County Workers Mark Career Milestones, World War II Vet Retires

CREST HAVEN — The Nov. 22 freeholder caucus was a time to mark milestones in workers’ careers. One of the is a World War Ii veteran, retiring from his second career.
Some 15 Cape May County employees marked their 25th year with the county government Nov. 22. They received a plaque and pin from their department head at the freeholder caucus meeting. There were smiles and applause, lots of laughter for good times remembered and a group photograph with the five board members.
However, after Lenora Boninfante, county communications director, snapped that group photo and the room largely cleared of the jovial crowd, a truly senior worker was lauded.
That man, Ed Rodgers, of Wildwood is a face well known to countless thousands who, over the years, have received a zoo booklet from him as he held out a donation bucket at the entrance to Cape May County Park and Zoo.
Rodgers, 88, decided it was time to “slow down,” and so will be departing from a post where he became a fixture for the past 21 years.
According to Freeholder Director Daniel Beyel, Rodgers, a World War II veteran, had retired from RCA.
Then, he decided the easy retired life was not for him, so he started working with the county when many folks his age, 67 at the time, were focusing on green pastures and days filled fishing or golfing.
“If you go into the park, you are greeted at the welcome center by Ed Rodgers,” said Beyel.
“I don’t know how many millions of dollars Ed has collected,” joked Beyel, “Now Ed decided he wanted to slow down.”
Beyel recalled a time when, during park renovations, electricity to the gatehouse was shut down in the winter. Rodgers never complained, he just donned heavy clothes and kept working, said Beyel.
“He is a great guy who has been seen by an awful lot of people,” he continued. “We thank him for his 21 years of service,” Beyel added.
“I can’t say enough about Ed, “said Parks Director Michael Laffey.
“He told me how the park operated over the years on a couple of slow days. He went into World War II, and is a veteran of this country, for which I thank him,” added Laffey.
“More importantly, I want to thank Ed for being so courteous to the visitors of the park and zoo. He is very meticulous on the number of people who go through the gate,” Laffey said. He’s charted the numbers of visitors “from time to time for comparisons of now and in the future,” he added.
“I hope we can replace you, and I thank you for your integrity and honesty and courteous demeanor at the park and zoo,” said Laffey.
Then, like those quarter century county workers, Rodgers has his photo taken with Laffey, Beyel and the entire freeholder board.
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CREST HAVEN – The Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders recognized 15 county employees with 25 years of service at their meeting on Tue., Nov. 22, 2011. Employees acknowledged include Marcie E. Hughes, Mary Ann Morano, Sheppard W. Taylor, Virginia Gandy, Clifford J. Bartlett, Robert E. Hedley, Jr., Michael P. Owen, Eric P. Watson, Louis J. Vitiello, Joseph DiEduardo, Diane Decollewaert, Maria I. Fernandez, Violet M. Dickinson, Willie D. Smith and Evelyn M. McAnaney.
Marcie E. Hughes was hired as a Clerk Typist in the Cape May County Purchasing Department in September 1986. Marcie transferred to the County Treasurer’s Office in 1989 and has worked there ever since. Marcie has served as Senior Clerk Typist and Principal Clerk Typist. Marcie’s duties over the years have expanded to include ordering supplies, keeping equipment maintenance contracts, preparing the daily deposit, reconciling the Park and Zoo, Library Commission and Audio Visual Accounts. Also, she assists with budget document questions, entering salary and wage transfers for Grants, processing Workers’ Compensation checks, entering revenue and Accounts Receivable information as well as providing clerical support to the Chief Financial Officer.
Mary Ann Morano, an employee in the Purchasing Department since 1986, currently holds the title of Principal Purchasing Assistant. Mary Ann earned her Registered Public Purchasing Specialist Certification in 1992 and has worked in many aspects of the Purchasing Department during the past 25 years. At one time or another, Mary Ann has been the buyer for almost all departments in the County. Also, she was part of the auction process at the County airport for 12 years. Currently, she is the buyer for Facilities and Services, Aging, Health and Human Services Departments and for the Animal Shelter. She is responsible for contract management and specification writing for those departments plus monitors P-cards and Purchase Order expenditures and updates State Contracts.
Sheppard (Shep) W. Taylor began his career with Cape May County in April of 1986 in the MIS Department as a Computer Operator Trainee and in 1988 Shep was promoted to Director of MIS.
Shep has overseen many technical changes including migrating from the System 34 to a Honeywell System to the IBM AS400 series, conversion from home grown system to New World Systems to Infinium (now Infor) for Human Resources and Payroll and changes from hand written requisitions to computerized processing of Purchase Orders.
Of all departments, the MIS Department has gone through the most changes in the past 25 years. For example, when the MIS department was formed there were 5 personal computers in the County; now there are over 650. There were 2 modems which increased to 24 before the conversion to a wireless network.
Virginia Gandy began her career with the County as a Clerk Typist with the Division of Economic Development and moved to the Department of Tourism in 1991 where she has spent the last twenty years working. Throughout her tenure, Virginia has served as the Secretary of the Cape May County Revolving Fishing Loan Program. Through her diligence and knowledge of the program, the Cape May County Revolving Fishing Loan Program is considered one of the most successful in the State. More than $2 million in commercial loans have been processed and repaid. She has assisted dozens of commercial and party boat operators successfully apply for and receive loans.
Also, Virginia is a key player in the operation of the Tourism Department. She handles most of the financial operations as well as being the first to answer calls from potential visitors to Cape May County and has responded to the request for tourism information from hundreds of thousands of callers.
Clifford J. Bartlett was hired in April of 1986 as a painter for the Cape May County Department of Facilities and Services. He was later assigned to the Crest Haven Nursing Home maintenance shop where he continued to paint and complete various maintenance tasks. Currently, Cliff works in the Grounds Shop where he is responsible for various grounds and maintenance tasks.
Robert E. Hedley, Jr. started his career with the County as a mechanic in the Fleet Maintenance Department in 1986. Currently, Robert is a Building Maintenance worker in the Facilities and Services Department. In the Road Department, he performed maintenance on a variety of passenger vehicles and equipment. As a Building Maintenance worker he performs various maintenance tasks in all County facilities.
Michael P. Owen began his career with the County as a painter in the Facilities and Services Department in 1986. Through the years, Mike has worked throughout the Crest Haven Complex maintaining buildings and the grounds.
In 2008, Mike was promoted to Maintenance Superintendant and later promoted to Service Division Manager. In this position, Mike oversees housekeeping services, grounds crews and fleet maintenance for the County.
Eric P. Watson started his employment with the County in Fleet Maintenance in 1986 as a mechanic and is currently Senior Mechanic Diesel. Through his career, he has performed mechanical maintenance on passenger vehicles, heavy equipment and Fare Free Transportation buses. In addition to mechanical repairs, Eric fabricates and welds metal parts. Also, he operates the County’s tow truck for vehicle recovery.
Louis J. Vitiello began his career with Cape May County as a mechanic in the Fleet Maintenance Department in 1986. Currently, Louis is a Supervising Mechanic. He performs maintenance on Fare Free Transportation buses and vehicles for transporting our special needs population. High frequency of maintenance and scheduling of these buses are essential in the services that Fare Free performs. Louis’ mechanical ability has assured that Fare Free buses are at the ready.
Joseph DiEduardo was appointed to the position of Corrections Officer on February 12, 1986. Over the years, Officer DiEduardo was assigned to various locations within the correctional center and conducted himself with dedication always maintaining a professional demeanor.
In 1999, he was recognized for his dedication and involvement with inmates and for completing the Visitors Envelope Assembly Program. Also, during his tenure, Officer DiEduardo received three Honorable Service Awards and one Unit Citation.
He is a Police Training Commission certified police and corrections academy instructor, as well as, a Field Training Officer for the correctional center. Additionally, Officer DiEduardo assisted in implementing the Professional Visiting and Video Court programs now in place at the correctional center.
Diane Decollewaert started her employment with the County in May of 1984 as a part-time seasonal Health Investigator. In December 1986, Diane became a full-time Account Clerk working with the Family Planning Program and was promoted in November 1990 to Senior Data Entry Machine Operator.
Diane is an important part of the Family Planning Program. Her duties include scheduling appointments, patient intake and collecting revenue. As a result of her diligence, the last 2 years have produced the highest revenue collections from the Family Planning Program since its inception.
Maria I. Fernandez came to work for the Health Department in October of 1986 as a Clerk Typist and was promoted to the Senior Clerk Typist/Bi-lingual in 1994. Maria, a Cuban born American who immigrated to New York with her husband in the 1970’s, has been translating and interpreting for the Health Department’s Spanish speaking clients for the past 25 years. Maria’s heritage and cross cultural understanding, as well as in-depth knowledge of the health programs often help the nursing staff identify needed services for clients. Maria will retire from the County on February 1, 2012.
Violet M. Dickinson started her career with the County as a housekeeper at Crest Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in 1986. She was promoted to Housekeeping Supervisor and later became Ward Clerk at Crest Haven. She has been responsible for all clerical services for the sixty bed nursing unit from auditing medical records to setting up appointments with consulting physicians.
Willie D. Smith started working for the Park and Zoo in 1986 and has spent the last 25 years working there. Willie holds the title of Park Maintenance Worker and has been involved in every aspect of the Park and Zoo’s operation. He has seen and assisted with the development and changes that have occurred over the past 25 years. He has watched the zoo grow from a small petting zoo to a first class AZA accredited facility.
Evelyn (Lynn) M. McAnaney started at the County library as a Library Assistant in 1986. In 1992 she earned a Masters in Library Science from Rowan University. Currently, Lynn is head of the Cataloging Department. When she started in cataloging, catalog cards were manually typed and she has assisted in fully automating the library. Also, Lynn has shown her management skills by helping staff adapt to the many changes that have occurred in the Library during the past 25 years.
The Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders presents all twenty-five year employees with a plaque recognizing them for their years of service to the county as well as a commemorative pin.