SJ African American Chamber Honors 16 Leaders in Inaugural Awards Event
By Clyde Hughes | AC JosepH Media
ATLANTIC CITY — Sixteen community leaders from around South Jersey, led by Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Bridgeton Mayor Albert Kelly and Dr. Jon Regis, of Act On Total Health, were honored at the inaugural South Jersey African American Chamber of Commerce Community Service Awards last month.
The event was held at the chamber’s “In the Black” event on Nov. 15, at The Claridge Hotel, in Atlantic City during the annual League of Municipalities Conference. Chamber President Curtis Lackland said the gala will be an annual event, created to recognize those who are involved in the community and to bring leaders together to network.
“We want to make sure we acknowledge those who are making that kind of impact in our communities,” Lackland told Front Runner New Jersey this week. “We want to honor them now. Too often, we wait until it’s too late. This allows folks to get together and network under a common theme.
The awardees were recognized for their “outstanding contributions and exemplary performance” to their communities in South Jersey.
“There is no greater feeling than to be able to help your community and I will continue to do that as long as I live,” Regis said on LinkedIn about his honor. Regis, a longtime healthcare leader in Atlantic County recently started the new company Act On Total Health.
Small is serving his first full term as mayor of Atlantic City after being elevated to the position in 2019 and winning several elections to complete the term of the previous mayor and then a full term in 2022. He has helped lead Atlantic City’s recent revival that has seen new businesses and national conventions come to the area.
Kelly, the longtime mayor of Bridgeton, is the former president of the New Jersey League of Municipalities. He is the founder and president of the Gateway Community Action Partnership, one of the largest nonprofit agencies working with the underserved in the state.
Others honored by the South Jersey African American Chamber included:
- Edward Bethea, Executive VP, Gateway Community Action Partnership, Bridgeton City Council
- Olivia Caldwell, President Mainland-Pleasantville NAACP
- April Maxwell-Henley, President, Willingboro Township Public Schools Board of Education
- Stephanie Marshall, Couincilwoman, Atlantic City
- Tom Miller, Owner of Miller Chiropractic Wellness, Pleasantville
- Donna Pearson, Cumberland County Board Commissioner
- Marvin Pierce, Jr., Mayor Fairfield Township, Cumberland County
- Aaron “Sporty” Randolph, Council President, Atlantic City
- Kaleem Shabazz, Council Vice President, Atlantic City, Atlantic City NAACP President
- Donald Shaw, Mayor of Roselle
- G. Bruce Ward, Atlantic City attorney
- Judy Ward, Mayor of Pleasantville
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