Haddonfield resident Jack O'Malley has been chosen as the Haddonfield 2024 Citizen of the Year, announced Haddonfield Lions Club member and Committee Chair Jack Tarditi.
The Citizen of the Year Committee is a group of Haddonfield community members from various backgrounds.
Jack has been active in several Haddonfield organizations, currently the President of the Haddonfield Foundation and HMHS Athletic Hall of Fame. He is the Deacon of the First Presbyterian Church in town, also serving as a chaperone for the youth mission trip. He is on the committees of Boxwood, Bancroft and Tavistock Country Club Golf and Entertainment, as well as a member of the Haddonfield Board of Education Cost Savings Initiatives (CBAC). He coaches varies sports in town, including little league, youth town and travel soccer, youth town and travel basketball, and youth football.
Jack's professional experience includes serving as the Sales Team Leader for Bayer Healthcare. His achievements include 2014 Alfred E. Driscoll Community Award and Haddonfield Alumni Society Lifetime Achievement Award.
According to Haddonfield resident Joseph Levine, who nominated him, Jack is a generous person who continually gives back to the community. One of Jack's favorite stories is to tell everyone, wherever he goes, how great Haddonfield is to him. Joseph said, "Jack did not leave Haddonfield and Haddonfield never left Jack! He lives and breathes for our town, and it shows through all of his volunteer service.
The award will be presented at the Annual Mayor's Breakfast, hosted by the Haddonfield Area Lions Club, which will be held on Saturday, January 20 at 9:00 AM, at Tavistock Country Club, 100 Tavistock Lane, Tavistock. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door on the day of the event. Please call (856) 552-4790 to register your intention to attend in advance for catering purposes.
Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich and her fellow commissioners will give the State of the Borough Address. The William G. Hansen Youth of the Year Awards will also be presented during the event. The award was named after William Hansen, a Haddonfield Area Lion and dedicated community volunteer for decades. He helped people up until his death in 2020 at the age of 102. His grandson, Kevin Burns, serves as Chair of the Youth of the Year Committee.
The Youth of the Year for 2024 is HMHS student Brady Norton.
The Haddonfield Area Lions Club is a service organization that supports community events and activities and assists those in need, particularly those with sight-related issues, locally and globally. Lions Clubs International is the largest service organization in the world.