I hope you were able to be in town on September 22, when the 2016 New Jersey Run For The Fallen passed through Sea Isle City. On that day, a team of active duty military members ran through our town during their annual trek from Cape May to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Monmouth County. The 190+ mile run is held each year in honor of every service member from the Garden State who has made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation’s freedom – and it’s truly an amazing sight to behold. Along the way, the runners stopped every mile at “Hero Markers,” each of which was dedicated to an individual service member who died in battle. At most Hero Markers, family members and friends of the honored deceased were waiting to greet the runners, who paid tribute to their fallen comrades by reading a short biography and placing a small American flag at each marker – thus fulfilling the event’s theme of “One Mile, One Flag, One Hero.” I’d like to thank the organizers of the N.J. Run For The Fallen for honoring the brave men and women from New Jersey, who gave their lives for our Country. My thanks also go to the many residents and visitors who cheered-on the runners during their journey through Sea Isle City.
Looking ahead, I hope you can join us on October 8 for Sea Isle’s 26th Annual Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival. The parade will run along JFK Boulevard and then turn south on Landis before culminating at 63rd Street, where this year’s Italian Festival will be in full swing. You don’t have to be Italian to have fun at these two events – you just need to enjoy good people, good music and good food. I hope to see you on October 8!
Without a doubt, most of our town’s events and activities are held to entertain and delight people of all ages. Some gatherings, such as Sea Isle’s annual Veterans Day, Memorial Day and 9-11 services, are obviously more solemn in nature. And then there are events that are not designed for our enjoyment or to memorialize our heroes, but rather to spread very serious messages that will save lives. With that in mind, Sea Isle City’s Municipal Alliance Committee, Police Department and Board of Education – along with other partners in our community – are joining forces on October 13 to host a pair of very informative presentations titled Sea Isle City Fights Heroin…What You Need to Know. Due to the current heroin epidemic and the wide-spread abuse of other hazardous substances in our society, now is the perfect time to raise awareness, educate the public and shed some light on the threats that exist all across our nation and in our own backyards. The first presentation on October 13, called What Grandparents Need to Know, will educate seniors about the dangers of an unsecured medicine cabinet and will also focus on other topics that, as the title suggests, every grandparent should be aware of. The second presentation, which is for adults and parents, is called What Kids Know and You Don’t. That session will outline the shocking realities many young people face on a daily basis at school and while hanging-out with their peers. Both of these informative and enlightening presentations are free to the public, and we hope many people will be in attendance. You can learn more about Sea Isle City Fights Heroin…What You Need to Know, in a special section of this newsletter.
