Volunteers Appointed To Advisory Boards

By Bob Vosseller MANCHESTER –

residents took part

Township in the observance of National Prayer Day during a ceremony held at the America’s Keswick retreat based in Whiting.

According to the website, nationaldayofprayer.org the annual nationwide observance is held on the fi rst Thursday of May, “inviting people to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.”

Every president since 1952 has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation and 35 of the 45 U.S. presidents have signed proclamations for National Prayer. Records indicate there have been 1,526 state and federal calls for national prayer since 1775 and counting according to

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Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer expressed his fondness for the Unsung Hero Student Recognition Awards. Billhimer said he was personally inspired by the students and suggested motivating others might be another achievement worthy of celebration.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s office has made a conscious effort to work with the schools to promote positive behavior among young people. The aim is to create a supportive environment that empowers students and helps them avoid trouble with the law.

Students selected as unsung heroes were nominated by their individual school districts for the award. Each was identified as a person who does great deeds but receives little or no recognition for themselves.

“This award represents the recognition you deserve,” wrote the Prosecutor’s office in the program containing the names of all of the recipients. “Whether you have overcome obstacles, preserved in the face of great challenges, or improved academically, your faculty and administrators have deemed you worthy of this prestigious honor.”

As part of their recognition, the students were given a certificate and a bag full of goodies and presented with a challenge coin. Challenge coins hold great significance and represent an honor highly valued in military and law enforcement communities. The coins are given as tokens of appreciation and recognition for individuals who have completed a difficult task or distinguished themselves in some way.

Representatives from each of the school districts took turns at the podium to share the qualities that led to the selection of their district’s unsung hero nominee. The presenters represented a variety of roles within the schools, from principals to teachers to social workers and school counselors.

Some of the students faced heart-wrenching losses that profoundly impacted their lives, and had to work diligently to move forward. Children who had relocated multiple times were acknowledged for their determination to adjust to new environments and navigate relationships. Others persevered through mental health and physical challenges. Still others regularly performed random acts of kindness despite an overload of personal commitments.

There was a noticeable trend among the selection of unsung heroes, as the same set of admirable adjectives was repeatedly used to describe each award recipient. Words such as determined, dedicated, resilient, positive, proactive, compassionate, kind, and empathetic appeared to embody the character traits of nearly every student recognized.

Most did not notice that Billhimer diverted from the program and skipped over the student named as the unsung hero from the Frog Pond Elementary School in Little Egg Harbor.

“I wanted to handle this in a respectful way,” shared Billhimer. “The student, Michael Browne, who was nominated for the unsung hero award was in an unimaginable accident and passed away earlier this year.”

Frog Pond Principal Tom Denning and Vice Principal Paul Nazarck took their place at the podium. Nazarack emphasized that Michael had been selected for the award before his death. Indeed, the remarks offered by Denning reflected a much happier time.

“At a young age, Michael faced experiences in his family life that would have caused adults to pause and ponder how to face life’s challenges,” said Denning. “Fortunately, Michael faces life’s challenges head-on.”

“With his loving and caring grandparents, he is adjusting to a new state, a new community, a new school, and making new friends,” Denning continued. “He is rising above the struggles of the earlier part of his life, and he is now able to give better attention to his school responsibilities and show himself, his teachers, and his classmates the amazing things he is capable of.”

According to his obituary, Michael “Mikey” Ryan Browne tragically left his world on April 2, 2023, just days before his thirteenth birthday. His obituary mentions his achievement as an unsung hero.

The list of 2023 Award Recipients and the school districts they represented are as follows: Matthew Fronzuk, Barnegat Township High School; Joseph Thiel, Bay Head Elementary School; Mariah Walling, Brick Memorial High School; Liam Nielson, Brick Township High School; Nathaniel Davis, Central Regional High School; Harrison Headley, Eagleswood Elementary School; Michael Browne, Frog Pond Elementary School; Yaneli Emilio-Tlapanco, Hugh J. Boyd School; Teagan McGarry, Island Heights School; Denielle Deriode, Jackson Liberty High School; Christophano Marano, Jackson Memorial High School; Charles Elmer, Lacey Township High School; Anthony Palma, Lakewood High School; Skyler Vivenzio, Lavallette Elementary School; Kirra Fredericks, Manchester Township High School; Luis Huitron, New Egypt High School; Ava Yellovich, Ocean Gate Elementary School; Eric Czaplinski, OCVTS-Brick Center; Dinah Van Name, OCVTS-Grunin Performing Arts Academy; John Fitzpatrick, OCTVS-Jackson Center; Matthew Caccavano, OCVTS-Toms River Center; Emma Carlysle Kohler; Pinelands Regional School District; Sabina Smith, Point Pleasant Beach School; Kagni Hostinsky, Point Pleasant Borough High School; Quinn Corbett, Stafford Township Intermediate School; Bella Moderno, Toms River East High School; Alexandra FinterFlood, Toms River North; and Diana Olivos, Toms River South.

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residents in “Where Is My Guacamole?”

Despite its name, the pre-taped show isn’t a cooking program. It is a spoof in Spanglish, meaning half Spanish half English. Garcia founded the Friends of Latin American Group and this is a production of that new community group that extends beyond LVW.

Those involved in the fun fi lled farce enjoyed a kickoff party earlier this spring at Leisure Village West’s Encore Hall for the production’s premiere. The potluck celebration featured a screening of the fi rst episode, an abundance of food, music, dancing, awards, prizes and plenty of hugs. Garcia, who plays the role of Pancho (Guacamole) got the community of LVW involved as cast members and production assistants for this outrageous spoof of a Spanish soap opera.

The actor, who looks younger than his 57 years, knows a lot about that medium as he has appeared in several telenovelas. “I worked for Telemundo television and have been working in the entertainment business for years.”

“First, I was an actor and I worked in soap operas in Venezuela and I came here to the United States. I was working in TV and I wanted to produce and so I went to a school here,” Garcia said. “I went to the New York Academy. When I moved here (LVW) I found out they had a TV station KLVW but after a while I decided to open my own group Latin American Group.”

His partner Robert Tergola explained, “it is a brand-new group and this community has all kinds of groups and activities, an African American group, a Jewish culture group but surprisingly they didn’t have a Latin American group so we thought of it and the idea of promoting the culture and the acceptance of people of Latin American culture.”

“We proposed it to the team that approves all the groups in the association and they said ‘sure’ and as part of the kickoff Ricardo worked on the telenovela, a Spanish soap opera and all the stars are the people that live in the community,” Tergola said.

“Everybody is acting in Spanish and English,” Garcia said.

Tergola added, “a few years ago we used to live in Toms River and Ricardo got hooked up with the Caregivers of Ocean County and he started a Latin outreach and so he has been involved with this community in the past and looks forward to working not only within this village but expanding as well.”

Barbara Genovese is playing a role in the soap spoof and she is enjoying every moment of her involvement with the project.

“I am playing Paella. This is a Cinderella like series but it is a comedy. It is actually at a guacamole factory that Lupita, played by Yolanda Giovannetti, inherited. Me and Robin (London as Empanada) are trying to sabotage the Guacamole factory. We are mean,” Genovese said with a grin.

Rae Tutela plays Rafaella the story teller who narrates the yarn and usually has a glass of sangria or some alcoholic beverage in her hand. Her narration becomes slurred as her alcohol intake increases throughout the fi rst episode.

“There are other characters but that is the main gist of the show. It is also shot right around here. Ricardo is unbelievable. We also go to Café Aroma do what is called the Roundtable and do a talk show every other Wednesday,” Genovese added.

Genovese said, “we don’t get paid. We are doing it for fun and my God, it is so much fun. There are the main characters but everybody in the village is part of it.”

A second episode has been released and they can both be viewed by visiting youtube. com/watch?v=HW9dbx77MsQ and youtube.com/watch?v=B3rvpQO2aP4

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“Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and right can never be safer than in their hands, where the Constitution has deposited it,” President Thomas Jefferson said.

America’s Keswick is involved with addiction recovery for men and women and offers training and resources concerning addiction recovery through conferences, retreats, events, and outreach.

Robert Kenney, the director of Partner Care at America’s Keswick, welcomed those to the event. He noted that the Colony of Mercy at America’s Keswick was founded on September 25, 1897, by William Raws, as a spiritual restoration center for men who had become addicted to alcohol.

Kenney was praying not only for the future of the nation, state and municipality and its leaders but also for the success of a special event coming up this weekend.

“Our 15th annual Family Freedom Walk will be held on May 13. This year our goal is to raise $175,000. As our biggest fundraiser of the year, America’s Keswick needs prayers and support,” he added.

Kenny shared his own story of addiction with The Manchester Times and how his faith helped him turn things around. “The Lord rescued me from addiction. In 2015, I came to the Colony of Mercy at America’s Keswick. I had been enslaved by sin and had a heroin addiction that gripped me.” “I was broken and in need of change. I was headed to an early grave. There was nothing I could do to break this bondage. I had been to numerous rehabs that couldn’t seem to help but God used America’s Keswick to offer me freedom in Jesus,” Kenney said. “The Colony of Mercy used God’s word to get to the bottom of my heart, where he could deal with the real issues.”

Kenney said the goal for the Family Freedom Walk is to raise funds to ensure that “men, women, and their families receive the opportunity to walk in new life and see that the addiction recovery ministries’ needs are met.”

The Freedom Run includes a walk through the retreat’s campus and a chance to participate along with hundreds of addiction recovery graduates with their family and friends. Snacks, games and music will be part of the day along with prizes for the most money raised and an award presentation during the closing ceremonies.

America’s Keswick does not receive state or federal funding. The Keswick event page is americaskeswick.org/event/15th-annual-family-freedom-walk2023/

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