February 6, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 21 Donovan, Kober present awards at joint ceremony by Jennifer Crusco Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan and HoHo-Kus CERT Program Manager/VFW Post 192 Commander Stanley Kober joined forces last week to present awards to CERT members and the 2013 VFW essay contest winners. The combination award ceremony was held at HoHo-Kus Borough Hall. Kurt Schnaars of Ridgewood received the first place award in the 2013 VFW Post 192 and its Ladies Auxiliary’s Voice of Democracy competition. Post 192 serves Ridgewood and Ho-Ho-Kus, and students from these municipalities, Saddle River, and Upper Saddle River are invited to participate in the annual contest. Schnaars, who is currently a senior at Don Bosco Prep High School in Ramsey, received a certificate, a check for $150, and various publications, including a copy of the U.S. Constitution, a description of the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, and a copy of “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior” by George Washington. His winning entry -- “Is Our Constitution Still Relevant?” -has been passed on to the next level of VOD competition. Awards were also presented to the winners of the Patriot’s Pen contest, all of whom reside in Ho-Ho-Kus. This year’s contestants wrote about what they would tell America’s founding fathers. The first place winner was Victoria Tsai, a sixth grader at the Ho-Ho-Kus Public School. Tsai, who received a certificate and a check for $100, was selected by VFW District Two to represent the district in the state-level competition, with the 20 candidates from New Jersey’s other counties. Kober also recognized Patriot’s Pen winners Lindsey Coleman, Madeleine Higgins, Cameron McIndoe, Anthony D’Iorio, Ben Johnson, Carter Quinn, Jacqueline Yang, Parker Griep, Erika Kluge, Jonathan Sumner, Anthony Gurunian, Dominick Leskiw, and Frank Trobiano. Kober then recognized CERT members for their efforts during and after Hurricane Sandy. CERT leaders, including Kober, received the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Each CERT member then received an award approved by Kober and Ho-Ho-Kus Office of Emergency Management Director Jay Ludwig. Those recognized included Robert Barone, Michael Limatola, Timothy Schwartz, Sue Veerling-Steinhoff, Rev. Richard Bierwas (not a CERT member), Chris Males, Joseph Stewart, Brian Wormser, Ronald Bosco, Denise Michaud, Fred Sumner, Jennifer Zilenziger, Mary Ann De Rosa, Nick Poulis, Cindy Tharayil, Shirley Glickman, Alida Reyes, Asha Unnikrishnan, Jim Schwartz, and Peter Vaccari. Kober noted that CERT logged 725 hours and helped feed over 700 people following the hurricane. The Ho-HoKus Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary mobilized to prepare hot meals for many borough residents who lost power, and for fire department personnel and CERT staff. Many Ho-Ho-Kus residents and businesses donated food and drinks. Kober noted that Unnikrishnan, who was not present last week, was instrumental in this effort. Kober also especially noted the contributions of Limatola, who continually checked on his neighbors following the storm. Also on hand at the ceremony were Howard Butt, NJSP Citizens Corps Coordinator, and Detective Gidget Petry of the Bergen County OEM. Petry received the VFW Community Service Award for being a motivating force in the BCOEM for CERT. Top left: Patriot’s Pen winners with Stan Kober and Kathe Donovan. Top right: Kober with Kurt Schnaars. At left: Donovan, Petry, and Kober. Above: Rev. Bierwas with Kober. Below: Ho-HoKus CERT members.