WESTFIELD AREA Y BESTOWS 2016 GOLDEN VOLUNTEER AWARD ON CARLTON BLAKE AT ANNUAL DINNER

The Westfield Are Y is pleased to announce that Carlton Blake received the 2016 Golden Volunteer Award. The Golden Volunteer Award is the highest award the Westfield Area Y bestows. Established in 1993, it is presented annually to a board member or volunteer who has demonstrated exceptional dedication, involvement, and service to the Westfield Area Y; the four core values of respect, responsibility, honesty and caring; and the three areas of focus: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

Carlton has served as Volunteer Chair of the Westfield Area Y’s Achievers Program since its inception in 1997. In 2013, he received the Martin Bartner Award at the NJ State Alliance Dinner. This award is given to a Y minority staff member or volunteer whose conduct, leadership and commitment epitomize the core values of the Y and who is an outstanding example for others. Carlton has been instrumental in developing the programs’ curriculum and goals. He helped develop the criteria for participants to earn college scholarships which are financially supported by The Connell Company and annually reviews the application essays. He serves as a mentor for the youth and has generally been the driving force behind the program. Carlton has also recruited extremely influential speakers for the Achievers Banquet, including U.S. Senators and Congressmen.

His vision of social responsibility extends well beyond the Y. He served on the United Way of Greater Union County’s African American Leadership Initiative from 2007-2012. This initiative assisted kids and families in need, with a particular emphasis on people who have recently been released from prison. In conjunction with “Communities in Cooperation,” the committee provided basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter, provided interview skills and interview clothes to help reduce the rate of recidivism and provided education and hygiene essential to incarcerated woman and men. Since 2007, he has coached the Hunterdon Lions Track Club, in charge of sprints and conditioning and is currently one of five head coaches overseeing approximately 250 athletes from 4th to 8th grades. He also coaches youth basketball, football and helped with Little League Baseball.

Carlton grew up in Jamaica, West Indies and moved to the United States at age 16. An outstanding student, he graduated from Orange High School in Orange, NJ. He attended Rutgers University Newark on a four-year James Dickson Carr academic scholarship and graduated in 1981 magna cum laude. He graduated from Cornell Law School in 1994. He began his career as a corporate attorney at Clifford Chance Law Firm in NYC and moved to The Connell Company as in-house counsel in 1997. He is currently Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of The Connell Company in Berkeley Heights.

Congratulations to Carlton on his recognition. The Westfield Area Y is honored that Carlton continues to provide leadership, dedication and service to the Westfield Area Y and the community.

Pictured here from left to right: Sheilah O’Halloran, Westfield Area Y Board Chair; Golden Volunteer Award recipient Carlton Blake; and Mark Elsasser, Westfield Area Y CEO.