The Rye City Lions Club will honor Victoria McMahon with the James A. and Marian M. Shea Community Service Award at its annual dinner on Monday, November 2, 2026 at The Osborn. The award was established in 2003 and recognizes an individual or individuals who live or work in the Rye community and have made outstanding volunteer contributions to enhance the lives of its residents.
McMahon’s volunterism includes her work as a founding member and board vice president of 2029 Fundraising, the local nonprofit associated with the Rye Professional Firefighters union. The group assists firefighter families facing hardship and contributes to local schools, organizations and community initiatives. Last year, Laura Pellegrini, a perennial volunteer with Rye Boy Scout Troop 2 and other efforts, won the award.
McMahon
McMahon’s service began in high school, when she completed community service hours at St. Anthony’s House, a local Catholic parish community center, helping with Meals on Wheels. While studying archaeology at University College Dublin, she participated in a charity fashion show for two years to raise funds for Down Syndrome Ireland. Her volunteer work continued in London, where she read with elementary school children in an underserved neighborhood through her employer, Dow Jones. After moving to New York City, she volunteered at a food pantry in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, through New York Cares.
In addition to her work with 2029 Fundraising, McMahon is a member of the Rye Free Reading Room Auxiliary Board, where she helped publish Novella Magazine, a fundraising initiative supported by local businesses to benefit the library. At Christ’s Church Nursery School, she served as vice president for community service in the parents organization, organizing food drives, pink ribbon sales and the delivery of children’s artwork to Rye’s first responders. In 2024, she joined the Jay soirée committee, helping organize a fundraising gala for the Jay Heritage Center. She also serves on the board of directors of Friends of Rye Nature Center.
Recently, McMahon was appointed by the Rye City Council to serve on the 12-member Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, which is helping shape the city’s long-term plan. She also volunteers her creative talents in support of the community, including recently donating her DJ services to the Wainwright House’s 75th Anniversary Diamond Benefit. She also administers the Rye Moms Facebook group.
Award Dinner
The award dinner will take place on November 2 at The Osborn. Tickets are $135 per person. To attend, please email ryecitylionsclub10580@gmail.com by October 26. Checks, made payable to the Rye City Lions Club, may be mailed to Rye City Lions Club, P.O. Box 354, Rye, NY 10580. The Rye City Lions Club is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
All proceeds from the event support the Rye City Lions Club’s mission to help meet the ever-increasing needs of our society, with a special focus on those who are blind or visually impaired. In the past, the Rye City Lions Club has donated to Guiding Eyes for the Blind; VISIONS Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Rye Free Reading Room to purchase large print books and books on tape. Additionally, the Club provides financial assistance to the Rye YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program and to Rye Recreation for their summer camp program.
The award was originally named the James A. Shea Community Service Award of the Rye City Lions Club in honor of James A. Shea, a past club president who served as president of the board of trustees of the Rye Free Reading Room. The name was changed after the death of club member Marian Shea, wife of the late James Shea. Marian was a tireless volunteer in the City of Rye and a past recipient of the award. She was known for her work with the Rye Senior Advocacy Group and SPRYE (Staying Put in Rye and Its Environs), a group helping seniors to age in place. The award is now known as the James A. and Marian M. Shea Community Service Award.
