The Westchester County Board of Legislators celebrated the 100th birthday of Herman S. Geist, its first Board Chairman, by naming its paid summer internship program the Herman S. Geist Summer Fellowship Program.
Geist was feted for being “an extraordinary lifelong public servant.” After serving as a lieutenant in WWII, where he helped liberate Domažlice in the Czech Republic, Geist graduated from NYU Law School and went on to become the inaugural Chairman of the Board from 1970-1973, later co-founding the Westchester Parks Foundation, which donated over $15 million to county parks under his guidance.
Throughout his century of life, Geist distinguished himself through service on the Westchester Medical Center Board of Trustees and as Chair of the County Bi-Centennial Commission, earning the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Parks Foundation in 2013.
The Board produced and played a video, Herman Geist: A Century of Service, that he watched remotely with wife Barbara Geist. It is available on the YouTube channel of Westchester County Board of Legislators.
The four-week Herman S. Geist Summer Fellowship Program offers students paid opportunities as well as unpaid positions for high school credit, providing hands-on experience in county government while building valuable skills and connections for potential careers in public service.
Board of Legislators Chairman Vedat Gashi (D- New Castle, Ossining, Somers, Yorktown) said, “This sought-after internship now bears the name of Herman Geist, who transformed Westchester through a century of dedicated service building county government, enhancing parks and hospitals. His life journey proves the remarkable impact one committed person can achieve in their community. We hope our interns, future public servants, will draw inspiration from his extraordinary legacy.”
