EAST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP – Hightstown High School senior Elena Plumser was presented the 2016 New Jersey League of Municipalities “Louis Bay 2nd Future Municipal Leaders $1,000 Scholarship” at the June 7 meeting of the East Windsor township council.
Ms. Plumser was one of the three statewide winners. She is interested in a career in communications and will be attending Montclair State University. She has been the director of “Spotlight East Windsor,” the township’s bi-weekly call-in television show, and has pursued radio and television studies at Mercer County Community College, as well as volunteering at the Twin Rivers library branch. “The scholarship competition provides a unique opportunity for area high school students to demonstrate an interest in their local elected officials and municipal operations,” said East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov. “Elena Plumser is a bright and talented student with a particular interest in communications and who has been a great asset to the ‘Spotlight East Windsor’ program, and we are confident she will be successful in achieving her educational goals.”
The New Jersey League of Municipalities statewide scholarship competition centers on the theme “What My Municipal Government Does Best” and seeks to advance the virtues of elected and volunteer members of the community, while raising awareness of municipal government in general.
In a portion of her winning essay, Ms. Plumser wrote: “With today’s advanced technology, any kind of news can spread like wildfire in a matter of seconds with the click of a button, usually on portable devices. Someone high up in authority could easily send out a tweet on the social media site Twitter or even a mass text. Mayor Janice Mironov of my town, East Windsor, has a more fascinating way of notifying her town. She has a live television show, ‘Spotlight East Windsor,’ that airs every other Wednesday for half an hour on the local community channel for the town residents. A phone number is advertised throughout the show for anyone to call in and personally ask the mayor questions or make comments.”
She also added: “My municipal government does best at getting the word out to the community of current events that have occurred or will occur, helping businesses become known, and also connecting with the public on a personal level. It is very crucial, but also challenging to stay on top of what is going on and keeping residents updated. I have gained so much profound respect for my municipal government from working hard on ‘Spotlight East Windsor.’” The New Jersey State League of Municipalities, by way of its municipalities, promotes this opportunity for three high school juniors or seniors throughout New Jersey to be awarded the $1,000 scholarship through the Future Municipal Leaders Scholarship Competition.
