Mercy Center Holds Annual Men's Night

Close to 75 men came down to Blackbird’s Grille in Sayville on May 3 to celebrate Mercy Center’s annual Men’s Night and pay tribute to the three men being honored this year: Blackbird’s owners Wayne Black, Ed Black and Wes Little.

Mercy Center Ministries is celebrating 27 years of service to homeless teen girls and teen mothers ages 16 to 21 in Suffolk County. The first location, Mercy Center, was opened in Patchogue in 1983. Mercy Residence opened its doors in Blue Point in 1989, followed by Mercy House in Sayville in 1989.

The Black brothers and Little were honored for their work in the community and with Mercy over the years. “We are just really thankful to the honorees for supporting us,” said Briana Taylor, Mercy’s executive director. “A lot of times women-only agencies only get supported by women but as you can see by these men here tonight, they have been very generous to us.”

The owners of Blackbirds have been hosting the Men’s Night for Mercy for the past six years, basically since they took over ownership of the restaurant back in 2005. “Year after year you see the same faces here supporting these folks,” said Ed Black. “There is really a nice nucleus of people who really care about this organization and about the community.”

Mercy Center has been hosting a Men’s Night since 1994 but there hasn’t always been an honoree every year, Taylor said. In 2003, the organization started honoring outstanding men in the community with the Larry Ryan award. Larry’s daughter, Nora, was on hand to present the awards to the 2011 honorees. “My dad was brought on the board by my uncle,” she told the crowd. “It is so special that they named the award after and him because it’s so nice to see his name connected to such a great community organization. It really means a lot of my mom, sister and I.”

She continued, "I have had the pleasure of knowing these men for more than 10 year and it is an honor to recognize them for their generosity. They have always been overwhelmingly supporting and active in Mercy throughout the years. They have also passed their civic-mindless onto their children. Wes, Wayne and Ed are truly three of the loveliest men you could know. They have an amazing ability to make you feel like a part of their family. Mercy is a better organization for having them as a part of it.”

Ed added, “I look around this room and I see all the same faces that have continued to support Mercy. We are all so humbled to be chosen for this honor tonight.” Wayne and Wes also thanked the Mercy folks for their hard work to the community over the years.

There was also a 50/50 raffle and prizes to be won as well including bottles of liquor, and gift certificates to local eateries such as Harbor Crab Company, Crickets, Blackbirds and Dublin Deck.