12/05/2016
The true meaning of the holidays...
The Borough of Fort Lee's Richard and Catherine Nest Adult Activity Center hosted its first-ever community-wide Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday, November 24th. More than 120 people attended this free event, which was open to any person in Fort Lee who might have been alone or didn’t have the means to have their own Thanksgiving. The Nest Center’s own Chef Mark Lewis cooked a phenomenal Thanksgiving meal and each person also got a full plate to take home for the long weekend.
Councilman and Senior Center Liaison Joseph Cervieri and Councilman Harvey Sohmer volunteered their time as did Joann Cervieri, the Councilman's wife. The Senior Council of the Center was diligent in their fundraising efforts, and was instrumental in ensuring the events success. Senior Council members who assisted in the fundraising efforts were Roberta Sohmer, Paula LaMastro, Phyllis Pfeifer, Dorrie Greenlaw and Blanca Beer. Through their tireless efforts the Center was able to receive generous donations from Frank Patti, The Korean American Association of Fort Lee, Acme, Shoprite, Metropolitan Plant Exchange, the Outback Steakhouse, the Gotham Diner and Costco.
Over 20 volunteers made the event a reality, including the Chef who arrived at 1:30 AM to begin cooking the turkeys. By 7:00 AM the kitchen was abuzz with volunteers chopping, peeling and mincing their way through pounds of trimmings to ensure a beautiful meal. A second wave of volunteers including middle school and High School students showed up by 11:30 AM to decorate and begin the preparations, serve the meal and then start cleaning. A third wave of volunteers arrived at 2:00 PM to assist with the cleanup effort.
The true meaning of Thanksgiving was evident in the Borough of Fort Lee.
