Community Hope will host its Sparkle of Hope Annual Dinner Auction on Thursday, October 24 at the Birchwood Manor, 111 North Jefferson Road, Whippany.

The charity event benefits the nonprofit organization’s residential programs and support services for individuals, including veterans and their families, struggling with homelessness, mental illness, addiction and poverty. This year’s dinner will also support the largest growth of services in the agency’s 28-year history.  Community Hope expects to serve 70% more individuals in the year ahead, including more than 1,000 veterans and veteran families facing homelessness.

The fundraising event begins at 6:00 p.m. with an auction preview and cocktail reception, followed at 7:00 p.m. by dinner and an awards program.  Honorary Co-Chairs Mark Altmeyer, President and CEO of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Bruce Kuhlik, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Merck & Co, Inc., announced the honorees will be Dr. Flemming Ornskov, Chief Executive Officer of Shire and Staffan Schüberg, President of Lundbeck U.S.  Dr. Flemming and Mr. Schüberg are being recognized for their contributions to advancing treatments for the recovery of mental illness.

Dr. Ornskov was named Chief Executive Officer of Shire in April 2013 and has been a member of the Board since January 2, 2013. He brings to his position his operational and medical knowledge and his extensive international, strategic and operational experience in the pharmaceutical sector.  He formerly held the position of Non-Executive Chairman of Evotec AG, and of Non-Executive Director of PCI Biotech Holding ASA. From 2010 to 2012 he was Chief Marketing Officer and Global Head, Strategic Marketing for General and Specialty Medicine at Bayer.  Prior to this, from 2008 to 2010, Flemming served as Global President, Pharmaceuticals and OTC at Bausch & Lomb, Inc.  He also served as Chairman, and later as President and Chief Executive Officer, of Life-Cycle Pharma A/S from 2006 to 2008, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Ikaria, Inc. from 2005 to 2006.  Earlier in his pharmaceutical career Flemming had roles of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co., Inc. and Novartis AG.

Mr. Schüberg is the president at Lundbeck U.S., having assumed the role in November 2010.  Lundbeck is known worldwide for its pioneering work within the field of psychiatry, devoting its research and development efforts to creating innovative therapies for the treatment of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders.  During his long tenure with the company, he has served in a variety of commercial positions in many different geographies, and has played an integral role in expanding Lundbeck’s CNS business.

The Sparkle of Hope Dinner was founded in 1997 by pharmaceutical leader Fred Hassan, Partner of Warburg Pincus.  He sought to expand on the gains which the healthcare industry had made in improving treatment for individuals with mental illness by helping ensure sufficient community-based housing and services.  In the past seventeen years, the Sparkle of Hope has brought together the pharmaceutical and biotech industries’ leaders in support of a common cause.  The event has raised more than $6 million to provide housing and essential support services for veterans and other individuals struggling with mental illness.

Joining Founding Chair Fred Hassan and the Honorary Chairs in co-chairing the 2013 gala are Lonnel Coats, President and CEO of Eisai, Inc.;  John Crowley, Chairman and CEO of Amicus Therapeutics; Robert J. Hugin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Celgene Corporation; Joseph Militano, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications, DRS Technologies; Kevin Rigby, Vice President of Public Affairs and US Country Head of Public Affairs, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Brent Saunders, Former CEO of Bausch + Lomb; and Paul L. Sturman, President of  Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.

Presenting sponsors of the event include Bausch + Lomb; Celgene Corporation; Eisai Inc.; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hassan; Lundbeck; Merck; Novo Nordisk; Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.; Pfizer Inc.  and Shire.  Diamond Sponsors include DRS Technologies; Forest Laboratories; Lowenstein Sandler; Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and Warburg Pincus.

Gala activities include a raffle drawing for vacation packages; a 50/50 cash raffle and a silent auction featuring original artwork and autographed sports memorabilia.  In addition, guests can participate in a raffle for chances to win nearly fifty other prizes.

Tables and tickets can be purchased online at www.communityhope-nj.org.  For more information on the Sparkle of Hope Dinner Auction, visit the events section of Community Hope’s website or call the Development Office at (973) 463-9600, extension 308.  Individual tickets are $145 per person and table prices for event sponsors range from $2,500 to $25,000.

About Community Hope:  Community Hope was founded in 1985 by mental health professionals and family members of young adults with mental illness to establish residential programs where young adults could continue their recovery.  In 2004, Community Hope expanded its mission to serve veterans homeless as a result of mental illness, combat induced trauma and substance abuse, and its nationally-acclaimed Hope for Veterans® Transitional Housing Program opened as the largest program in New Jersey and the Tri-State area for homeless veterans.  Today, the organization is the largest charity serving homeless and needy veterans and their families.  Community Hope anticipates serving more than 1,200 individuals affected by homelessness, mental health issues, addiction and poverty in the year ahead as the 62-unit Valley Brook Village for Veterans opens this Fall and the agency expands its Supportive Services for Veteran Families program to 11 of New Jersey’s 21 counties and eastern Pennsylvania.

Parsippany Elks Lodge No. 2078 is proud to announce that they will be awarding two $500.00 scholarships to seniors at the Parsippany high schools who plan on continuing their education at a four year college or university.

In addition, the top three male and female participants will have their entries forwarded on to the next level of competition.

Those who score in the Top 20 in the nation will receive scholarships of at least $20,000 and culminate with a Leadership Weekend in Chicago in late April, 2014.

In order to quality, the senior must click here to fill out the application.

After completion, they will need to download the application and forward it on to:
Bill Wall, Scholarship Chairman, Parsippany Elks Lodge No. 2078, 230 Parsippany Road, Parsippany NJ 07054.

The deadline for entry into this contest is December 6, 2013. Please contact Bill Wall at (973) 879-9633 if you have any questions regarding this contest.

Mayor Barberio talks to Jamie Yenzer about her involvement in bringing back the Fall Festival in Parsippany. The 12th Annual Parsippany Fall Festival will be held on Sunday, September 22 from 12 Noon to 5:00 p.m. on North Beverwyck Road, Lake Hiawatha

The Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills has hired the company Rapid Pump and Meter, Inc. to install bypass pumps at the Lake Hiawatha Flood Station located at the intersection of Rockaway Boulevard and Lake Shore Drive.

The project will commence on or about 5:00 a.m. on Friday, September 13, and will continue through the night until it is complete on Saturday, September 14.

The bypass pumps will be in place for approximately two months so that the Township’s pump can be repaired and fully evaluated to ensure it runs at peak efficiency.

Although the project will take place off the roadway, company trucks will be parked along the roadway and we ask that you proceed with caution while traveling through this section of our Township.

The Office of the Attorney General recently invited all Parsippany candidates and municipal chairs to attend a seminar on the Vote By Mail (VBM) process.

In the spirit of full transparency, the Nelson for Mayor campaign has been proactive in educating all of it’s volunteers on the VBM process.

All volunteers have received a manual which clearly outlines the proper procedure of the entire VBM process.

A copy of the Nelson for Mayor’s VPM manual will be posted on Nelson’s website by clicking here or you can download it here.

Parsippany Fire Department at the Morris County September 11th Remembrance Service and Candlelight Vigil.

The Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders held the  12th anniversary of 9/11  Remembrance Service and Candlelight Vigil on Sunday, September 8 at the Morris County September 11th Memorial on West Hanover Avenue in Parsippany-Troy Hills, across from Morris View Healthcare Center.

The observance included the reading aloud of the names of each of the Morris County victims and keynote remarks from Edward Dickson, Director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.

The county’s September 11th Memorial pays tribute to all of those who died in the terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001, with a special emphasis on the 64 victims from Morris County whose names are etched in plaques that are affixed to the Memorial.

The names of all of the nearly 3,000 people who died that day are engraved in ruby-colored paving stones that have been set in the ground as a walkway surrounding the Memorial.

“As a community, we must continue to gather each year to remember the husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors who were so tragically lost that day,” said Freeholder Director Tom Mastrangelo. “We must continue to come together each year to make sure those who were left behind know that the lives of their loved ones will not be forgotten.”