Bergen County 200 Club Kicks Off Fundraising For 9/11 Memorial

Jack Terhune, president of the Bergen County 200 Club, entered the ballroom of The Graycliff in Moonachie on Tuesday night and seemed to know everyone. This was a cocktail reception for the club where new members were being recruited and initiatives of the club were being promoted.

This is a fun part of Terhune's job as leader of this organization. There are other responsibilities that come with this position that are far more difficult.

In the past year, Terhune, the former Bergen County Sheriff, has visited the homes of a fallen police officer and an EMT who died in the line of duty. He visited with the family of John Abraham, the Teaneck police officer who died in a single car crash in October 2010 and the family of Matthew Pelleterre, who died while responding to a call with the River Edge Volunteer Ambulance Corps in January. 

"I went there with the vice president of the 200 Club and there was a young baby," said Terhune of his visit to Pelleterre's family. "It's not always easy to make a line of duty visit and we hope that we don't have to make these visits."

The 200 Club makes payments to the families of firefighters, police officers and EMTs who die in the line of duty. In addition to line of duty compensation, the club also sponsors scholarships, offers grants to local police and fire departments and ambulance corps, hosts the annual Valor Awards and more.

"We are a non-profit that provides support to firefighters, police officers, EMTs and their families," said Terhune. "The idea for the 200 Club came from Detroit where a bunch of local businessmen came together to raise money for the families of those who were killed in the line of duty."

More than 25 years has passed since the 200 Club was founded in Bergen County and the club now boasts more than 1,000 members.

"The work that we do as an organization is based on our ability to recruit and sustain membership," said Terhune.

Anthony Paparmarkos, owner of The Graycliff, donated all of the food and beverages for the reception. Terhune gave back Paparmarkos' check for dues to the club and gave him a membership card. 

The 200 Club is working with the Bergen County Fire Chiefs Association to create a 9/11 memorial to firefighters and Port Authority police officers who were residents of Bergen County and perished in the attacks. The memorial will also honor Bergen County residents who gave their lives in subsequent military campaigns related to the attacks.

The BCFCA recently acquired a piece of steel from the World Trade Center and the 200 Club along with the Bergen County Sheriff and Bergen County Police helped transport it to the fire academy in Mahwah.

Jack Murphy, charter president of the BCFCA, addressed the crowd at the reception. "When we entered Hangar 17, it was like stepping back in time," said Murphy. "There was steel where the planes impacted, the base of the World Trade Center antennae, police and fire apparatus--we were awed to stand there."

Murphy said Gil Hawkins, a firefighter and council member in Leonia has donated his services to sculpt the memorial. The BCFCA and the 200 Club would welcome donations for the creation of this memorial. 

"We formed a ceremony to bring the steel up to Mahwah," said Murphy. "We were amazed that the cadets lined up and saluted as the beam processed through the academy."

The 200 Club also celebrated recent grants paid out to local organizations. Angelae Wilkerson, treasurer of the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Deirdre Colasuono, TVAC trustee, were celebrating the recent grant for the purchase of pagers for TVAC members. 

"Last year we responded to more than 4,000 calls and only called for mutual aid once," said Wilkerson. "We are already headed in that direction this year and these pagers will be a huge help to our members."

Terhune said the Valor Awards will take place in May, there will be a motorcycle run in September and the 9/11 memorial ceremony date will be set closer to the date in consultation with the memorial's artist.