The Town of Kearny will host a dedication ceremony to honor its Hometown Heroes banner program Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. at American Revolution Bicentennial Park (Town Hall Park.) A rain date is set for Oct. 17.
The Kearny Urban Enterprise Zone (KUEZ) and the Mayor and Council, in partnership with the American Legion Post 99, VFW Post #1302-Wilson-Gugelman and the West Hudson Marine Corp League launched the program earlier this year to honor and recognize the brave men and women who are either military veterans or active military members who live or who have previously lived in town.
At present, nearly 200 banners have been sponsored, well beyond the original goal of 50. They will line Kearny Avenue from end to end, each bearing the name, photo and service details of the honorees.
Mayor Carol Jean Doyle will lead the dedication ceremony, highlighted by a formal reading of each of the names to appear on the banners.
“These banners serve as a poignant tribute to the valor, service and sacrifice of these men and women,” Doyle said. “We invite the community to join us in honoring our Hometown Heroes and expressing our gratitude for their service.”
On or around Oct. 15, the locations of each banner will be available on a Google Map www.tiny.cc/HometownHeroesMap.
This year, banners will remain in place until after Veterans Day. All banners were sponsored as part of a multi-year program; next year, they be on display beginning Memorial Day through Veterans Day.
For more information, visit www.kearnynj.org.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served 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 social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, 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 Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.