The Hughes Center Honors will be held on Thursday, Nov. 14 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Seaview Golf Club and Resort in Galloway, NJ. Former New Jersey Governors Jim Florio and Christie Whitman will receive Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Awards for their contributions to New Jersey public life.

“These two outstanding New Jersey leaders embody the values of public service and civility in public affairs,” said Dr. Edward H. Salmon, chairman of the Hughes Center Steering Committee. “Those values are the hallmarks of Ambassador Hughes’ career, and they guide the work of the Hughes Center for Public Policy.”

Florio began his public service career in 1969 by serving three terms in the New Jersey General Assembly before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974. As governor, Florio enacted landmark legislation on clean water enforcement, school finance reform, welfare reform and the nation’s toughest assault weapons ban.

Whitman served under President George W. Bush as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from January 2001 until June 2003. She was the first woman governor in New Jersey, serving from 1994 until 2001. During Whitman’s tenure at the EPA, the agency passed and implemented landmark legislation to promote the redevelopment and reuse of previously contaminated industrial sites. As governor, she preserved a record amount of New Jersey land as permanent green space.

“It’s an honor for Stockton to host these two leaders, who have played crucial roles in shaping New Jersey public policy throughout their careers,” said Stockton University President Harvey Kesselman. “They remain role models for the values of civic involvement and civil discourse, which are hallmarks of Stockton’s mission.”

The Hughes Center Honors are awarded for professional excellence and a commitment to public service, civility and bipartisanship, qualities which reflect the life and career of Ambassador William J. Hughes, who served as U.S. ambassador to Panama and as a U.S. congressman for 20 years. The awards program is sponsored by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University.

The other honorees at the Nov. 14 event are Mark Giannantonio, President and CEO of Resorts Casino Hotel; Sharon Schulman, Founding Executive Director of the Hughes Center; and Ike Ejikeme, a recent Stockton University graduate.

Giannantonio, who has more than 35 years of Atlantic City gaming expertise, will be presented with the Excellence in Civic Engagement Award. He was previously a consultant for Specturm Gaming and also served as president and CEO of Tropicana Casino & Resort.

Schulman, who will receive the Distinctive Alumni Leadership Award, retired last year as the Special Advisor to the President and Founding Executive Director of the Hughes Center. She had previously served as president and CEO of Aqua New Jersey and had worked in management for the former Atlantic Electric in Pleasantville.

The recipient of the Distinctive Student Leadership Award will be Ike Ejikeme, a recent Stockton graduate. Ekijeme served as student representative on the Stockton University Board of Trustees, and accepted a position with the Department of Homeland Security in Washington after graduating from Stockton’s Dual Degree B.A./M.A Criminal Justice Program.

Ejikeme was an active student at Stockton, serving for two years in the Stockton Student Senate. He was also president of the Alpha Alpha chapter of the Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., where he founded the I-Phi Food charity drive.

To learn more about the Hughes Center Honors, visit: www.stockton.edu/hughes-center/hughes-center-honors-2019.html