When Jerry Shimonaski reached his 76th birthday over the summer, he celebrated another anniversary. This year marked his 10th as a member of the Verona Environmental Commission, with the last six as its chairman.
With the decade of service in tow, Shimonaski decided to make a change and stepped down from his post. However, he will remain with the organization while working with his successor, Gloria Machnowski.
“It was time for another member to become the chair and move the [commission] to new heights,” Shimonaski said.
The longtime leader of the group spent about half of the association’s history as an affiliate, after its establishment in 1992. Now Shimonaski shifts to the role of vice chairman. Machnowski first joined the commission in 2009 as the webmaster for the group’s website, she said, before moving up to vice chair. She will hold her latest position as chairwoman until the end of June of 2016, as the appointments were officially approved by the Township Council during its Sept. 16 meeting.
Councilman Kevin Ryan, the liaison to the Verona Environmental Commission, said he recommended Machnowski and after speaking to his colleagues, it became a unanimous decision to select her.
“[Machnowski] will bring a lot of energy and good ideas,” Ryan said, “and I think [Shimonaski] will be the other person to tell you that.”
Ryan referred to Shimonaski’s tenure as “distinguished” and believed he groomed Machnowski to succeed him in the role, and will continue to do so.
A fixture at meetings throughout Verona, some of the accomplishments of the commission during Shimonaski’s reign include the creation of its website, the inception of the annual Peckman River cleanup, and a commitment to several “Idle Free” campaigns to attempt to sway people not to leave their vehicle’s engine running while parked. He also pointed to the organization’s purchase of an Enviroscape in 2007, a 3-D model now used by two H.B. Whitehorne Middle School science teachers to help eighth-graders learn about pollution.
Machnowski now presses on with her eye on current and future projects for the group as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, she said they plan to plant a shade tree and place a plaque by the playground at the Verona Community Center. Other initiatives include the fifth year of the middle school poster contest for “Idle Free Verona” and a walk to school day on Oct. 9, plus work with the township council to switch from synthetic pesticides to organic landscaping care.
“I think it’s going to be an excellent team,” Ryan said of the future of the commission. “We have a lot of good people so we’re looking forward to some good things in the coming year.”
Email: jongsma@northjersey.com
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