Kearny PBA No. 21 recently donated $500 to the Kearny High School boys’ varsity basketball program, under the direction of coach and former Policeman and Det. Marc McCaffrey. Mina Ekladious, a longtime Kearny police officer and the president of PBA 21, says his career choice as a cop has deep roots in the influence McCaffery had on his life as a youngster growing up in Kearny, a town he proudly still calls home.
“When I was a kid, Marc McCaffrey played a huge role in my life and he had a major impact on me,” Ekladious said of his former colleague and mentor. “It was one of the biggest reasons why I became a police officer. It all started with my interactions with him as my DARE officer and then the Safe Haven Program.
“Now he’s retired from the Kearny PD but he is still doing so much for the community, especially as the head coach of the Kearny High School basketball team. I have the utmost respect for Marc. I could go on and on. I remember him riding around on the police bike in the summer and he always stopped and spoke to me and my friends.
“These are some of the many reasons why I am honored to have presented the team with this donation on behalf of the PBA. All those lessons I learned from Marc as a kid are why I do my best to pay it forward and always will. I truly couldn’t have asked for a better mentor.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.