Community Corner

2012 Keeper of the Dream Award Recipients

MLK Day of Service ceremony will take place from 1:00pm – 2:30pm at St. John's Lutheran Church Sanctuary, 587 Springfield Ave.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service’s Keeper of the Dream Award is given every year to a diverse group of Summit residents who honor the vision of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

"We spend all year watching, observing and noting the deeds, actions and influences of people in the community," says Annette Dwyer, Board Chair of Shaping Summit Together, "to nominate those who move our diversity objectives forward."

The following is the list of recipients of this year's Keeper of the Dream Award taken from the program for the 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service:

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J. Andrew Lark

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A native of Hackensack, NJ, Andy is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and received his Juris Doctorate law degree from the Washington & Lee University School of Law. A trusts and estates attorney in New York and New Jersey, most of his time is spent in New York City’s not-for profit world as Co-Trustee of the Cummings Memorial Fund (since 1982) and Executive Director of the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts.

Having moved to Summit in 1991 with his wife, Kay, Andy has held numerous positions in local government, including City Council for 6 years (one year as Council President) and the Zoning Board for 9 years. He also chaired and co-chaired the local community action group Summit 2005 and its successor, .

An active member of in Summit, a member of MENSA, and a long-time Trustee of the Summit Area Public Foundation, Andy also enjoys attending theatre events (especially at , where his wife Kay sells tickets and his daughter Terry volunteers on the Props Committee) and cheering on the Yankees, Giants and Devils. (In some cases, there’s always next year!)

In 1999, Kay and Andy ideated and co-chaired the first MLK Day of Service in Summit. (Andy had learned of a much smaller scale “Day of Service” happening elsewhere and felt certain that Summit should – and would – be supportive of an improved concept.) They are humbly gratified by and grateful for the outpouring of community support that has gone into the perpetuation of this important community-wide event for the last 13 years. They salute current Chair Annette Dwyer for her tenacious dedication to producing a high-quality program each year and for involving such an exemplary group of volunteers, ever dedicated to the “dream” of Dr. King and those who have followed him.

Miles D. Mac Mahon

Miles Desmond Mac Mahon was born in Brooklyn, NY. He came of age during World War II and served in the 23rd Regiment of the New York Guard, while working as a runner on Wall Street. He then joined the United States Maritime Service to train for the merchant marine. He saw wartime service as a radio officer liberty ships and tankers. After discharge from the U.S. Army, Miles earned a degree in physics from the Univ. of Maryland and began teaching.

Miles was recognized for teaching excellence by the American Institute of Physics and gained a National Science Foundation fellowship. He was working in Newark as a nuclear energy consultant during the 1967 civil unrest. Recognizing the importance of education in solving the long term problems of urban society, he joined the faculty of Essex County College in downtown Newark in 1968. He also served as president and fellow of the NJ Science Teachers Association. While Miles was with the college, he held a number of administrative and supervisory positions.

Miles developed innovative programs to bridge the educational gap that prevented many students from succeeding in college. His programs involving group support, collaborative learning, cross discipline integration, and computer/technological applications for academic achievement became part of the curriculum. He worked with the State Dept of Higher Education to promote basic skills testing and remediation. With NJ TV and Channel 13, he set up and managed the first college credit TV based course in NJ (on environmental education). His professional motivation was to extend the reach and effectiveness of education opportunities.

After retirement from the college in 1993, Miles became involved in many local activities. For some years he has focused on the situation of seniors living in Summit. Active with the , he has identified and advocated for their needs. His many position papers have become the basis for discussion and action by and for seniors living in Summit. The plight of seniors living alone has become a special concern of his. Miles and his late wife, Virginia, spent 51 of their 57 years together in Summit and their children attended the great schools of the city: Margaret, Monica, Daniel, Thomas, Timothy, Mary Kate, Christopher, the late Patrick, and Ginger.

 

Cynthia B. Martin

Cindy Martin, a Summit resident since 1988, has served her community in many ways. This year, she is stepping down as Co- Chair of the Mayor’s Forum on Diversity in Summit, a position she has held since 2006. The Forum brings together people from all sectors of the community several times a year for constructive dialog about issues relating to diversity. Ms. Martin has been involved with the Forum since 1993 when it was known as Valuing Diversity.

From 1997-2006, Ms. Martin was a member of Summit’s Common Council. During her three terms she served as Council President, as Chair of the Public Safety Committee for seven years and in leadership roles on numerous committees and commissions. Upon completing her final term in 2006 she was appointed by the Planning Board to Co-Chair Summit’s Master Plan Reexamination.

Currently serving as 1st Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the , Ms. Martin has been a member of that Board for the past five years. She is also currently on the Board of Trustees of the and the Conservancy.

Ms. Martin’s previous community activities include co-founding First Night Summit in 1993 and serving on many committees including Overlook Hospital’s Community Health Benefits Committee, the Primary Center Advisory Committee, Summit’s Centennial Committee, the Goals 2000 Local Improvement Panel, the Mayor’s Partnership for Technology and Summit 2005.

In recognition of her service to Summit, Ms. Martin received the United Way’s Community Service Award in 1995 and the Jean Hudson Gano Community Service Award in 2001 and was selected as one of “The Women of Summit” for the 2005 calendar.

A graduate of Smith College, Ms. Martin recently earned a Certificate in Historic Preservation from Drew University and is working on a book about Summit houses. She and her husband Bob have three adult children.

Diana Burn Rosen

As a child, Diana Rosen lived in London during the World War II German Blitz and had her school building blown up by German bombs over one weekend. When a friend was blown off her bicycle while delivering mail, Diana volunteered to replace her – and so began a lifetime of volunteering to help others.

Diana came to the United States in the late 1940’s, was educated at Oklahoma A&M and then at Harvard as a chemist, married in 1953 and had five children, all born at Morristown Memorial Hospital. Diana earned a second MA degree in Chinese Studies at Seton Hall, worked at Ciba Pharmaceutical Products in Summit, and was a technical translator of foreign languages for many years. She lived in Summit for 57 years, and volunteered at many of the community organizations. She was chair or president of the , , the Summit Board of Recreation, the Summit YWCA, The Municipal Youth Guidance Council, and the Community Programs Advisory Board. She was an active member of countless other community agencies and key institutions, including the Summit Historical Society.

Diana taught swimming, lifesaving and adaptive aquatics for three decades, retiring while in her 70’s. She trained a large percentage of the area’s lifeguards over the last four decades, and the adaptive aquatics program she led for decades helped people with special needs gain strength and develop confidence and skills in and out of the water. Recently the Colonial Crossroads Chapter of the American Red Cross set up the Diana Burn Rosen Volunteer Award to recognize outstanding volunteers in the Adaptive Aquatics program. Temple Sinai recently announced an award in Diana’s name to recognize exceptional volunteers.

She received the Hadley award for adult volunteer leadership from the YMCA in 1973 and also received the Shuart Reed Memorial Award for distinguished service to youth in 1979. The United Way of Summit, New Providence and Berkeley Heights named her “Citizen of the Year” in 1987.

From teaching English as a Second Language to teaching the handicapped how to swim, her caring attention was always shared with those who needed it. When Diana passed away in February 2011, Jordan Glatt, mayor of Summit, said “Summit is a little dimmer today”. But Summit is a better community for her having been here.

 


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