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Forest Farms honors Warwick businessman Leo Kaytes and community volunteer John Robinson

| 30 Apr 2013 | 07:50
    Photo by Roger Gavan Honorees John Robinson and Leo Kaytes at the annual Greenwood Forest Farms Association spring luncheon.
    Photo by Roger Gavan Honorees John Robinson and Leo Kaytes at the annual Greenwood Forest Farms Association spring luncheon.

WARWICK — The Greenwood Forest Farms Association honored Warwick businessman Leo Kaytes and community volunteer and photographer John Robinson on Saturday, April 27, for their contributions to the community.

The well-attended annual spring luncheon was held at the Warwick Valley Country Club. During the luncheon the association’s Board and Advisory Board presented the honorees with the 2013 Greenwood Forest Farms “Community Service Award.”

Leo Kaytes
In 1978, Leo Kaytes opened Leo Kaytes Ford, a landmark automobile dealership on Route 94 in Warwick.

Among his many contributions to the community, Kaytes has served on both the St. Anthony Community Hospital and Bon Secours Charity Health System’s Board of Directors and on the financial committee for the 9-11 Monument in Veterans Memorial Park. He is a 32-year member and former president of Warwick Rotary.

Kaytes is also the recipient of numerous awards and currently serves as chairman of the St. Ignatius Parish Council and as president of Winslow Therapeutic Center’s Board of Directors.

In 1998 Kaytes was named Warwick Citizen of the Year.

John Robinson
After 38 years, John Robinson retired from a management career with New York Telephone Company.

For the past 10 years, he has served as a volunteer at the Valley View Nursing Home. Robinson has also performed volunteer service for the Bergen County Cadets Drum and Bugle Marching Band, often requiring long hours and extensive travel.

He has served a senior warden for the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Greenwood Lake and is currently a member of the Vestry.

Photography, however, Robinson’s favorite activity and he enjoys taking photographs of the events he attends. According to Forest Farms Association members, his photos demonstrate his ability to capture the mood, spirit and essence of each occasion.

Designated six years ago as a hamlet, Greenwood Forest Farms, formerly, “The Colony,” was founded in 1919 by the Sterling Forest Corporation as the first African American Vacation Community in New York State.

- Roger Gavan