Diane Downing Peterson is the single mom of an 18-year-old son and handles several service projects in Huntington as a way to give back to the community that helped her with food and baby supplies when her husband left. 

She, her son and her mom participated in the first ACS Relay for Life held at WWHS in 2005. After her mother passed away from brain cancer, Diane to want to get involved on a higher level, becoming registration and accounting chairperson for the 2009 Relay for Life. 

In 2010, Peterson took the reins as event chair for Relay for Life. As a former caregiver of her mom, she helped Caregivers For Life as raffle coordinator, collecting, organizing and selling raffle tickets for a dinner.  She also works closely with a musical production company who coordinates fundraisers and events at Bartini Bar in Babylon.  In October, she helped with the raffles for a Leukemia/Lymphoma  Fundraiser called “Lightin’ the Night.”  In December, the annual Bartini Bar Holiday Party was turned into a coat drive for One Warm Coat due to Diane’s suggestion – over 200 coats were collected and $400 raised in raffles.  One December morning, when she learned about a local injured hero returning home for the holidays that evening, she immediately enlisted the aid of Dan Acosta of GDA Media Group and created a flyer to post at local businesses to make sure the veteran had a welcoming committee of local residents to say thank you.

Peterson is also co chair on the committee for her 30^th reunion of the Class of ’81 from Whitman High School, organizing “mini-gatherings” every other month in order to make her classmates feel comfortable walking into the  big reunion in August. She has just been asked to coordinate the charity portion of Bartini Bar of its Memorial Day “All Peace, All Night” fundraiser for Operation Proud Hearts, another organization she has taken to heart with family and friends in the military.  She is also now working on the upcoming Austism Speaks Fundraiser Rally set for June 5^th 2011 in Patchogue.

Dan Acosta said: "The reason why I nominated Diane for this article is because she always goes above & beyond to help people whenever she can, sometimes putting aside her own needs, and she never expects anything in return for it. It's not very often you find someone who's willing to do that sort of thing anymore. She really deserves to be recognized for everything she's done, and for everyone she's helped, so she knows her efforts aren't taken for granted and that they truly are appreciated." 

Catherine Morehouse Sanchez said,"I think Diane has a heart of gold and the softness of an angel. She will do anything for anyone as long as she is able to and if she can't she will find someone who can. She never asks for anything in return."