Heather Wurtz. chairwoman, Pennington Day 2010
Pennington Day is such a special celebration of our community. It is a day when we can all get out and enjoy our friends and neighbors. It also gives local businesses a chance to meet community members, and nonprofits an opportunity to raise funds and get out their message. In addition, through the donations of our generous sponsors, Pennington Day Inc. is able to give back substantial funds in the form of grants to organizations throughout Hopewell Valley and greater Mercer County.
Of course, the success of this festive event depends upon the generosity of the community. The Hopewell Valley Regional School District deserves a huge amount of gratitude for allowing us, once again, to use Toll Gate Grammar School as the centerpiece of the festivities. Thank you especially to Toll Gate Principal Dan Umstead, and staff members Joe Castelize and Bob Boucher for their support and assistance.
Community members form the backbone of this event and we all appreciate the flexibility of the residents of South Main Street, Laning and Curlis avenues who were affected by the Pennington Day road closures. Special thanks go to Tom Flood and Kimberly Renick who allowed us to borrow their electricity to power the Children’s Entertainment sound system. Thanks to Ray McCormack for once again supplying the Pennington Day Gazebo.
Putting on such a huge event requires the dedication of a large group of energetic volunteers. I am extremely grateful to the many people who worked with me to plan and execute this 30th anniversary Pennington Day celebration. Thank you especially to Logistics Chair Janet Neal who took care of an incredible number of details and made sure everything ran smoothly. Gretchen Overhiser and Rachel Torpey, my co-chairs from last year, offered tons of invaluable advice and assistance, acted as food coordinators, and helped put together the Spring Fling. Booth Chairs Kristin Tunkel and Francie McManimon worked tirelessly to register and organize a wonderful selection of vendors. Thank you to Gretchen Overhiser (again) and Maryann Saums of Pennington Printers for creating our fabulous poster and map, Jenny Long and Jessica Clingman for taking charge of T-shirt and water bottle design, production and sales, and Andy Parsons, who created the new graphics. Thank you also to Michelle Needham who organized the Spring Fling.
On Pennington Day, zone Captains Kristen McGeeney, Jay Greenberg, Mike Hastings, and Marci Lewis ensured that set up went smoothly for vendors. Thanks to Lee Dickstein for heading the volunteer security patrol, Bill Meytrott for all his assistance and advice, Molly McDougald, official Pennington Day photographer, and Jenn Gregg and the Pennington Players for staffing the Information Gazebo and selling Pennington Day T-shirts throughout the day.
Thank you to all the people who worked hard to provide the wonderful entertainment and activities that we all enjoyed on Pennington Day. Val Luedeke and Kim Lee deserve special recognition for bringing us the fun new Children’s Pavilion. Thank you to Randi Plevy, who scheduled performers, Eva Kaplan, who coordinates the Children’s Entertainment Tent every year, Mollie Johnson, who chaired the Dog Show, Scott Brown, who organized the Children’s Games area, Sara Ritchie, who organized the Tennis Competition at The Pennington School courts, Nancy Breland, who chaired the quilt show, and our excellent town criers, David Collins and Nick Muoio. Thanks to Brett Margulis who, once again, organized and operated the sound systems for the entertainment areas with expertise and aplomb.
I also want to thank the dedicated men and women of the Pennington Fire Company, Ladies Auxiliary, First Aid Squad, Public Works, and both the Pennington Borough and Hopewell Township police departments for their contributions to Pennington Day. You keep our town safe and secure, and help to make Pennington such a special place to live. I appreciate the support and enthusiasm of Pennington Borough Mayor Tony Persichilli and the members of Borough Council. I appreciate your service to our community and continued support of Pennington Day.
The board members of Pennington Day Inc. deserve a special thank-you for their continuing dedication to this wonderful annual event. Board President Albert Teixeira and Board Members John Krisulewicz, Mike Foster, Brit West, Chris Fossel, Lee Dickstein and Regina Phillips all provided help and guidance. I especially applaud board member Andy Beloff, who puts an enormous amount of time and effort into handling both publicity and the website.
Finally, thank you friends and neighbors for coming out to celebrate community at Pennington Day 2010! I really hope you had as much fun as I did, and I look forward to seeing you at Pennington Day 2011.
