The Top 5 Newsmakers of 2011

Over the past year Patch has featured numerous folks around town who have made headlines for their accomplishments, their achievements, or their involvement in a project.

We’ve taken a look back and identified five Hasbrouck Heights residents who have been the top five newsmakers of the year – A star athlete, a woman passionate about the fight against cancer, a man who went out of his way to bring attention to an environmental cause and two friends who started a new organization that has been making headlines since it began.

Meet the top 5 newsmakers of 2011:

Maria Alvarez and Donna Gasser

The Chic Charity Club is barely one year old but it quickly has become one of the most talked about and active new community organizations in town. Its founding members, leaders and friends and they have been working non-stop organizing fundraisers and events that have supported many local charities.

The two friends wanted to start their own non-profit organization in their own vision that supported various different charities while having fun in the process and also setting a good example for their own children.

In this short time, the club has already supported the local via a , the Valerie Fund, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand and more. They were and recently presented a check for $2,500 to the borough which was raised by the sale of 9/11 memorial bracelets.

The first big event which featured countless vendors, raffles, tricky tray, gifts and more all which supported the Valerie Fund, an organization that raises funds for children with cancer and blood disorders.

Now they are working at their next big event – set for Feb. 11 which will raise funds for the Tomorrow’s Childrens Fund of the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Kevin Condal

Kevin Condal left behind some big shoes to fill when he graduated the high school this past June. Condal is well-known around town for his numerous accomplishments on the track. 

He holds county and state titles includes the fastest 300 meter runner in the state, for both 2010 and 2011 and is a three-time All Bergen County track star. He also holds the all time Bergen County Meet of Champions record of 47.94 seconds in the 400 meters. 

With many awards and recognitions behind him, he is still receiving recognition as recently as just the other week as the Board of Education presented him with the Athlete of the Year award and just last month Condal received the prestigious High School Athlete of the Year Award from the Greater Bergen County YMCA.

Condal also played football during his years in high school but he decided he wanted to focus on track and field in college during his junior year.  Condal was sort of a late bloomer, starting track in his sophomore year, but he had quick success which has been non-stop ever since. 

David Gonzalez

David Gonzalez  has proven to the Heights community that when he is passionate about something he will put himself out there and go the extra mile.

That’s what he did this year when he made a public statement that he would get into the dunk tank at the street fair in order to help raise awareness for the borough’s recycling efforts. Prior to the April 2 paper shredding event, Gonzalez told Patch that he would get in the dunk tank at the May street fair if the recycling event yielded 5,000 pounds. We spread the word, the people heard and they came through. The event yielded 5,900 pounds surpassing Gonzalez’s goal and one month later there was quite a large group of spectators watching as he kept his promise by getting in the dunk tank.

It wasn’t long after that Gonzalez pledged to do it again at the next May street fair provided the community brought in 6,500 pounds at the November shredding event. Once again the people responded to what he was doing for the cause and more than surpassed his goal by .

Lillian Romano

Lillian Romano had already been active member of the community however her efforts this year towards the fight against cancer brought together the entire community and then some as the first Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, came to Hasbrouck Heights thanks to her efforts.

The event was considered extremely successful bringing in more than $60,000 towards cancer research, surpassing  Romano’s initial goal of $50,000. Romano, who serves as chair of the event, and her support staff are already

Romano has said that when her mother lost her battle with lung cancer five years ago, . Another inspiration for bringing this event to Heights was a star soccer player in town who lost her battle with osteosarcoma the previous summer.

During the June Relay event, Romano. In all her efforts towards the Relay for Life event her passion for taking this on battle against this disease showed strongly. “I I look around me tonight and see how lucky I am to have family and friends that took on this battle wit the same passion than I did,” she told all at the June 11 event.

Romano for her efforts in bringing this event to the borough.