Montauk Pioneer - August 22, 2008 - MVA's Best Party Is Coming

One of the many purposes of the Montauk Village Association (MVA) is to honor someone in Montauk who has made an outstanding contribution to the community. This year's honoree is Anne Giordano Vasti. Born in Harlem on May 19, 1924, the sixth of ten children from parents Ralph and Concetta Giordano.

Anne's family lived in the Bronx. Intrigued by an ad from the New York Daily Mirror, Anne's father gave up his job as a funeral director and moved his family to Montauk in 1939. After establishing a summer home in Ditch Plains, Mr. Giordano an entrepreneur, turned his eye toward commercial ventures, and bought an old building on Fort Pond which became Giordano's Lakeside Inn in 1948. With a ready made labor force, Mr. Giordano had Anne and her siblings doing various jobs from waiting on tables, landscaping, to renting and cleaning rooms.

On May 19, 1946, Anne married Daniel Vasti. They had two children: a son Daniel Jr., who is now our Montauk dentist, married to Barbara, and a daughter JoAnne, married to Joe Guarneri who owned the T-Square, tee shirt and souvenir shop in town. The Vasti became part of the business community of Montauk when they decided to live in Montauk to manage the Lakeside Inn back in 1957.

Later on, the Giordano family purchased an old hotel/motel on Main Street, which was renovated and renamed Pizza Village. Anne and her husband, would later acquire it on their own and under their ownership, Pizza Village became one of the most popular spots in Montauk and still is. Their pizza was so delicious that Craig Claiborne, the famed New York Times dining critic, raved about it in his column after having eaten a slice of their pizza.

While Dan made the pizza, Anne cooked her meatballs and her famous linguine with clam sauce. As a team, both managed to keep the business thriving. Anne's talent was not only in the kitchen, having studied Public Administration at NYU, Anne was able to run the business end of the restaurant, keeping books, paying bills and managing the staff. All the while she was a full time wife and mother. From October till March of each year, Anne and Dan drove down to Delray Beach, Florida where Dan died in 1990 after 44 years of marriage.

Anne joined the MVA as a Director since 1979. Along with Bettie Duryea, Mary Pospisil and Gail Webb and now the current President, Mary Miller, Anne helped in the beautification of Main Street. Before the MVA took control of Main Street, it looked like a prairie town, no shrubs, nor plants. Thanks to Anne and others, maple trees were planted, black pines, junipers, annuals, planters and bricking were all placed. Besides the eighty teak benches around town, and the maintenance of Kirk Park and general cleanup by the railroad tracks, the MVA also offers scholarships to six deserving graduating students.

Anne also served as a Director of the Montauk Chambers of Commerce. She also obtained a real estate license and worked for the Pospisil Agency and Irene D'Agostino. She helped manage T-Square Shop with daughter Joanne. Anne was also active with St. Therese Church as a Eucharistic Minister until she moved to Summerville, South Carolina in 2006 to be near her daughter and family.

Besides having four grandchildren Dan III, Michael, Jill and Joe Jr., Anne also has been blessed with four great grandchildren: Brianna, Sofia, Zachary and Oliver.

Although Anne no longer lives in Montauk full time, she often comes back for a visit and stay with her son and daughter in law Barbara and her nephew Jack Perna.

This Saturday, August 23, the MVA will be hosting their 44th Annual fundraiser cocktail party "Drinks by the Links" at Montauk Downs State Park from 6-8 p.m. Let's all join in congratulating Anne Vasti and her family for all the years spent in making Montauk a better place to live. Let us show how much she is loved by the Community and thank her for a job well done.

Tickets are $50 per person and includes full bar, a full assortment of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres and entertainment.

$20,000 Greenery Bucks Raffles are $100 each. Buy Two Raffles and get two party tickets free. Please make checks payable to Montauk Village Association, Inc.