John R. Bruno, CEO of Bruno Associates, Inc. hosted a reception on June 29, 2007 at the Hilton East Brunswick honoring Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith, president of the NJ Urban Mayors' Association; East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser, immediate past president of the National Conference of Black Mayors; and Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors for their leadership roles.

"It is my pleasure to honor these three outstanding men and mayors for all that they do for the residents of their communities and the state of New Jersey. To my knowledge, when Mayor Bowser was the president of the National Conference of Black Mayors and Mayor Palmer was elevated as the president of the US Conference of Mayors, it was the first time that these two national organizations were led by New Jersey mayors simultaneously. This is historic! It was for this reason that we decided to honor their achievements. I've been working with mayors for almost 40 years and I can't remember New Jersey or any other state for that matter having two mayors serving as national presidents of any mayors' organization," Mr. Bruno said. "These three Mayors are deserving of this honor."

(Mayor Palmer had an emergency with his father and was not able to attend the reception; Councilman Paul Pintella attended on his behalf, however).

The idea to honor the mayors began in 2006, when Bowser was elected as NCBM president.

"My staff and I started talking about Mayor Bowser becoming the president of NCBM and that Mayor Douglas Palmer was next in line to lead the U.S. Conference of Mayors. We thought this was a great honor, so we decided to host a reception to recognize them for their achievements. When we found out that Mayor Wayne Smith was going to become the president of the NJUMA, we decided to honor him as well because he has done great things in the Township of Irvington," Bruno said. "We want to make it perfectly clear that this event was to honor these mayors for their new leadership positions and for the work that they are doing to enrich the lives of all the residents of New Jersey. "

The event was attended by over 200 people from the honorees' respective communities, in addition to members of the NJ Legislature, who presented resolutions from the Senate and Assembly to the Mayors.

Honorary event chairperson Gov. Jon Corzine was unable to attend; however, his congratulatory letters were read and presented to the mayors.

In welcoming the guests to his city, East Brunswick Mayor William Neary said, "(this) is a great community and is more than just the entrance to the NJ Turnpike. We invite you to come and enjoy the many great stores and restaurants in East Brunswick."

"We are pleased to be a part of this wonderful event to honor these mayors for their unwavering dedication to their constituents and the state of New Jersey," Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman (District 15), said. "I have known all three of these mayors since they took office and I have worked with them to help them accomplish their goals. It is indeed my pleasure to be here this evening to be a part of this historic event." She was joined at the podium by Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (District 34), who praised the honorees.

William Dressel, Jr., executive director of the NJ League of Municipalities, presented the organization's highest honor-the President's Award-to the honorees. He also recalled working with the mayors, who are active members of the League. "It has been my honor to work with these mayors on various issues to find solutions that will benefit the residents of New Jersey. Next year, Mayor Bowser will become the new President of the NJLM, and I'm looking forward to working with him in that position," Dressel said.

U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez acknowledged the mayors' contributions through their representatives, who presented resolutions.

In receiving their awards, Smith and Bowser thanked their staff members and constituents for working with them to alleviate the problems in their communities.

"I'm humbled to stand before you this evening to receive this award. I want to thank John Bruno, Bruno Associates, Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, Bill Dressel, our Assemblywomen and all of you for this great recognition," Smith said. "As a Mayor, we are on the front lines of government and so we are usually the first one you come to when you have a problem. My staff, the council members and I try our best to find solutions to whatever concerns our residents. When we took office, we pledged to do our best in making Irvington the best place to live, shop, work, go to school or to visit. We are turning Irvington around, and it is getting better. It is the city on the move. I recently completed a tour to China to explore initiatives to bring international companies to Irvington. We have more to do and with your help and guidance, we will accomplish more great things in Irvington."

Bowser agreed with his counterpart, adding, "We have four African American mayors in Essex County. Three of us are working together to make a positive change in our communities. I guess three out of four isn't bad. When I became mayor, East Orange had been on the Distressed Cities list for many years. Under my leadership, we came off that list-as did Irvington. We are building new homes, businesses and taking East Orange into a new direction. As the President of the NCBM, I inherited an organization that was in debt. I left that presidency with more than $3 million in their coffers. We're doing the same thing in East Orange by reducing our debt and becoming more business-minded. I, too, want to thank John Bruno, Bruno Associates, Governor Corzine, Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, our Assemblywomen, Bill Dressel, my wife Marilyn and all of you for extending this honor on us and being here with us this evening. We've come a long way and we will continue down this road of positive changes. I made the eagle our symbol when I took office and just as the eagle soars to new heights, so will East Orange."

The planning committee consisted of John Bruno, CEO, Bruno Associates, Inc.; Geraldine R. Clark, Public Relations Director, Bruno Associates, Inc.; Melissa Castelbuono, Executive Assistant, Bruno Associates, Inc.; Catherine Willis, Director, Senior Services, East Orange; Dianthe Dawn Martinez, Confidential Aide to the Mayor, Irvington; Shakirah Campbell, Mayor's Office, East Orange; Kent Ashworth, Mayor's Office, Trenton; and Dr. Joseph Youngblood, II, Director, NJ Urban Mayors Association, Trenton.

The honorary committee consisted of Jon Corzine, Governor; Joseph DiVincenzo, Essex County Executive; Brian Hughes, Mercer County Executive; James Florio, former NJ Governor; U. S. Cong. Donald Payne (District 10); Assm. Bonnie Watson-Coleman (District 15); Assm. Reed Gusciora (District 15); Sen. Raymond Lesniak (District 20); Sen. Richard Codey (District 27); Sen. Ronald Rice (District 28); Sen. Nia Gill (District 34); Assm. Sheila Oliver (District 34); Assm. Thomas Giblin (District 34); Robert Levy, Mayor, Atlantic City; Kevin Sanders, Mayor, Asbury Park; Gwendolyn Faison, Mayor, Camden; William Neary, Mayor, East Brunswick; Ronald Sworen, Mayor, Frenchtown; Glen Gilmore, Mayor, Hamilton; Jerramiah Healy, Mayor, Jersey City; David DelVecchio, Mayor, Lambertville; Frank Minor, Mayor, Logan Township; Sharon Robinson-Briggs, Mayor, Plainfield; Ralph Petersen, Mayor, Pleasantville; John McCormac, Mayor, Woodbridge Township; William Dressel, Executive Director, NJLM; Maurice Brown, Director External Affairs, Verizon; and Kelly Ganges, Chief of Staff, Mercer County, NJ.

"I want to thank our sponsors for the Mayors Leadership Reception which included, New Visions Redevelopment Associates, Comcast, Connect-CTY, East Orange General Hospital, New Jersey American Water, Birdsall Engineering, Inc. and the law firm of Hunt, Hamlin, and Ridley. I have to add that this law firm is the only African American company that was a sponsor of this event and we apologize for not recognizing their support at our event. It was not done intentionally," Bruno said.

For more information regarding the reception, please contact Bruno Associates, Inc. at 973-249-6225.