Veronica McGreevey, Governor McGreevey’s Mother, to be Honored at William Paterson University at the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for Senior Citizens on November 16

Veronica McGreevey, mother of Governor James E. McGreevey, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award during William Paterson University's Fifth Annual Senior Citizens Thanksgiving Dinner on Saturday, November 16.

The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Machuga Student Center Ballroom on the campus in Wayne, and is hosted by the University in cooperation with community organizations and social agencies from cities in northern New Jersey. The purpose of the dinner is to recognize the contributions of senior citizens in the community.

Featured during the dinner will be the presentation of the William Paterson University Lifetime Achievement Award to five senior citizens who have made significant contributions to the community including Veronica Mc Greevey, who was a nurse practitioner, health care provider, and educator; Dorothy Emerson of East Orange, a former long-time employee of William Paterson and currently an active member of Citizen Action in Newark; Dr. Paul Chao of Wayne, William Paterson professor emeritus of sociology; Vera Ames-Garnes of Paterson, councilwoman of Paterson’s Fourth Ward; and Aleida Gines of Ridgewood, co-founder of Mi Casa Es Su Casa, a private medical adult day care center in Paterson.

In addition to a traditional turkey dinner, guests will enjoy entertainment by the William Paterson Gospel Choir and Utopia Pan Soul, a steel orchestra based in Brooklyn, and a dancing demonstration by Robert Sweeney and Rebecca Reid. More than 150 volunteers, including William Paterson faculty, staff and students, will assist with the event.

Thirty-eight community organizations and social agencies from cities in northern New Jersey are sending guests to the dinner. Transportation will be provided by individual organizations, as well as the Passaic County Freeholders.

The dinner was organized by William Paterson's Office of Special Adult Programs. For additional information, call the University's Office of Special Adult Programs at 973-720-2601.

William Paterson University, one of the nine state colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers 30 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs through five colleges: Arts and Communication, the Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the University enrolls nearly 11,200 students and provides housing for nearly 2,300 students. The institution’s 366 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards and grants from the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society.

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11/14/02
For Further Information, contact:

Mary Beth Zeman, Director, Public Relations 973-720-2966