura and his
sons to head the redevelopment of its waterfront and, in September 2006,
The Grandview opened its doors, followed by Shadows on the Hudson in
January 2007; Billy Joe's Ribworks opened in Newburgh in January 2011;
in March 2012, he along with his children purchased the storm-ravaged
Orange County Golf Club which is now the flourishing West Hills Country
Club, and in early 2013 he opened Bonura's Little Sicily on the site of
the first Perkins Pancake House in Newburgh; and
WHEREAS, In their nearly fifty years of marriage, Joseph and Mary
Bonura have been called upon to contribute their time and talents to
countless civic and charitable endeavors and have always given of them-
selves unstintingly; and
WHEREAS, Mary Bonura has been a community volunteer for decades and
currently sits on the boards of directors of Hospice of Orange and
Sullivan Counties, and the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the entire period of their community service, a
period of constructive involvement, Joseph and Mary Bonura have stood
constant in dignity, good grace and humor; and
WHEREAS, Rare indeed is the impressive dedication shown by an individ-
ual for the benefit of others which Joseph and Mary Bonura have
displayed throughout their lives; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Joseph and Mary Bonura upon the occasion of their designation as
recipients of the Caritas Award by Catholic Charities Community Services
of Orange County; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Joseph and Mary Bonura.