Health & Fitness
Strong Community Makes Area Special
While Gloucester Township has much to offer its residents, Mayor David Mayer believes that the people of the community are the core of what makes the area such a special place to live.
Some (many) may refer to our state as the “armpit of America,” but Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer wholeheartedly disagrees.
“South Jersey is a gem on the East Coast,” he says. “I think this area is so wealthy in terms of things we can do with our children and spouses and families and friends—that it makes South Jersey a jewel.”
Mayer was born in Philadelphia in 1967 and moved with his family to Runnemede when he was 5 years old, spending his formative years in South Jersey.
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“I was very fortunate to go to the public schools in Runnemede,” he says. He graduated from Triton Regional High School and was a volunteer for the Runnemede Fire Co.
“South Jersey gave me an opportunity,” he says. “I look at it today, I’m the mayor of one of the largest towns in New Jersey.” According to Mayer, Gloucester Township is currently the 18th largest municipality out of 566 towns in New Jersey.
Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Gloucester Township is a very diverse community,” he says, citing great restaurants, historic preserves, ball fields, dog parks, cross country tracks, and the Black Horse Pike area.
While the township has much to offer its residents, Mayer believes that people of the community are the core of what makes the area such a special place to live.
“Our best resources are people,” he says. “I deal with so many individuals over the course of every week and it’s great.”
On Jan. 16, over 100 community members —writing cards to servicemen and women, making sandwiches for those in need, and helping at the animal shelter.
“It was great,” says Mayer. “And it was our first time doing it.”
The only downside to living in South Jersey, according to Mayer, is the sometimes-frustrating winter weather.
“At the end of the day, that’s a nuisance issue. We’ll get through it.”
The 44-year-old has no plans to leave the Garden State in the foreseeable future.
“I grew up here, I live here, I raised a family here,” says Mayer. “I’m just so, so happy with the quality of life and the quality of the people in our area.”
I want to hear from you. Do you have a story of what ties you to South Jersey that you would like to share? E-mail me at kmduffy90@gmail.com or call 856-889-8656 to set up an interview.
