3 Cherry Hill Residents To Be Honored At County Medal Ceremony

CHERRY HILL, NJ - Three Cherry Hill residents will be recognized for their contributions to the community Wednesday night. Rosy Arroyo, Jennifer Richman and Rabbi Larry Sernovitz will be honored for their unselfish contributions to improving their community at the 2019 Camden County Freedom Medal Ceremony on Jan. 23, county officials announced.

They are among 18 Camden County residents who will be honored Wednesday night. The award was created in 2001 and is presented to civic leaders who demonstrate the ideals and actions that reflect the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Below are the biographies for each Cherry Hill recipient, provided by the county:

Rosy Arroyo, Cherry Hill: Resident of Cherry Hill since 2010, Rosy Arroyo and her husband, Isaac, are the proud parents of two children. In 2015, Rosy became co-chair of the New Jersey Association of County Youth Service Commissions. As the Camden County Youth Service Commission administrator, she has overseen the data, program design, planning, and implementation of the Youth Service Commission, school-based initiatives, Juvenile Detention Alternatives initiative, prevention programming, Children’s Inter-Agency Coordinating Council, family engagement strategies, and youth and law enforcement engagement.

Jennifer Richman, Cherry Hill: Born-and-bred in Cherry Hill, Jennifer Richman has parlayed her love of Cherry Hill into a vibrant community Facebook Page, which became the heartbeat of the town. She has warmly embraced her reputation as the town crier and the unelected mayor. She is proud to have cultivated a forum through which thousands of community members can feel connected to one another. On Saturday mornings, Jen also runs “Bootcamp for a Cause,” an outdoor workout program that donates 100% of its proceeds to charity. A dedicated group of fitness fanatics, they have donated over $1,200 to 12 deserving charities in the last two years.

Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, Cherry Hill: Rabbi Larry Sernovitz is the founder of the Nafshenu congregation in Cherry Hill. Rabbi Sernovitz focuses on areas in his rabbinate that include education, interfaith matters, prayer and spirituality, and social justice. Following the Pittsburgh shooting, he worked with the Camden County Freeholders to organize a vigil at the Boathouse, where over 300 people from all parts of the county came to not just support the Jewish community, but stand for humanity. He is on the Statewide Clergy Caucus of Faith in New Jersey, and serves as a chaplain for the Cherry Hill Police Department.

The complete list of honorees includes:

• Rosy Arroyo;
• Pam Grayson Baltimore;
• Kathy Crane;
• Kimberly Dickstein;
• Carolyn Grace;
• Eartha Holland;
• Shirley Johnson;
• Sandra Kelly;
• Nurah Muhammad;
• Bill Orth;
• Mario D. Partee;
• Jennifer Richman;
• Al Schmidt;
• Rabbi Larry Sernovitz;
• Bill Spearman, Assemblyman;
• Stella Sytnik;
• Mary Ann Wardlow, Mayor of Lawnside; and
• Robert Rocky Wilson.

"Each year since 2001, the Camden County Freedom Medal has been presented to honor extraordinary Camden County citizens who have generously contributed their time and effort to better their community while espousing the ideals indicative of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. said. "These exemplary citizens have demonstrated significant contributions in the area of community service. They serve as a model to us all."

The Freedom Medal ceremony will take place at the Collingswood Ballroom located at 315 White Horse Pike. The reception will start at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6 p.m. The awards will be presented immediately following dinner.

The attached image of the Camden County seal was previously provided.