Whether a new arrival or living in town for years, residents were given the chance to explore Cherry Hill’s many services and organizations during the “Welcome to Cherry Hill” open house at the Cherry Hill Public Library on Oct. 15.
Municipal officials, representatives of the Cherry Hill Public Library, fire and police departments, township schools, civic associations, religious organizations, youth sporting groups and more were all on hand to showcase what Cherry Hill has to offer to its residents.
Visitors were also offered a “Taste of Cherry Hill,” with free food and drink from various townships restaurants and businesses.
After residents had a chance to explore the event, Mayor Chuck Cahn greeted guests and gave a brief presentation about the township.
He spoke of the many new faces he saw, and said he hoped they would all take a few minutes to speak with the various department heads and township leaders to learn all the different ways the township could be of service.
“We are a diverse and thriving community,” Cahn said. “We’re focused on maintaining a very high quality of life, promoting health and wellness, and sustainability in everything we do.”
Cahn said Cherry Hill was a strong, large township, so it was important for residents, both new and old, to come out to the event to see all the synergies that exist between the different township departments and organizations.
“I see people that have lived here for 20 or 30 years and that still come out and want to see the services that we offer, meet their elected officials, and get a chance to talk one-on-one with their department heads,” Cahn said. “We call it a new resident night, but it could be anybody that lives here. We encourage everybody to come out.”
One popular table at the event was Cherry Hill Fire Department, where residents had a chance to learn about smoke detectors, escape planning and more.
Chief Thomas Kolbe said it was important for the fire department to be at the event to connect with new residents take some steps to help future prevent emergencies.
“It’s good for us to get out in front of the public and give them some fire safety information and make them aware of what the fire department does for them,” Kolbe said.
Another popular table was that of the Cherry Hill Police Department where residents were able to get small ID cards made with their children’s photo, description and fingerprint to be used in cases of a child going missing.
Chief William Monaghan said it was important for the department to be at the event to start a community outreach with the new residents so they can feel comfortable with the police department and understand that the police department is there to serve them.
“Sometimes people might feel apprehensive about calling the police department, “Monaghan said. “They think they’re bothering the police department — we want them to understand the message is just the opposite,“
One new resident checking out the event was Tim Stackhouse.
He said he moved to Cherry Hill in April after starting at a job in the township sometime before that, and he thought it was nice that the township holds an event where new residents such as he can learn about things that new homeowners need to know.
“I think it’s nice that they actually have it,” Stackhouse said. “Just in general, I’ve not really moved anywhere that has something like this. This is my first serious settling down…I started a new job not too long ago, which is actually right here in Cherry Hill and that’s why I wanted to move here.”
Another resident at the event was Karen Snyder, who with her husband and son, just found out about the event earlier in the day.
Snyder moved to Cherry Hill about a year ago, and she said it was nice that the township would provide a welcoming event for new residents.
Like many in Cherry Hill, she also praised the food offered by the township’s many restaurants and businesses.
“Of course the food is a highlight,” Snyder said.
