Oceanport schools honor late mayor

BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

Maria Gatta OCEANPORT - - To ensure that Oceanport students remember and honor the late Mayor Maria Gatta, the school district set in a motion an educational program in her name.

The Oceanport Board of Education established The Maria Gatta Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series for students at Maple Place Middle School.

The program, for students in grades five through eight, will provide for a guest speaker who will discuss topics relative to Gatta's interests, which included veterans, women in government or education, community leaders and senior citizens.

Also, eighth-graders will participate in an essay contest to expand on the issues discussed in the speech.

One student will receive the Maria Gatta Essay Contest award.

"This is the first year we are doing this," said Maple Place Middle School Guidance Counselor Cecile Felgendreger in an interview last week.

"Our Board of Education wanted to honor Mrs. Gatta [by] keeping the students involved," Felgendreger said. "So they came up with this idea in her name."

John Gatta, the late mayor's husband; Virginia Bauer; Dr. Mary Gatta, her daughter; and Maple Place Principal John K. Amato. Gatta succumbed to cancer on October 27, 2005, after serving as mayor of Oceanport for just over two years.

In addition to holding the office of mayor, Gatta was involved throughout the community, including acting as president of the Oceanport Board of Education for several years.

"I hope this series will inspire the students and allow them to learn about how one person who lived in their town was able to make such a difference," Felgendreger said.

"[Gatta] helped so many people and affected many lives," she said, adding, "She was great with the kids and she was great with the senior citizens."

On May 15, Secretary of the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth & Tourism Commission Virginia S. Bauer spoke to some 350 students at Maple Place School as the first distinguished speaker to participate in the memorial series.

Bauer was chosen for several reasons, according to Felgendreger, including her role in government and her connections to the school and the borough.

"Her nephew is in eighth grade at Maple Place," Felgendreger said, adding, "And she [Bauer] was also an acquaintance of Mrs. Gatta's."

"Ginny was such a charismatic speaker," Felgendreger said. "She was able to talk to the kids on their level.

"She talked to them about how she always thought of herself as an ordinary person and then when she lost her husband in 9/11 she found a strength she never knew she had."

She continued, "She used her skills to spearhead a trip to Washington, D.C., with 9/11 widows and she advocated for causes she believes in.

"Now she is working for Gov. [Jon S.] Corzine," she said.

After listening to the speech, Felgendreger said the students interacted with Bauer and asked several questions.

"The kids really reacted to her,"

Felgendreger said. "It was very positive."

The eighth-grade students are now writing essays to expand on the issues discussed in Bauer's speech, according to Felgendreger.

An award will be presented in Gatta's name to the winner of the contest at graduation on June 18. Members of Gatta's family and other community representatives will judge the written entries.

In addition to the lecture and essay contest, the memorial series will also include a plaque to be hung at Maple Place School that describes what Gatta stood for and her concerns for the community.

The plaque will also include the engraved names of the distinguished speakers who speak at the event each year.