The New Jersey Hall of Fame Celebrates its 10th Anniversary

On May 6, 2018, the New Jersey Hall of Fame inducted its tenth class of inductees into the Class of 2017 at Convention Hall in Asbury Park. The Hall of Fame was unanimously passed in the New Jersey Senate as a non-profit organization to honor the lives and accomplishments of New Jersey citizens, known and unknown to history. It is the highest civilian honor awarded in the state. Although the museum has no permanent location, in 2013 it introduced a Mobile Museum that tours the state, and in 2017 it opened a satellite exhibition at Newark International Airport. But more than an award, the Induction Ceremony each year brings together the loyal sons and daughters of New Jersey.

The Hall of Fame selects potential nominees in six categories: Arts & Letters, Enterprise, Sports, Performing Arts, Public Service, and Unsung Hero. Nominees must have lived in New Jersey for at least five years, and the selection is a three-phase process culminating with a public vote. The first class of inductees was honored in an induction ceremony at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on May 4, 2008.

Having the privilege to interview or research several of the inductees, something interesting struck me. There are strands of connection between the honorees that go beyond their connection to the Garden State. Both Steven Van Zandt and Frankie Valli starred on The Sopranos. Debbie Harry’s family and Buddy Valastro’s family both owned food businesses in Monmouth County, yet neither is originally from this area. When Buddy Valastro’s mother passed he released a statement saying he believed his mother and father were somewhere dancing to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive. Steven Van Zandt, Debbie Harry, and Frankie Valli all belonged to bands but became a stand-out star and enjoyed rare, successful, solo careers while maintaining a connection with their bands. Meryl Streep is a personal hero to Debbie Harry. Had we interviewed all 16 of the inductees, I’m sure other similarities or ties would have surfaced. What perhaps stood out the most as something they all share is their true appreciation for being honored by the state they once, or still, called home.

Class of 2017 Inductees

ARTS & LETTERS

Anna Quindlen

Novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of nine novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Miller’s Valley, and Alternate Side. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book, A Short Guide to a Happy Life, has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear.

ENTERPRISE

Jon Hanson

Founder of The Hampshire Companies, Hanson has more than 54 years of experience in the real estate industry. He has served as chairman or director of several major corporations and groups, including Yankee Global Enterprises and the Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network LLC (YES Network). He served as a Director of Hackensack University Medical Center for over 18 years and serves as its Honorary Member of Board of Governors. From 1994 to 2005 Hanson served as Chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Inc. A Bergen County native, he grew up in Bogota. His real estate acumen comes from his father, James E. Hanson, credited with developing the country’s first suburban industrial park, located in Teterboro, after he figured out how to control flooding on a tract near the airport that was inundated every time it rained.

Steve Forbes

A business leader and chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, Forbes also founded Empower America and is a Freedom Works board member. Born Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. in Morristown, New Jersey, Steve Forbes grew up immersed in the worlds of publishing and politics. His grandfather, B.C. Forbes, was a journalist who founded Forbes Magazine. His father, Malcolm Forbes, served as a state senator and had two unsuccessful bids for the New Jersey governorship in 1953 and 1957. Forbes has penned several books, including Why Free Markets Are Moral and Big Government Isn’t and How Capitalism Will Save Us. He serves as a board member of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Joe Buckelew

Chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, which serves the insurance, risk management, and employee benefits brokerage and consulting needs of clients throughout the United States and abroad. He has served as Vice Chairman of Kimball Medical Center Foundation Board of Trustees since 1985 and on the Barnabas Health Care System’s Board of Trustees for more than 10 years. He also served as Chairman of the New Jersey Highway Authority for seven years and Chairman & Vice Chairman of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority. He is currently on the Board of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. As a lifelong Lakewood resident, Buckelew has served as Lakewood Mayor, Police Commissioner, and a member of its Township Committee as well as on the Ocean County Board of Freeholders. He and his wife, Carol, have been married for more than 60 years. They have two sons, Brian and Kevin, and six grandchildren.

Buddy Valastro “Cake Boss”

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The Four Seasons including members Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, and Joe Long

In 1962 the band released its first album, featuring the single Sherry, which became its first charted hit and first number-one song. The band followed with several million-selling hits, including Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, Candy Girl, and Ain’t That A Shame. The Four Seasons are one of only two American bands (The Beach Boys is the other) to enjoy major chart success before, during, and after the British musical invasion. The band’s original line-up was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and joined the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. The Four Seasons is one of the best-selling musical groups of all time, having sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide. Click here for our exclusive interview with Frankie Valli.

Steven Van Zandt

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Gloria Gaynor

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Debbie Harry

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PUBLIC SERVICE

Mark and Scott Kelly

Born in Orange, NJ, Mark and Scott Kelly are identical twins and the only siblings to have traveled in space. Scott Joseph Kelly is an engineer, retired American Astronaut, and a retired U.S. Navy Captain. A veteran of four space flights, Scott commanded the International Space Station on Expeditions 26, 45, and 46 and spent a year-long mission in space. Mark Edward Kelly is a retired American astronaut, engineer, and U.S. Navy Captain. He is the husband of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, an author of several books, a political activist, and an aerospace executive and consultant. In 2011 Mark coauthored Gabby: A Story of Courage, Love and Resilience, with his wife. The book provides biographical information on the couple and describes in detail the assassination attempt on Gabby and her initial recovery. Written in Mark’s voice, it includes a short note by Gabby at the end.

Millicent Fenwick

Millicent Vernon Hammond Fenwick, who died in 1992 at the age of 82, was a fashion editor, politician, and diplomat raised in Bernardsville, NJ. A four-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for New Jersey, she entered politics at the age of 64. She was considered a moderate and progressive within her party and was strongly in favor of civil rights and the women’s movement. After leaving the House of Representatives following the 1982 election, Fenwick was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the U.S. Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. She is thought to be the inspiration behind Lacey Davenport, a fictional character in Garry Trudeau’s comic strip Doonesbury.

SPORTS

Al Leiter

Alois “Al” Terry Leiter is a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher born in Toms River, NJ. Leiter pitched 19 seasons in the Major Leagues for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, and the New York Mets and earned two World Series rings. He is the all-time winningest Major League pitcher from New Jersey with 162 Major League wins. He is currently a studio analyst for MLB Network and a commentator for the YES Network

Mary Decker

A retired middle-distance runner born in Bunnvale, NJ, she won gold medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships and was the world record holder in the mile, 5000 meters, and 10,000 meters. Decker set 17 official and unofficial world records, including being the first woman in history to break a 4:20 mile. She also set 36 U.S. national records at distances ranging from 800 meters to 10,000 meters, and has held the U.S. record in the mile, 2000 meters, and 3000 meters since the early 1980s, while her 1500 meters record stood for 32 years. In 2003, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Carli Lloyd

From Delran, NJ, Lloyd is the all-time leading soccer scoring midfielder and one of the greatest overall goal scorers in U.S. history. Having scored many important goals for the USA during her career, one of the most notable was in the 2008 Olympics when she scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal match vs. Brazil. At the 2012 London Olympics, she scored twice in the 2-1 gold medal victory vs. Japan. In the 2015 World Cup, Lloyd famously scored 3 goals in the championship match leading her team to victory. She won back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year awards in 2015 and 2016, making her only the second American and fourth female player to accomplish the feat. She published a best-selling memoir in the fall of 2016 titled When Nobody Was Watching. In 2017 President Obama named Lloyd a member and co-chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. Lloyd lives in South Jersey with her husband and serves as a mentor and mental toughness coach for her former youth club, the Medford Strikers.