In 2007 we honored 4 Marines who fought in Iraq.. in 2008 we went closer to home as we honor 4 Hometown Heroes as we know our military puts there lives on the line in the pursuit of freedom whenever and wherever they are sent to fight ..These four honorees tonight put there lives on the line each and everyday for all of you they are the ones who run up the stairs to assist us when we are running down the stairs to save ourselves the are truly Hometown Heroes, lets meet them now:

Patrolman John Morris is an 18 year veteran of the Woodbury Police Department who on March 10, 2008^thresponded to a call involving 2 suspects looking for drugs. During the confrontation with them one of the suspects drew a gun and pointed it at Patrolman Morris. Faced with a life or death situation he drew his service weapon and fired 2 shots wounding the gunman and he then took both suspects into custody. These actions go above and beyond what is expected of a Woodbury Patrolman and we are honored to have this Hometown Hero as our guest tonight. 

Fire Chief Patrick Robinson is a 22 year veteran of the fire service. He is the Fire Chief of the Valero Oil Refinery in Paulsboro and also the Fire Chief of the Mantua Township Fire Department. He holds a degree in Fire Science and is an instructor at Gloucester and Camden County Fire Academies, Texas A&M and the University of Nevada at Reno to name a few more. To say that Pat has fireman's blood would be an understatement, he has dedicated his life to the fire service and all of our well being and we are honored to have this Hometown Hero as our guest tonight.  

Patrolman Marc White is a veteran of the West Deptford Police Department and is truly one of the unsung heroes we encounter everyday, but soon forget. He is the guy who protects our town at night and coaches our children during the day. He babysits them at practice for a few hours while we get some down time away from them. He counsels them, wipes their noses when they are hurt and stays with them until we pick them up, usually late. He also listens to our criticism when our children don't win or don't play and always smiles even during the hard times. Marc has coached and volunteered so many teams and events it would put us all to shame and we are honored to have this Hometown Hero as our guest tonight.

Fire Chief Jack Ireland was a veteran of 46 years with the Verga Fire Company. He served as Captain, Chief, Trustee and Treasurer for the last 28 years until his untimely passing in July this year. He worked around the station making sure everything was in order and he did so many things that it was not realized how much he did until he was gone. Jack also worked for the West Deptford Twp Water Department for 30 years until he retired. Jack was a devoted husband to Gail and a loving father to his children and we are honored to honor him as a Hometown Hero tonight.