The North Brunswick Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Services and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee presented their annual end-of-year awards to deserving members of the community.
The Youth Advocate Award was presented to Tom Abode.
Abode has been a North Brunswick resident for 38 years. He graduated from North Brunswick Township High School (NBTHS) in 1983.
Abode is an attorney whose practice is based in North Brunswick.
He has served as a member of the North Brunswick Zoning Board since 2014.
He is an active volunteer with the North Brunswick Township Soccer Club since 2004. He served as vice president from 2008-16 and was then elected president.
He is an executive board member of the North Brunswick Youth Sports Festival Committee and a member of the North Brunswick Adams Athletic Club.
The Youth Advocate Award was presented to Tom Kovacs.
Kovacs was born and raised in North Brunswick. He graduated from NBTHS in 1990.
He has worked for L’Oreal as a material movement specialist for the past 30 years.
He grew up playing youth sports in town. He began volunteering with the North Brunswick Baseball & Softball Association in 2005 when he started coaching his oldest child in T-ball. He continued to coach and manage a team each year for every division, from Double A to the Senior League. He coached and managed three travel baseball teams for 13 years, taking them to Cooperstown Dreams Park in 2012, 2016 and 2019.
Kovacs has been a member of the Executive Board of the North Brunswick Baseball & Softball Association since 2008. He started as the player agent and handled all registrations for baseball and softball. He has dedicated his time as a league director and equipment manager, and for the past six years has been the coordinator of the snack shack.
He assists the North Brunswick Youth Sports Festival Committee as the games manager.
The Young Adult Peer Advocate Award was presented to Kyle Handoff.
Kyle is a senior at NBTHS who has a 4.2 GPA.
He has completed numerous Advanced Placement (AP) courses in English, history and drawing. He is in the process of completing AP European history, human geography, microeconomics and English literature. He has taken Honors courses in various subjects as well.
Kyle is currently a member of the National Honor Society and has been an Honor Roll awardee since 2017. He was the National Junior Honor Society vice president from 2016-17. He is the vice president and mural director for the National Arts Honor Society.
He is president of “Painted Words,” the school’s literature and arts publication, and was the creative and photography director when the group placed first in the American Scholastic Association Competition in 2018.
He has a magazine cover publication for the annual poetry anthology, as well as “Painted Words” and “Pandemonium”.
Kyle acts as an athletic intern for the NBTHS Athletic Department by being the videographer and photographer at school sporting events.
He was a student mentor at the NBTHS Music Camp during Summer 2017 and was a course instructor during summer enrichment for grades K-5 in Summer 2016.
Kyle is enrolled in ongoing classes at Middlesex County College through the EMPOWER program, enrolled in Introduction to Global Studies, Principles of Public Health, History of Western Civilization, Art History, and Introduction to Art. He holds a 4.0 GPA.
Kyle is an instructor at the State Museum of New Jersey in Trenton where he develops guides for use in museum tours.
Kyle volunteers as a co-leader/program designer for the Rutgers 4-H Robotics Club for under-resourced children, as well as the 4-H Middlesex County Eco-maniacs Environmental Awareness Club. He is currently the president but has also served as vice president, secretary, treasurer and historian.
He volunteers at Students2Science by participating in lab experiments.
Kyle is the official event photographer at many events, including the MS Walk, EMPOWER’s 10th anniversary gala, Brunswick Eruption robotics competitions, the annual march and rally against domestic violence, State Theatre events, the NBTHS Talent Show, Coffee House and Artstock performing arts shows, and NBTHS Theatre Revue.
Kyle volunteers for the RWJ Foundation Book collection, Elijah’s Promise and Better World Cafe, Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweep and the North Brunswick Senior Center.
He has also volunteered as a staff organizer of a food drive for an orphanage.
The Young Adult Peer Advocate award was presented to Darcy Fruhschein.
Darcy is a senior at NBTHS with a 3.987 GPA. She is in the Top 10% of her class.
She is a member of the National Honor Society, as well as the Tri M National Music Honor Society. In 2019, Darcy was inducted into the National Society of High School Scholars.
In 2016, Darcy was the recipient of the North Brunswick Department of Parks & Recreation’s Scholar/Athlete/Artist Award.
The North Brunswick Board of Education presented her with proclamations for athletic achievements in 2018 and 2019.
Darcy is a member of the Girls Varsity Bowling Team at NBTHS. As a freshman, she started on the varsity team and won second place in state sections in Central Jersey and fifth overall. She was the team captain and anchor during her sophomore and junior years. She was named All-White Division, Greater Middlesex County and individually All Conference and All-White Division. She qualified eighth out of 200 her junior year in the NJSIAA sections, and finished 60th in the state.
Darcy’s highest average is 183.1 with a high game of 254 and a high series of 625.
In the 56th annual New Jersey State Youth Bowling Tournament this past March, Darcy placed fifth in the Singles Event, Handicap Division B; and eighth in the Scratch Division B.
In 2019, she had a 155 average overall in the Junior Gold.
In the 55th annual New Jersey State Youth Bowling Tournament she placed first in the Doubles Event, Scratch Division C; first in the Doubles Event, Handicap Division C; third in the Team Event, Scratch Division C; and sixth in the Individual All Events, Scratch Division C.
Darcy has also been on the NBTHS Golf Team where she started in all matches, and the team received the Sportsmanship Award for Greater Middlesex County.
She has been a member of the NBTHS Marching Band, Honors Wind Ensemble and Concert Band.
In Spring 2019, she was on the Basket Auction Committee to help raise funds for the Class of 2021.
She was the homeroom representative for the Class of 2021.
Darcy has volunteered with the township’s Youth Council and Municipal Alliance since 2015.
She was a North Brunswick Township District Summer Music Camp volunteer counselor in 2019, and a 5K participant/volunteer for Purple for Pappas in 2016 and 2018.
Darcy is active in the Parish of the Visitation and has been an altar server since 2011. She received the Saint Timothy Award this year from the Diocese of Metuchen in recognition of a high school teen who exhibits the Catholic faith and service in youth ministry.