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Schools

Foundation Honors Local "Stars"

The Howell Township Education Foundation honored six individuals and one well-known organization on Thursday evening at the Second Annual Evening of the Stars.

The Howell Township Education Foundation had some prestigious hardware to give out on Thursday evening at the Second Annual Evening of the Stars .

At this event, the Howell Township Education Foundation honored former students of the district who have gone on to accomplish some amazing things following their education in Howell. The Howell Township Education Foundation works to provide grants for teachers, providing funding for various activities and programs for educators throughout the township.

Six members of the local community were honored, as well as the entire Police Athletic League (PAL). Each honoree received a trophy for their efforts, as well as a resolution from the State Senate honoring them for all of their vast accomplishments.

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The crowd of almost 100 people watched as the PAL organization received the first award of the evening. Accepting for the group was PAL President Sgt. Chris Hill. Because of his efforts and the combined work with the township and the board of education the PAL was recognized as the STAR outstanding program.

Hill said he is proud of the efforts of the PAL community, saying he was hopeful to change the course of the lives of many children within the township.

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“Kids today may be technologically savvy, but they don’t know how to change a tire,” he said with a laugh. “I want to help bring kids back to that level to when we were kids.”

He continued to say that he believed all kids in the township should learn the values of helping others and giving back to society.

“If you want to be a better person, help those less fortunate,” he said, adding members of PAL will soon be working on a community service project to help those effected by tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri.

The group has been in existence for over 30 years, and some of the activities they take part in include basketball, golf, soccer, volleyball, kickball, yoga, tai-chi and arts and crafts.

Along with the PAL organization, there were six individuals honored throughout the evening, including Joshua Cicerone, Alison DeWaters-LaBianca, Hill, Donald Irvin, Anthony Novembre and Zonda Sochorow.

Cicerone grew up in Howell, worked for the Village Voice as a film reviewer, directed Al Pacino in a TV commercial in 2002, and has since founded a production and creative agency that oversees live events for Google, Live Nation, YouTube and Mercedes Benz.

DeWaters-LaBianca attended Aldrich Elementary School and Howell High School. Since then, she did a four-year residency at University of Pennsylvania specializing in foot and ankle trauma, and currently she serves as a review editor for the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery.

Hill, who oversees the PAL, is a Howell native who has lived in the township every year of his life except for one year, when he said he “hit his head,” giving him the bad idea to move out of the township. He has over 25 years of experience in law enforcement, is regarded as a national gang expert, and has testified before the senate committee on his knowledge of gangs.

Irvin has been in Howell since 1975, previously serving as Howell’s Deputy Mayor and a Councilman. During his time in the township, he has served as vice-chairman of the planning board, chairman of the Howell Township Manasquan Reservoir Committee, and a member of the Howell Environmental Commission.

Novembre is one of the founding members of the HTEF and has had a long career in education. He has served as county superintendent for Somerset County, Chief School Administrator in Helmetta, and as Superintendent of Schools in South Amboy and Hamilton Township.

Sochorow, an alum of Land O'Pines School, is a co-founder and COO of WHIT LLC, an apparel company. She has worked as a Senior Director of Handbag Product Development at Coach, as well as Vice President of Product Development and Production for Kate Spade.

The next event for the HTEF will be the Race to Educate 5k race and 1-mile fun run. This race will be held on Saturday, June 2 at Howell Middle School South. 

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