Joe Grodman, South Brunswick
The Fall Festival Charlene Austin Community Unity Day is a day set aside for our diverse community to come together as one, in a drug- and smoke-free environment. We made the decision to switch the annual event from September to October this year and we were really lucky. We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather for such a wonderful day.
By changing the month, many of our schools were able to join our community businesses in participating in the event. It was wonderful to see them.
I must acknowledge Debbie and Art Roedel, even though they did not chair the event this year, they have set the standard after all their years of chairing the event. For this reason and for all they have done for South Brunswick over the years, I was honored to get to present the Roedels with the community award. What a joy it was to surprise them when it was announced that this award is now going to be called The Arthur & Debbie Roedel Community Award.
This year, the festival was chaired by Steve and Diane Reichenstein. I thank them very much for all the time and effort they put into such an important event for our township. They got to see first hand how the various departments in South Brunswick have worked together to make this event happen for the past 21 years. It includes our mayor and council members, township manager, health, police, public works and recreation departments. Thank you to all of these departments for their assistance. I would like to give special thanks to Steve Papenberg, township health officer, and Recreation Director Tom Morris. They and their staffs put in countless hours to make our day a success.
Thank you to the Rev. Fred Schott for starting off the festivities with a meaningful invocation.
A special thanks go to Mark and Ginny Kraft and the fantastic Viking Band. Their excellent performance in the opening ceremonies left all with a sense of pride in our high school band. We can always count on the Krafts to support our festival.
I also would like to thank the Police Color Guard for adding so much to our opening ceremonies.
A big thank you to our major sponsors: Mohawk Labs, Wacker Polymers, Krazy House Custom Trucks, Capital One Bank, Princeton Garage, Bodnar Auctions, the South Brunswick Lions Club, Willows Swim Club, Weichert Realtors and the South Brunswick Democrats. Without their support we wouldn’t have been able to offer so many free events.
Finally, thank you to everybody who attended the day. It was wonderful to see neighbors greeting one another and learning about all the things our community has to offer. I look forward to seeing everyone again next year.
Joe Grodman
Chairman
Municipal Alliance

