RED BANK: PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS
James Donachy’s black-and-white image of the Red Bank train station was the overall winner in the second annual ‘Red Bank Always Beautiful Photo Contest,’ the borough library announced Tuesday.
RED BANK: LOCAL PHOTOS AT LIBRARY
The Red Bank Public Library has mounted a display of images by borough resident and photographer Allan Bass.
SHREWSBURY: Y CITED FOR COVID RESPONSE
YMCA Togetherhood volunteers and staff lend a hand for community initiatives during the pandemic. (Joshua Reed)
Press release from the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County
The New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) has named the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County (the Y) as one of 20 recipients of its annual Awards for Excellence.
RED BANK: SENIORS MARK END OF SUMMER
Dozens of Red Bank senior citizens attended the borough Senior Center‘s annual end-of-summer cookout, hosted at the Westside Hose firehouse on Leighton Avenue Friday.
RED BANK: SCOUTS HELP RETIRE FLAGS
The members of Tower Hill Boy Scout Troop 67 of Red Bank were honored to visit Red Bank Elks Club #233 Sunday to provide service in a flag-folding ceremony.
Throughout the year, older United States flags that have become worn, dirtied or damaged are dropped off at the Elks Club.
These flags having flown with pride were honorably folded by both Elks and Scouts to be retired.
More than 100 flags were folded. (Photos courtesy of Troop 67. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: KIDS LEND A HAND FOR NEW MURAL
A vivid new mural began taking shape Tuesday at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County unit in Red Bank, courtesy of artist Stacey Pritchard.
With funding provided by the Monmouth Arts Signs of Hope program, Pritchard said the finished mural will include “words of inspiration” (at right) provided by children who attend the club, at Drs. James Parker Boulevard and Bridge Avenue.
(Photos by Allan Bass. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: WARMING CENTER SET FOR WINTER
Men’s Fellowship members of two Red Bank churches – Pilgrim Baptist and Tower Hill Presbyterian – teamed up to prepare the Red Bank Warming Center for the coming winter Saturday.
The event brought together the two houses of worship to make repairs and beautify the Shrewsbury Avenue center, which provides temporary shelter to homeless men when severe weather conditions exist, said Pilgrim’s Pastor Terrence Porter.
The men also spent time together during a BBQ lunch sharing life and faith experiences that helped to foster greater understanding.
For more information about the Red Bank Warming Center, or to make a financial donation to help support it, visit the Pilgrim Baptist website or call 732-747-2343.
(Photos courtesy of Pilgrim Baptist. Click to enlarge.)
SHREWSBURY: HISTORICAL PLAQUE INSTALLED
Forty-three years after the Shrewsbury Historic District attained placement on the National Register of Historic Places, community members marked the installation of a commemorative plaque outside Borough Hall on September 10.
The district, in the vicinity of Broad Street and Sycamore Avenue, won the national designation in July, 1978, two years after the New Jersey equivalent was awarded.
Marking the occasion, the Shrewsbury Historical Society was joined by borough officials, religious leaders, members of Boy Scouts Troop 50 and local history lovers in Colonial-era costumes. (Photo by Shrewsbury Historical Society. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: GRANT BOOSTS LIBRARY WIFI
Scenes from the recent installation of enhanced wifi at the library. (Click to enlarge.)
Press release from the Red Bank Public Library
The Red Bank Public Library has been selected as one of 27 libraries and was recently awarded $10,000 of grant funding by The NJ State Library to
support the CARES ACT Mini-Grant for Public Libraries.
The grant award supplemented the cost of an improved WiFi system that is now strong enough to provide service to anyone on the library grounds, inside or outside the building.
RED BANK: STREET FAIR RETURNS
Sunday’s Street Fair in downtown Red Bank, a fundraiser for the borough’s volunteer fire department, drew thousands of attendees to Monmouth and Broad streets.
RED BANK: TEACHER NAMED COUNTY’S BEST
Alyssa Geary, below, teaches at the Red Bank Middle School. (Click to enlarge.)
On August 25, the New Jersey Department of Education announced 21 educators as the 2021-2022 County Teachers of the Year during a virtual awards ceremony.
Among them: Red Bank Middle School teacher Alyssa Geary, who garnered the honor for Monmouth County.
RED BANK: ZAENTZ DEPARTS DAY CARE CENTER
Heidi Zaentz, above left, who has led the Monmouth Day Care Center in Red Bank for the past 22 years, worked one last, tearful day before retirement Friday.
RED BANK: KEEPING FORTUNE’S VOICE ALIVE
Suubi Mondesir with Fortune Foundation co-chair Gilda Rogers last month. Below, Mondesir, second from right, on a 2016 tour of the Fortune house led by builder Roger Mumford. (Photos by Chris Ern, above, and John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By CHRIS ERN
In the summer of 2016, Suubi Mondesir was a rising junior at Red Bank Regional High School when she participated in a tour of a crumbling Red Bank house.
At the time, preservationists envisioned the building on Drs. James Parker Boulevard as a cultural center in honor of its onetime owner, the civil rights journalist T. Thomas Fortune, and Mondesir was present as a participant in the Hugh N. Boyd Journalism Diversity Workshop at Rutgers University.
Flash forward to 2021: The house has been fully restored as the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, and Suubi (pronounced SOO-vee) manages its media outreach efforts as an intern. But it’s not just a job. Her work at the center aligns with a personal passion for social justice, inspired by Fortune’s work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she told redbankgreen in an interview last month.
“What he did is what I am hoping to do as well: to inspire people with my writing, and to speak truth to power,” Mondesir said.
RED BANK: 16-UNDER TEAM GOES UNDEFEATED
Back row, from left: Coach Dal Pra, Coach Cohen, Hank Dal Pra, Gus Dal Pra, Grayson Sandoz, Tim Kelly, Mike Freeman, Jack Glassberg and Coach Ryan. Front row: Ryan Robinson, James White, Mike Polloway, Jake Cohen, Jackson Hyman, Bryan Cruz and Cole Ryan.
Missing: Nicky Gandolfo and Myles. (Click to enlarge)
Press release from Red Bank Parks and Recreation
This summer, Red Bank Parks and Recreation proudly sponsored a 16-under team in the USABL summer league. Made up of Red Bank residents and/or students, the team was named the Red Bank Raiders.
The seeds to this team were sown last summer as Covid-19 canceled all high school and summer league baseball. Red Bank Recreation was able host high school players for practices and play inter-town games that started in July and
carried into the fall while following all Covid-19 safety protocols.
RED BANK: PILGRIM HOLDS BIBLE CAMP
Pilgrim Baptist Church of Red Bank recently held its Vacation Bible School & Bible Fitness Boot Camp for children/youth in grades K thru 12.
RED BANK: LUNCH BREAK REOPENS ITS DOORS
Lunch Break’s kitchen staff stands ready to again serve in-person guests. (Lunch Break photo. Click to enlarge.)
(Press release from Lunch Break)
After 15 months of operating as a take-away facility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Bank’s Lunch Break is again offering its guests seated meals onsite, the food security and social services resource announced Wednesday.
RED BANK: LUNCH BREAK PLANS $12M PROJECT
Additional facilities and parking would be created on lots adjacent to Lunch Break’s home on Drs. James Parker Boulevard. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Lunch Break, the food security and social services resource, announced the start of a $12 million capital campaign to fund an expansion of its Red Bank home Monday.
An addition to its facilities at at 121 Drs. James Park Boulevard is needed “to accommodate the growing needs of the community,” the nonprofit said in an announcement.
RED BANK: COAT DRIVE FACES BIG DEMAND
Red Bank Schools Superintendent Jared Rumage helps unload coats donated in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Press release from Red Bank-based Knights of Columbus council #525
In 2017 our Council kicked off the first ever ‘Coats for Kids’ program in the Red Bank area. In our fifth year of the program program we have provided hundreds of kids across the community who do not have the means to purchase a new or appropriate jacket for the harsh winter weather we experience.
RED BANK: TURTLES & PLANTS SETTLE IN
Creating the turtle habitat at Bellhaven involved trucking in a special blend of sand. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Red Bank’s Environmental Commission has debuted a pair of completed projects spotlighting turtles and water conservation in recent weeks.
SHREWSBURY: YMCA TAPS NAPPI FOR CHAIR
Ted Nappi, below, is a former member of the board of managers of the Y’s Red Bank facility, above.
[Press release from the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County]
The YMCA of Greater Monmouth County Board of Directors recently appointed Colts Neck resident Ted Nappi as its new board chairman and chief volunteer officer.
FAIR HAVEN: THREE EAGLE SCOUTS CITED
Alexander In Ho Pane, John Franklin Cadamuro and Roman Devlin, with Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli, were cited by the borough council Monday night for recent work leading to their designation as Eagle Scouts.
RED BANK: FORTUNE TO HOST PARKER ROOM
Press release by the the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center
On the heels of Juneteenth, the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center announces its partnership with Monmouth Medical Center, a part of RWJ Barnabas Health, as the exclusive sponsor of the Parker Family Legacy Room – a permanent exhibit of the history of the family of prominent Red Bank black doctors, who served their community for over 80 years.
RED BANK: INDIANS WIN 2021 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Red Bank Indians won the Two River Little League Juniors Division (13- and 14-year-olds) Championship by defeating the Fair Haven Cubs 4-2 in a nail-biter of a game Saturday.
RED BANK: TEACHERS & PROS HONORED
The Red Bank Borough Public Schools are a proud participant of the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) Governor’s Educator of the Year Program. Each year, the NJDOE recognizes Teachers and Educational Services Professionals throughout the State as part of the Governor’s Educator of the Year Program.
SHREWSBURY: YMCA NAMES BOARD MEMBERS
Top row: Latonya Brennan, Ming Chen, Lori Ferguson and Marilyn Grabowski. Bottom row: Itzel Perez Hernandez, Glenn Alonzo Richardson and David Stout.
The YMCA of Greater Monmouth County is pleased to announce the addition of seven new members to its board of directors, including three area residents.