Morris County Board of Education members are recognized for their New Board Member Boardmanship certification, which they received through the NJSBA Board Member Academy. Also pictured are Bernadette Dalesandro, MCSBA president; Charlene Peterson, NJSBA senior field service representative; and Robert Acerra, county activities coordinator at NJSBA (at the lectern). The board members in the photo, from left to right, are Clairissa Chapman, Netcong BOE; Sheethal Abraham, Parsippany-Troy Hills BOE; Sandra Downs, Town of Dover BOE; Louisa Melendez-Canedo, Mount Olive BOE; Satwant Banga, Wharton Boro BOE; Kelly Elardo, Wharton Boro BOE; and Lisa Narcise, Mount Olive BOE.
The Morris County School Boards Association hosted the Second Annual Nancy Helbourg Memorial Recognition Ceremony on May 2 at Roxbury High School in Succasunna.
MCSBA President Bernadette Dalesandro (a member of the Netcong Board of Education) welcomed attendees, virtually and in person, to celebrate the 2023-2024 school year and to the MCSBA’s final meeting of the school year. Students from Roxbury High School entertained attendees during dinner. They led the attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance and in the singing of the national anthem.
Lisa Mezik, vice president of the Rockaway Township Board of Education and a member of the MCSBA Executive Committee, paid tribute to Helbourg, for whom the awards ceremony was named. Helbourg, a longtime teacher and a former member of the Rockaway Township Board of Education, lost her battle with acute myeloid leukemia on June 16, 2022; that evening, she planned to attend the MCSBA Awards Ceremony. Karen Cortellino, M.D., president of the New Jersey School Boards Association, attended and offered warm greetings on behalf of the Association.
Assemblywoman Aura K. Dunn was on hand to greet attendees, and she presented proclamations from the New Jersey Assembly to the student award winners. Charlene Peterson, senior field service representative at the NJSBA, and Robert Acerra, county activities coordinator at the NJSBA, presented the milestone awards and NJSBA board member academy certification recognitions, acknowledging the hard work and dedication of the board of education members in Morris County.
The following is a list of sponsors who donated scholarship money totaling $16,008.06 to very deserving students in Morris County.
- County College of Morris: tuition assistance for three students.
- VFW Post 5531 of Whippany: $3,000.
- 403 Reasons to Run Inc.: $2,008.06.
- Solutions Architecture: $1,500.
- Adams, Lattiboudere, Croot & Herman: $1,000.
- Laura Bishop Communications: $1,000.
- Treadstone: $1,000.
- Pathful, Inc.: $1,000.
- FKA Architecture: $1,000.
- Nancy’s Village: $500.
- The Rotary Club of Roxbury: $500.
- The Rotary Club of the Skylands: $500.
- All American Mechanical: $500.
- Parette Somjen Architects, LLC: $500.
- A Friend of Morris County SBA: $500.