School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) held its 3rd Annual Fred Breithut Memorial Golf Outing at the Wind Watch Golf & Country Club in Hauppauge on September 20. The golf outing is named in honor of Fred Breithut, SBPLI's Founder and Chairman, who passed away on April 26, 2010.

This year’s honoree was New York State Senator Owen Johnson, who is also an Honorary Board Member of SBPLI, and a strong supporter of the organization and its robotics programs. Local elected officials were on hand to thank Senator Johnson for his service and support of the organization.

Senator Johnson was first elected to the Senate in 1972. He has chaired several committees, including Transportation, Environmental Conservation, Social Services, and Civil Service and Pensions. From 2003 to 2008, he chaired the Finance Committee where he had a lead role in reviewing the Governor’s proposed budget and developing the Senate Majority Conference’s priorities for the State Budget.

In 2011, Senator Johnson was appointed Senior Assistant Majority Leader. He is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation’s largest individual membership organization of state legislators. In 1995, he was the first recipient of ALEC’s “Lifetime Leadership Award,” which was created to recognize those members who helped shape the organization. In July 2012, Senator Johnson announced he was retiring after 40 years of service.

Golfers enjoyed a round of golf, brunch, dinner, live music, raffles and a silent auction. All proceeds went to help defray the costs associated with next year’s Long Island FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition.