New Jersey Lighthouse Society - Volunteer Recognition Program

Volunteer Recognition Program

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the introduction of a new program to annually recognize the most outstanding contributions to the New Jersey Lighthouse Society and its goals and objectives. The Society is profoundly appreciative and extremely grateful to all its volunteers and sponsors and fully recognizes that any success our organization enjoys is entirely due to their selfless contributions. The Society further recognizes that some aspects of our mission require extraordinary efforts, outstanding commitment and/or exceptional dedication to achieve its goals. It is these exceptional contributions the Society wishes to acknowledge through this program.

Nominations are requested from the membership for calendar year 2005 recognition and for significant contributions for periods prior to the enactment of this program. Each nomination should include the name of the nominee and written justification describing the contributions for which the nomination is being made. Nominees must have performed some exemplary function to further the Society's goals of restoration, preservation, education, historical research or must have stimulated public awareness in NJ Lighthouses or those lights in neighboring NY Harbor or Delaware Bay waters or has performed exceptionally dedicated voluntary service. Nominee eligibility is open to: a) members in good standing for the period recognized by the award; or b) an event sponsor, grant provider, cooperating entity or an extraordinary lighthouse proponent.

Generally, nominations will be made in the current calendar year for distinguished contributions in the prior calendar year. However, the initial recognition period will be extended to acknowledge extraordinary contributions performed prior to the enactment of the program and may date back to the inception of the Society.

Nominations may be initiated by the general membership, the Board and the President and will be solicited through The Beam and the Society e-mail. Nominee names will be referred to the Nomination Screening Committee comprised of individuals from the general membership and the Board. All awards will be published in The Beam and on the Society web site.

The Society also seeks volunteers from the general membership to serve on the Nominee Screening Committee. Please send Award nominations and Screening Committee volunteer names to Chair, Screening Committee for Volunteer Recognition Program, or to NJLHS President, PO Box 332, Navesink, NJ 07752-0332. Both nominations and committee volunteer names are requested by July 31, 2006.

Outstanding Members Recognized

Tom Laverty

NJLHS held its second annual Recognition Awards Program with 10 members being honored for their service to the Society at our September meeting in the Highlands at the Henry Hudson Regional School.

Last year NJLHS started a program to recognize individuals and organizations that have contributed to the lighthouse preservation movement and have helped NJLHS achieve our mission of promoting lighthouse preservation and history. The first year of the Recognition Awards Program focused on people who are or had been NJLHS members and directly impacted NJLHS. Last year 28 awards were given out.

This year we continued and recognized 10 people who have given outstanding service to our organization. One of the awardees, Ted Panyotoff, lives in Maine and could not attend the ceremony but sent a letter thanking members for the honor. Mike Grant, who “crossed the bar” a number of years ago, was represented by his wife, children, and grandchildren. Jean Burgess accepted an award for herself as well as one for her late husband Al. Equally important were those members who were in attendance to receive the honors. A full list is below with some accomplishments that led to their consideration.

Please join the NJLHS in congratulating these members for their outstanding service.

Awards given in memory of:

Al Burgess (accepted by Jean Burgess)--Outreach volunteer in the early days of the Society; Sandy Hook volunteer, who kept coming in later years when confined to a wheel chair.

Mike Grant (accepted by his wife, children, and grandchildren)--Sandy Hook volunteer; NJLHS Challenge Volunteer Coordinator–the first one to do that job.

Fredric Thies (accepted by Yvonne Miller Thies)--Served on first Preservation Committee and served as coordinator for preservation issues in the southern part of the state. Known as “Freddie the flying Pharologist”, he was an amateur pilot and documented lots of lighthouses in photographs from the air. Worked to save the Barnegat Lightship.

Jack Thompson (accepted by Tom Laverty)--First Ways and Means Committee chair; First VP of the organization shortly after NJLHS reorganized in 1994.

Current Members Receiving Keepers Award:

Alvin Brown--Served on the first Preservation Committee; Preservation Coordinator for the “Central Region” which included Barnegat and Absecon. Worked to try and preserve the Barnegat Lightship.

Jean Burgess--Outreach Committee member who, with her husband Al, staffed information tables about NJLHS at dozens of events; Sandy Hook volunteer.

Bill Geilfuss--Served on the first Preservation Committee; former VP of NJLHS; instrumental in preserving the history of lighthouses by visiting many lighthouses in the state in uniform as a lighthouse keeper.

Katie Moser--Secretary of the Society when the responsibility of recording and corresponding was combined; dresses in period clothing her interpretation of a lighthouse keeper’s wife helps further the understanding of lighthouse life through living history.

Ted Panayotoff--Preservation Committee, Ted was the coordinator for the “Northern Region” including Sandy Hook, Conover Beacon, Twin Lights and Sea Girt. Worked to save the Conover Beacon and get people interested in caring for it. Now works with the Rockland Lighthouse Museum where Ken Black’s collection went, as well as doing lighthouse tours in Maine.

Bill Volpe--Second VP; organized the Education Outreach Committee; established the Recognition Awards Program; Chair of the Finance and Budget Committees; Sandy Hook volunteer.