The Voorhees Rotary Breakfast Club’s annual community service awards dinner on March 9 will honor local individuals in front of their peers, among them township committeewoman Jacklyn Fetbroyt.
The Rotary Club’s “flagship fundraiser” is an opportunity for the Voorhees community to come together and celebrate people in the township who live by the club’s motto, “Service Above Self.”
Fetbroyt, who was just reelected to her second term on the township committee, is an Eastern graduate and lifelong Voorhees resident. She said being honored by the township where she grew up is one of prouder memories of her life.
Fetbroyt is an attorney who started her boutique firm, Kang, Haggerty and Fetbroyt, in Philadelphia with the help of fellow partners Edward Kang and Daniel Haggerty.
“It’s very meaningful for a lot of reasons,” she noted of her award. “I have a high level of respect for the Rotary Club and have been involved with them tangentially for (years) through my work with the Voorhees Business Association. They are just such a well-respected organization (that has) found an amazing way of melding networking with community.”
After graduation from Penn State and Rutgers Law, Fetbroyt found herself in Philadelphia at the beginning of her career, but soon ended up back in South Jersey.
“I specifically moved back to (Voorhees) to build my practice, despite having the majority of my career in Philadelphia,” she recalled. “I specifically put in the work in to establish myself here.”
Fetbroyt’s father, Dr. Joe Perno, also received the Rotary award in 2013, making its “legacy component” even more meaningful. He is a local dentist. She met her husband Daniel in law school.
While Philadelphia is not far from Voorhees, Fetbroyt admits it’s just not the same living there, and that the township’s “homey feel” always drew her back.
“It sounds so esoteric, but there is just a feeling of home here,” she acknowledged. “Personally, for me, a lot of it is because my family is here, but Voorhees just feels like home to me. I don’t know if that’s all it is … I had a great experience growing up; I made wonderful friends. The closest friends are people I went to (Eastern) with.”
Fetbroyt enjoys attending events for her two sons and said she feels lucky to be able to experience them growing up in an environment similar to hers.
Through her ventures as a business owner in the area, Fetbroyt became friendly with Mayor Michael Mignogna, who persuaded her to join the township committee. Oddly enough, she babysat committeeman Harry Platt’s children while she was in high school.
Just another familiar face in a never-ending list.
“Most of my relationships (in town) began as observations … then grew,” Fetbroyt recalled. “I was friends with the mayor. He is actually one of the reasons I had a high comfort level jumping into this (the committee) without prior experience … I have known Harry since I was 14.
“That level of trust and familiarity really helped me.”
The service awards ceremony at Lucien’s Distinguished Catering will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $95 a person or $735 for a table of eight, and include hors d’oeuvres, a sit-down dinner and dessert, with wine and beer available all evening.
For tickets and more information, visit the Rotary Club of Voorhees website.
