Waldwick July 18, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 9 Waldwick’s Grants Administrator Jordan Battisti is leaving her position at month’s end and is moving to Boston. The borough council last week appointed Laura Davisson to replace her as of Aug. 6. “You gave us a lot of your talent and time. We appreciate all you’ve done,” Mayor Thomas Giordano told Battisti after the council accepted her resignation. “You will be terribly missed. You are intelligent, well educated, extremely pleasant. Nothing was ever too much trouble to put aside what you were doing. No replacement will be like you. I wish you well; it’s a great loss to us,” said resident Carol Shepard. Battisti, who has served as the assistant to Borough Administrator Gary Kratz since 2006, came to Waldwick after receiving her master’s degree in public policy and government from Carnegie Mellon University. She called her experience under Kratz’ Battisti to relocate; new grants administrator hired mentorship “invaluable” and a great asset as she starts looking for a new job in the Boston area. “I’m deeply saddened to be leaving. I’ll miss most the relationships forged with the residents and the other employees,” Battisti said. “We are saddened by her departure. She’ll be hard to replace. We wish her the best,” Kratz said. Battisti is relocating because her fiancé has been hired as a professor of computer game design at Northwestern University. One of his computer designs is used to help levee patrols in the Netherlands find structural faults and cracks before they become serious. Growing up in Asia and educated in international schools, Battisti said she knew from an early age she wanted a career in government. She decided on local government instead, however, after an internship with the City of Pittsburgh. “I loved it,” she said. While in Waldwick, she cross-trained in many of the town’s departments, and was instrumental in attaining a number of grants for the borough. Most recently, Waldwick received a $50,000 FEMA grant to cover damages related to Hurricane Irene. Davisson was selected to replace Battisti following a national search. She will be paid $46,675. A graduate of Kansas State with a mas- ter’s in public administration from Florida State University, Davisson worked for three years in the budget office of Collier County, Florida before deciding to join the Peace Corps. She was assigned to Albania and worked for two years in local government in that country. “We are excited to have her join us,” Kratz said. “She comes highly recommended and has experience working in local government. I’m confident she’ll do well,” he added. The Waldwick Chamber of Commerce will present a free Movie Night on Thursday, July 19. This event will be held at the Oval, located near the municipal pool, from 8 to 11 p.m. The feature presentation will be “Despicable Me.” Attendees are encour- Community Movie Night set aged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. Light refreshments will be served. In the event of rain, the movie will be held in the media room at Greenhouse Golf at 140 Hopper Avenue.