A father, friend, and proud community member, Lynbrook’s own William J. Hendrick passed away Wednesday night, Oct. 11, due to complications from a heart attack he suffered two days prior.

Mayor Hendrick gave a great deal to the community of Lynbrook.  According to the Lynbrook Village, before being elected town mayor in March 2011, he was a Village Trustee from 1989-1993 and then again from 1995-2010. He accomplished much in his lifetime such as graduating from Hofstra University, St. John’s University, and then Brooklyn Law School with a Juris Doctor Degree. Hendrick could always be found in attendance at all Lynbrook events such as the Lynbrook Expo at Gries Park, Halloween Havoc,  and many other  community happenings.  He was a people person and cared immensely about the residents of Lynbrook.  He dedicated most of his life to the town.

I knew the Mayor personally. My freshman year, I took the journalism class where I was expected to write for Horizon.  For my first article, I decided to write about the annual Lynbrook Expo at Gries Park. My teacher at the time, Jessica Sanders, advised all the students in the class that it was so important to get direct quotations from people running or participating in the event. So, with my notebook and phone to record information in hand, I nervously went alone to the event. There, I saw the opportunity to talk to Mayor Hendrick, and so I took on the interview.  We spoke “on the record,” and I wrote down any other information I had missed. Impressed with my interviewing skills, he offered me an internship on the spot at town hall to work on the official Lynbrook channel LNTV for the remainder of the year. Through the internship, I got a feel for what it was like to be in the broadcasting journalism world.

Mayor Hendrick gave me a chance and saw the potential in me that I probably would have never seen.  He boosted my confidence and was a main factor in my decision to pursue journalism in my future. To him, I will be forever grateful for that. However, I do not feel my writing will do justice to this amazing man and all the sacrifices and handwork he put into this community.