By gloria stravelli
Staff Writer
SHERRY CONOHAN Gail Abrams (c), representing the Red Bank Rotary Club, is congratulated on the achievement of the Spinnaker Award for Nonprofit Organization of the Year from the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce by William M. Kinney, vice chairman of the chamber and chairman of the Spinnaker Awards program, and Lynda Rose, president of the chamber, during a cocktail party held at Gibbs Hall, Fort Monmouth, honoring award recipients. The awards will be presented to the winners at a cocktail party and dinner Nov. 14 at Branches in West Long Branch.
When Robin Fitzmaurice offered to chair this year’s Spinnaker Awards for the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce (EMACC), she didn’t quite understand why chamber president Lynda Rose demurred.
"It’s always difficult to find a chair for the event and I felt like it was my turn," said Fitzmaurice, a long-time chamber member. "But Lynda said, ‘Not this year, I may call on you another year.’ "
What Fitzmaurice didn’t know at the time was that she had been chosen to receive a 2002 Spinnaker Award as Volunteer of the Year in recognition of her service to the community.
"It really is a terrific honor," said Fitzmaurice, vice president of Shrewsbury State Bank. "The bank has been honored by the chamber in the past, but to get this myself … I’m just thrilled."
Robin Fitzmaurice
Fitzmaurice, who is the manager of Shrewsbury State Bank’s main office, will be one of those honored at the EMACC’s 11th Annual Spinnaker Awards Dinner Nov. 14 at Branches in West Long Branch.
Other Spinnaker honorees include Lisa Tevis, proprietor of the Oakland House, Red Bank, who will receive the Community Service Award, Sen. John O. Bennett III (R-12) who will receive the Official of the Year award, and Harry Conover, coordinator of the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management, who will be honored as Appointed Official of the Year.
Also being honored is the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth, which is being recognized as a Corporate Good Neighbor.
In addition, the Rotary Club of Red Bank was elected by the Spinnaker Committee as Nonprofit Organization of the Year.
Lisa Tevis
Nominations for the Spinnaker Awards come from the 579 business and individual members of the chamber, including past winners, said Rose, adding that 30 nominations were received this year.
Nominees must be members of the chamber or be in located within the chamber’s eastern Monmouth service area.
Choosing from the 30 nominations received for 2002 was a challenging task for the Spinnaker Committee, said Rose, who is a member of the selection panel.
"It’s like choosing an Oscar winner. It’s so hard," she noted. "Most are well known for their community involvement."
Harry Conover
Contributions to the community are the hallmark of Spinnaker winners, she said.
"When you look at Robin Fitzmaurice, it’s a whole culture that she supports and endorses," Rose explained. "Her whole family supports a culture of volunteerism.
"And who gives more than the Army, especially this past year?" she noted. "Everything they did, they did for our protection and it’s time they are recognized for it. Plus, when their families come here, they don’t just sit home, they get involved in activities, become part of community and support local businesses.
"Lisa Tevis," continued Rose, "in addition to all else she does for the community, trains visually impaired people to work in restaurant kitchens, and the Rotary — I’m a Rotarian, it’s all volunteer.
Sen. John O. Bennett
"They’re all wonderful. How do we choose the best one?" Rose said. "They’re all equally good and that’s why this event is in its 11th year and can easily go on in perpetuity."
Chaired by Eatontown attorney William M. Kinney, the two dozen Spinnaker Committee members represent a cross section of chamber membership, including some past Spinnaker winners.
"This award recognizes the people in our 10-town eastern Monmouth area who, in various categories, have made exemplary contributions to the community," said Kinney, who also is EMACC’s vice chairman.
"This year, I’m especially proud, being an Army brat and a former Army officer, to have Fort Monmouth recognized," added Kinney, who was a captain in the Airborne Rangers unit of the U.S. Army. "It’s a jewel in the crown of Monmouth County."
"Above and beyond service and dedication by an individual who provides exemplary service to the community," is the criteria the chamber defines for its Volunteer of the Year designation, awarded this year to Fitzmaurice, who said she has worked to instill an ethic of community service in her two children.
"I love working in the community and, through my volunteer activities, I recruited my children," she said. "They worked pancake breakfasts, flea markets and they understand the importance of community service. They have the joy of it."
The Rumson resident began her volunteer experience as the first female member of the Shrewsbury Kiwanis Club — and became the group’s first female president.
Fitzmaurice joined Shrewsbury State Bank almost 25 years ago and became manager of the main branch in 1987 and was named vice president in 1988.
She joined the chamber when she began her banking career and has since served in many capacities including treasurer and member of the board. In addition, she is treasurer of Red Bank RiverCenter, secretary of the Mental Health Foundation of Monmouth County, a member of the Community Advisory Committee at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, and a member of the board of the Alliance of Neighbors of Monmouth County.
A major focus of her volunteer work has been helping women, children and families.
"Probably 180, Turning Lives Around, is my biggest time commitment," said Fitzmaurice, who is currently treasurer of the nonprofit that helps women who are victims of abuse and sexual assault.
Her commitment to 180 began after hearing women survivors speak.
"It made such an impact on me," she said. "I have been so impressed with the job they’ve done with women who have survived abuse and been able to rebuild life on their own."
"When I first heard the news, I thought, ‘Me? What do I do?’ " recalled Lisa Tevis, the Community Service awardee. "Lynda said, ‘Lisa, you do more than you realize.’ I’m so honored. It’s something I’ve learned during my career in the food service industry. You give back to the community and it pays off. One of the reasons I left the corporate world was to become part of a community."
In addition to running a first-class restaurant and catering facility, Tevis has made the Oakland House a welcome venue for artists, musicians and patrons of the arts. According to the chamber, the restaurateur sponsors food and wine tastings, receptions, artwalks, jazz jams and performances to benefit organizations including the Count Basie Theatre, the Monmouth County Arts Council, Monmouth University and the Arc of Monmouth Inc. In addition, Oakland House is the only restaurant in the state that offers training in the culinary arts to blind individuals.
Tevis began her career in her family’s restaurant, then earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management. She worked for Restaurant Associates at Lincoln Center, where she opened a restaurant and café; at Carnegie Hall; and at the Museum of Natural History, where she was in charge of all food service. Tevis opened the 125-seat Oakland House in 1998 and has been recognized for culinary excellence as well as largess to the nonprofits, for which she hosts benefits.
"It’s a great chamber that works very hard and recognizes some real hard work on the part of our businesses every year," said Bennett, who, as 2002 Elected Official of the Year, is being recognized for providing "outstanding leadership and support of the high principles of the chamber."
"It’s indeed an honor to be included in the group of individuals being recognized," he said.
The chamber "provides a good sounding board through its many active committees that deal with many of the issues we deal with in the legislature. The chamber affords me the opportunity to have good contacts with the smaller businesses in my constituency," he added. "It’s a great window into the business community."
The legislator is the majority leader and co-president of the state senate and has served in the legislature for more than 21 years. He has been honored by some 32 organizations as Legislator of the Year, Distinguished Leader and Legislative Leader and has been the recipient of numerous honors.
The Little Silver resident, who occasionally serves as acting governor, represents the state’s 12th District, which includes six of the 10 towns in the EMACC’s service area. According to the chamber, the local legislator is known for his focus on quality of life issues, with a particular interest in measures that aid veterans and senior citizens. He has co-sponsored legislation to provide a record $400 million in property tax relief, supported a fourfold increase in municipal block grants and was instrumental in passage of the Clean Water Enforcement Act. His record on anticrime measures includes being instrumental in the passage of the Amanda Act and Megan’s Law.
The chamber’s Appointed Official of the Year goes to an individual "whose performance is a source of pride to the citizens he/she serves and consistent with the high principles espoused by the chamber for all who hold public charge."
If ever there was a year that held Conover to this standard, it would have been the past 12 months during which foreign terrorists and the forces of nature put the resources of the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to the test.
The county’s OEM coordinator for the past 14 years, Conover has marshaled his staff and a legion of volunteers from the county’s 53 municipalities to deal with coastal storms, blizzards, tornadoes, the Dec. ‘92 "storm of the century," as well as droughts and the destruction wrought by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 on the World Trade Center. The OEM head, the chamber noted, coordinated all county Emergency Medical Services through a county-wide mobilization plan, transportation for residents and those fleeing New York, directed decontamination and coordinated ferry operations with law enforcement to ensure crowd and traffic control and security. More recently, the office responded to almost 240 calls pertaining to bioterrorism, specifically anthrax.
The Corporate Good Neighbor Award recognizes a "business culture that motivates employees to be personally involved as good Samaritans in helping people in need and making the eastern Monmouth area a better place to live."
The U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth was cited by EMACC as the 2002 honoree for its role in providing the military with communications tools ranging from carrier pigeons through the development of radio, weather balloons, walkie talkies and radar.
In addition, the chamber said, Fort Monmouth launched the post-war era of space-age communications that saw radar contact with the moon, development of techniques of mass production of integrated circuits as well as solar cells and the Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) was created at the military installation in 1962.
In addition, the chamber said, there is a human side to the post whose military and civilian personnel volunteer with local fire departments, emergency services, veterans’ organizations, youth sports and Scout groups and schools.
Founded 81 years ago, the Rotary Club of Red Bank has been chosen to receive the chamber’s Nonprofit Organization of the Year award. Citing "the joyful spirit" with which the Rotarians tackle community service projects, the chamber noted that each year the men and women members of the all-volunteer organization raise thousands for worthy causes.
Rotary programs benefit organizations including Monmouth Day Care, the Salvation Army, Count Basie Learning Center, Aslan Youth Ministries, 180, formerly the Women’s Center, Epiphany House, Family & Children’s Service, and Monmouth Museum.
Supporting all these programs requires major commitments of time and work on the part of volunteers.
Rotary standbys include an annual golf outing and the 30-year-old Vince Lombardi Dinner. Last year the club hosted a food and wine tasting and raised $15,000 for the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey and a dinner to benefit the Community YMCA of Red Bank. At holiday time, the chamber noted, Rotarians collect toys for needy children and food for holiday meals, and are the bell-ringers for the Salvation Army holiday drives.
Among the many Rotary programs focused on young children is a one-on-one program with eighth-graders at the Red Bank Middle School to that helps students prepare for state exams. Rotarians also mentor high school students in interactive programs such as beach cleanups and water testing and for Career Day, when students shadow professionals who are Rotary members. Red Bank Rotary even helps college-bound students, with $6,000 in scholarships awarded each year.
The Spinnaker Awards were established in 1992 when chamber officials decided to discontinue awards for new construction or renovations projects and focus instead on celebrating community spirit.