Dear Friends,

I want to introduce our Heroes! We had great nominations, the committee chose well, and I've enjoyed getting to know them better and you should too.
Trevor Kalb

A senior in high school, Trevor is an honors student, and among his many extracurricular activities he is the captain of the swim team and a member of the marching band. He also has done many community service projects, including volunteering with Connect Through Music working with seniors with dementia. Trevor has worked as a camp counselor, swim instructor, and congressional intern. He is being recognized as a Hero Against Hate for starting a banned book club at the Ocean County Library. The banned books encompass social justice issues, such as racism, classism, LGBTQ+, antisemitism, etc. The Banned Book Club helps to raise awareness and educate so many about the harm of censorship. 
Ian Rosenzweig

Ian is a 10th grade honors student at The Haverford School with a passion for foreign policy and international relations. He is a section editor for the school newspaper, a Service Board representative, an active member in the Jewish Student Union, and the Assistant Secretary-General in Model United Nations. Ian competes in varsity tennis and enjoys playing violin in the school orchestra. Outside of school, Ian is committed to community service. He is a Chapter Head in Food for Philly, a nonprofit combating food insecurity in the Philadelphia area, and he is the Editing Director of the Foreign Policy Youth Collaborative, a youth nonprofit dedicated to engaging teenagers with foreign policy. He is being recognized for bravely standing up against school personnel when faced with anti-Semitism.
Exit 82: A Toms River Theatre Company, Inc. is a performing arts organization whose mission over the past 14 years is to produce quality theatrical programming while providing an educational environment to unify the arts community and inspire artistic development. In addition to their mainstage productions and the academy for students from kindergarten through 8th grade, they've created a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community. They worked to get recognition of PRIDE month by the Toms River council and have hosted over 3500 participants at Pride Festivals the past four years.
Chief James Riccio

Chief Riccio has been a long time resident of Brick and on the police force since 1986. Over the years as he moved up in rank he held various positions, including being part of the original Selective Enforcement Team (SET) and serving on the Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force. 2004 Chief Riccio was assigned to the department’s Internal Affairs Division until September of that same year when he was placed on special assignment with the Ocean County Prosecutors Office investigating cases of official corruption. In June of 2005 Chief Riccio was placed on special assignment with the FBI and became part of a task force which investigated allegations of official corruption throughout New Jersey. When Super Storm Sandy hit, Chief Riccio served as the Department’s Incident Commander and was responsible for the coordination of personnel and all storm related operations before, during and after the storm. James Riccio was appointed to Chief on December 1, 2015. Since taking over as Chief, Chief Riccio has made Community Policing a priority for the department starting and supporting a number of programs which have brought the Community and the department much closer.
Sgt. James Kelly

Sgt. Kelly has been an Officer with the Brick Township Police Department since 2006. He is finishing up his undergraduate degree at Rutgers University with a double major in Philosophy and History. He plans on going on to law school once he completes his degree. Sgt. Kelly has been directly involved with recent training initiatives not only in New Jersey, but has trained officers from all across the country. Seeing the need for top-notch training as a priority for law enforcement, Sgt. Kelly started a non-profit organization that seeks to advance professionalism and education by offering free training to cops in subjects like de-escalation, peer intervention, self-wellness and mental resiliency, and community policing. In 2021 Sgt. Kelly also earned a Certificate in Addictions and Counseling from Ocean County College, and he is currently working towards the completion of his clinical hours so he can become a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Sgt. Jim Kelly has been the Community Policing Supervisor and Public Information Officer for four years, a position he considers a perfect fit.
Chief Riccio and Sgt. Kelly are being honored for creating the Cops & Clergy program.