PLUMSTED — A lifetime of community service was officially recognized by the Plumsted Township Committee on Oct. 5 as lifelong resident Jim Hendrickson was presented with a joint resolution from the state Legislature commending his work with drug and alcohol recovery.
Mayor Ron Dancer, who serves in the state Assembly, said, “The Legislature paused in its deliberations and recognized Jim’s efforts. This is now a permanent record in the New Jersey Legislature, where we had 120 legislators unanimously adopt and approve it.”
Hendrickson was honored as the 2011 Ocean County Volunteer of the Year at the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Summit held on Sept. 9 in Princeton.
“We all know what Jim has been doing around here for 25 years,” Dancer said.
Hendrickson, 66, said he made it his life’s work to help people who are struggling with substance abuse after life took him down that same road.
“There was a time when Warren Burns was the police chief and was the only officer in town. I was probably 12 or 14 years old when he told me to get out of town and don’t come back,” Hendrickson said.
He said that as he got older, his struggles with alcohol began. He was not able to kick the habit until he was 27.
“I got sober in 1972 and I’ve been in recovery for 38 years,” said Hendrickson, who started the first addiction support group in Plumsted almost 30 years ago.
There are now six support groups that see between 300 and 400 people a month.
Since 1989, when the Plumsted Municipal Drug and Alcohol Alliance began to take shape, Hendrickson has worked with the township to raise awareness about the efforts of substance abuse recovery.
“I think Plumsted is one of the most supportive communities around, as far as volunteers in the community go,” Hendrickson said. “The Township Committee has been dedicated and their encouragement is what keeps us going.”
After sustaining a work-related injury, Hendrickson began studying alcohol and drug issues so he could become a certified counselor. He earned his counselor’s license in 1996.
Since then the list of organizations Hendrickson has given his time to has grown to include the Friends of Addiction Recovery of New Jersey, the Plumsted Municipal Alcohol and Drug Alliance and the Juvenile Justice Commission.
Work with the police department, the municipal court and various civil groups round out his efforts.
“I’m just a community activist. When I got this award, I had no idea it was coming,” Hendrickson said. “I was totally surprised and I feel really humbled by it. This was never the intention. I was just doing what I was doing because it was helping the community.”