U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, Silvia Catalan-Culnan to Receive Awards from Gloucester County NAACP at Gala
Courtesy of Gloucester County NAACP
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
DEPTFORD – U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gloucester County NAACP and the first honor named after late noted civil rights leader Wilfredo “Wil” Rojas at the branch’s annual Black & White Gala and Game Changers Awards on Nov. 1.
The event, which will take place at The Sapphire Grand in Deptford, is one of the most prominent NAACP galas held in South Jersey annually, attracting hundreds of dignitaries and visitors from around the region.
Norcross, a well-know labor leader, was first elected to Congress in 2014 after serving time in the New Jersey General Assembly and New Jersey Senate. His district covers much of the New Jersey side of the Philadelphia metro area, including Camden, Cherry Hill, Lindenwold, and Glassboro.
He was involved in the leadership of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 351 and was president of the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO Central Labor Council. He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly.
Silvia Catalan-Culnan, the first Latina to sit on the Mount Laurel Township Board, will receive the inaugural Wilfredo “Wil” Rojas Civil Rights Award. Rojas, who was a member of the Gloucester County NAACP executive committee, was a longtime civil rights activist for Blacks and Latino in Philadelphia in South Jersey. He died in April.
Catalan-Culnan also is the legislative director to New Jersey Assemblyman William Spearman. She previously served a director of constituent services for State Senator Nilsa Perez-Cruz, Assemblyman Spearman and Assemblyman Bill Moen of the 5th Legislative District covering parts of Camden and Gloucester counties.
The South Jersey Information Equity Project, which has trained and promoted minority journalists to cover stories involving minorities in the region, will receive the NAACP’s communications award. The program has been guided by Cassandra Etienne, of Montclair State University’s Center for Cooperative Media, and journalists Velvet McNeil and Adrienne Bauldock.
Other awardees include:
*President’s Award: Danielle Spence, Glassboro councilwoman; Joanne Weiner, of Women, *Words and Wisdom
*Power Couples of the Year: Dr. Melvin and Natalie Pierson; Alex and Aykine Hicks
*Irene Hill Smith Civil Rights Award: Joe Kidd
*Law and Public Service Award: West Deptford Chief Matthew Brenner
*Entrepreneurial Award: Reggie Foster
*Community Medical Award: Dr. Garmina Thapar
*MVP-Gloucester County NAACP Award: Leatrice Lambert
*Public Policy and Government Award: Charles Walker
*Excellence in Education Award: Andrew Bell, Woodbury Superintendent
*Nonprofit Award: Lukeisha Walker
*Veterans and Armed Services Award: Jeffrey Beck
Follow Us Today On:
Note from AC JosepH Media: If you like this story and others posted on Front Runner New Jersey.com, lend us a hand so we can keep producing articles like these for New Jersey and the world to see. Click on SUPPORT FRNJ and make a contribution that will go directly in making more stories like this available. Thank you for reading.
About Author
