I just wanted send a big thank you for all the support of our local campaign to acquire the Bancroft property for our future.
Unfortunately, some with a far more shorted-sight view than I have about our town have been heard and that’s OK, that is the beauty of the democratic process.
While the Bancroft referendum brought out the gamut of emotions and tested many relationships, I can say with a clear conscience that we did all that we could humanly do to get out the right message in a respectful way…no regrets!
A special thanks to those that locked arms and worked tirelessly as OneHaddonfield on this effort for no other reason than that they care about our town: Lee Pease, Phil Smart, Tracy Bateman, Chris Bull, Sharon Parker, Neal Rochford, Casey Glazer, Eric Johnson, Jon Hitchner, Lori Kadar, Scott Kegler, Mark Yako and Dan Rysz.
All of these people worked very hard to make our vision a reality — next time you see any of these folks walking down Kings Highway, please taken a moment to smile and say thank you.
Not to be forgotten are our current elected borough officials, Tish Colombi and Ed Borden as well as former mayors Reynolds, Tarditi and Kain who all took public positions on this referendum.
Thank you also to Dr. Perry and the entire BOE for daring to dream about our future and what might be possible.
Good luck also to our neighbors at Bancroft.
As my wife so eloquently pointed out in a previous edition, somehow in this whole debate, we lost sight of the fact that Bancroft isn’t a money grabbing corporate machine; rather it is a non-profit facility for children and adults with special needs.
We need to all remember that.
The final outcome wasn’t just a no to higher taxes; it was also a yes to Bancroft remaining where they have been for more than 100 years but also with expanded facilities to accommodate their expanding needs.
We need to all remember that too.
When I am traveling on business and people ask me where I am from, I don’t say “outside of Philadelphia” or “South Jersey”, I say proudly “Haddonfield.”
Win, lose or draw, there is no place else I’d rather be. Thank you and look forward to seeing you around town.
Jack O’Malley
OneHaddonfield
