NJBIA’s Michele Siekerka, Investors Bank’s Kevin Cummings and Merck & Co.’s Kenneth Frazier to be Inducted to New Jersey Business Hall of Fame

Thursday’s Ceremony to Benefit Junior Achievement of New Jersey

NJBIA President and CEO Michele N. Siekerka, Esq. will be inducted into the New Jersey Business Hall of Fame on Thursday, joining Investors Bank CEO and President Kevin Cummings and Merck & Co. Chairman and CEO Kenneth C. Frazier for the Junior Achievement of New Jersey’s (JANJ) annual honor.

“It is a tremendous honor to be named to the 2018 class of laureates and I’m equally thrilled to be included along two outstanding business leaders, Kevin Cummings and Kenneth Frazier, for this induction,” Siekerka said.

“Above all, I’m proud to be affiliated with Junior Achievement of New Jersey. Their mission to empower young people to own their economic success through developing employability and financial literacy skills to succeed in the 21^st century is synonymous with the work of NJBIA. NJBIA has partnered with Junior Achievement for many years in carrying out this mission.”

Junior Achievement is a nonprofit organization providing a series of business, economics and life-skills programs to enhance the education of young people. JANJ’s mission is to inspire and prepare young people in grades K-12 to succeed in a global economy through real world relationships with business, government, and education partners that can help them develop the employability and financial literacy skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.

During the 2016-17 school year, JANJ reached 68,318 students statewide through a dedicated network of more than 5,500 corporate and community volunteers. Established in 1953, JANJ is one of 109 affiliates of JA USA, whose reach extends to more than 4.6 million students nationwide and more than 10 million worldwide.

Siekerka, who joined NJBIA in 2014, serves on the JANJ state board, while NJBIA staff members have served as JANJ volunteers for years. As recently as Friday, NJBIA hosted a Junior Achievement of New Jersey Career Success Workshop, where NJBIA staff mentored Trenton high school students and coached them through a series of hands-on activities designed to prepare students for success after graduation.

The New Jersey Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place Thursday, April 19 at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick. Proceeds benefit JA High School Heroes Initiatives, which empowers thousands of high school students statewide to teach JA’s 21st century programs to elementary school children. This hands-on learning experience helps young people develop critical life skills, building more sustainable communities.

While remaining seating for the event is extremely limited, donations are being accepted in honor of the Hall of Fame inductees and the important work of JANJ. In addition, those who are not attending but would like to contribute can Text-A-Pledge and ‘bid to win’ on the silent auction through a computer or mobile device.

For more information on the New Jersey Business Hall of Fame induction, including ways to make donations, visit here.

Media interested in covering the New Jersey Business Hall of Fame induction should contact Dawn Schwartz at dschwartz@ja.org.