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Like a scene from the movie “Top Gun,” six local businessmen found themselves landing on an aircraft carrier, going from 125 miles per hour to zero in two seconds and taking off just as quickly. Cue “Danger Zone” music now.

Linwood’s Sam Young, 50, recruited Linwood’s Gary Sinderbrand, 53, a managing director of Wells Fargo Advisors and chairman of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America; Galloway Township’s Pat Sheehan, 45, chief operating officer of Tilton Fitness; Mays Landing’s Joe Kelly, 56, president of the Greater Atlantic City Chamber; Linwood’s Bob Previti, superintendent of the Brigantine School District; and The Press of Atlantic City Publisher Keith Dawn, 49, of Port Republic, to participate in the U.S. Navy’s Distinguished Visitor Program, which allows influential community members to share and understand the Navy experience.

Young, owner of Tilton Fitness and a captain in the Navy Reserve, accompanied his fellow southern New Jersey leaders to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a 32-year-old aircraft carrier. They took a C-2 cargo plane off the East Coast of Florida and got to experience the jolting nature of aircraft flight firsthand, even staying overnight on the ship.

“It’s a very exclusive club to do this ... probably not more than several thousand living people in this country had had this experience,” Young said. “I really define myself as a Naval officer, and to share that passion and respect with whom I consider influential in the community was a real treat for me.”

While all six local civilians were blown away by the catapult takeoff and abrupt landing, they were more impressed by the crew, which includes as many as 5,000 when deployed.

“It is the coolest thing I have ever done,” Sinderbrand said. “I am suffering Ike withdrawal. The most impressive thing about the ship is the quality of the personnel. They are just unbelievable. When we got to observe night landings, it was spectacular. Watching them come down like ghosts out of the night is just unbelievable airmanship.”

The Eisenhower will deploy for the Persian Gulf outside of Afghanistan and Iraq early in 2010.

Mainlander of the Year

Atlantic City’s Gary Hill spends a good amount of his life helping and honoring others. Now it is his turn to receive a major accolade as the Greater Atlantic City Chamber’s Mainlander of the Year.

Hill is the executive director of the Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association and is the 39th recipient of the award, which honors leaders who have given selflessly of themselves to improve the Atlantic County region.

With MBCA, the 52-year-old’s accomplishments include creating a scholarship foundation that supports area students and teachers and teaming with area companies to offer more than 100 turkey dinners for senior citizens and disabled residents for Thanksgiving. He is also the co-founder of the Schultz-Hill Foundation to promote the arts, history and education in southern New Jersey.

“It’s ironic that it’s one business really saluting another business, but it goes to show that we work together and need each other’s support to help this area thrive,” said Hill, who sits on eight nonprofit boards. “MBCA represents residents in neighborhoods, businesses and nonprofit organizations, and we always try to be positive for Atlantic City. We hear enough negativity. Everyone knows what’s wrong here, but we try to make it better little by little.”

Short Stories

Pamela Ann Karol, a nursing major from Linwood, will be inducted into the Alpha Delta Mu Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Atlantic Community College in the spring semester. Established in 1918, Phi Theta Kappa is the oldest and most prestigious honor society serving two-year colleges around the world. … Mainland Regional High School graduate Rachel Handler, of Linwood, will perform her senior musical theatre recital 7 p.m. Thursday in Williamson Hall at the Westminister School of Music in Princeton. … Richard Stockton College volunteers from Water Watch Energy Corps held an education day at the New York Avenue School in Atlantic City last week. Students from the college signed up to teach more than 170 students about the importance of energy conservation. The day was organized by Brigantine’s Beth Drabkoski, the education coordinator for Water Watch, and Brigantine’s Alex Wenholz, who is the program’s head coordinator. … The Tropicana Casino and Resort donated 400 turkeys to the Southern Branch of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Chispanic Enterprises and Hatfield Meats joined Tropicana by donating 200 hams to the Food Bank for Thanksgiving. … The Way of Life Assembly of God, in Ventnor, received a 2009 Community Greening Award last week by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for beautifying the area.

Editor Lyn Soper contributed to this report.

Everyone Has a Story appears Sundays and Wednesdays. To share your story, call Scott Cronick at 609-272-7017 or e-mail him at scronick@pressofac.com.

1 comment:

• JerseyDevil (544) posts 5:00 am

  Scott Cronick has come up with a great idea with his "Everyone has a Story" Column. I am looking foward to continue reading it and maybe I'll send in some true stories about me.lol

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