BY CHRISTINE GRIMALDI
Staff Writer

MONROE - Jennifer Lucas never sought recognition for her job as a reader for Samantha Mischler, a legally blind sixth-grader at the Woodland School.

But when Samantha's mother, Tabitha, discovered that Lucas had never reported the hours of helping her daughter with schoolwork to the state Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and hence received no payment, she had to ask Lucas why.

"'Miss Tabitha, it was never about the money,'" was the 18-year-old's reply, Mischler recalled.

So it was an overdue accolade that Lucas received at the Woodland School's first Volunteer Award Night on May 31, when nearly 20 individuals and groups from the Monroe area were recognized.

"It's wonderful to be thanked for what you do," said Misty Corbisiero, a 15-year veteran of the Woodland physical education department. Corbisiero and fellow physical education teacher Ross Schultz launched the recognition program, which acknowledges volunteerism township-wide despite program association with the Woodland School.

The evening ceremony featured state Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-14) as a guest speaker. Greenstein presented a second set of awards from the New Jersey General Assembly.

Schultz and Corbisiero borrowed the volunteer recognition concept from a February workshop held during the New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance's annual convention for physical education and health teachers.

Shirley Fisher, a professor emeritus of health and exercise science at The College of New Jersey, Ewing, gave presentation on a program she founded 10 years ago that recognizes volunteers in Bordentown and Fieldsboro. Though the program started small, Fisher told the Sentinel that about 535 certificates were produced for this year's ceremony.

Schultz was impressed by Bordentown's breadth of recognition - later replicated on a smaller scale at the Woodland ceremony.

"To get everyone at different ages and backgrounds in one place, in one setting, when they would probably never meet, is actually pretty amazing if you think about it," he said.

Soon after the convention, Schultz and Corbisiero organized a committee to review applicants for the awards. Application forms were sent home with every Woodland student in March, and were also circulated to the Monroe's emergency squads and all township schools.

The application required outside or self-nomination of individuals or groups with at least 20 hours of community service to Monroe in 2005, though there was no residency requirement. Nominees were prohibited from having received reimbursement for volunteering, but Schultz said that a teacher or police officer would be eligible if either donated services beyond their time card.

Selection criteria included need of service, active involvement, initiative, achievement of results, impact, time commitment, and challenge, according to the form. These criteria were to be addressed in a one-page nomination essay.

About 20 forms were returned to the school by the early May deadline, Schultz said. He believes confusion over the assumed prerequisite of involvement with the Woodland School likely contributed to lower than expected applicant turnout.

That should change in the future, however.

"Word of mouth will probably say, 'No, it's not a Woodland thing, it's a Monroe thing,'" Schultz said. "So I think that's going to be the biggest problem this year. I think next year ... we'll grow even more."

This year's youth category winners were: Girl Scout Troop 951; Girl Scout Troop 1036; Samantha Mischler, Sydney Brennert and Brianna Quinn, all of Girl Scout Troop 294; Jennifer Lucas; Alexa Carini; the Monroe Township High School boys soccer team and boys basketball team.

Adult category winners were: Arlene Baum, Louise Baumann, Tabitha Mischler, Violet Kulberda, Patricia Ribeira, Daniel Gowan, Carol Ann Scott, Bob Lombard and the Woodland-Mill Lake PTO.

Bob Lombard, 40, of Monroe, drove an 18-wheel truck loaded with donated goods down to Mississippi and Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. Lombard, who owns the Bulk Express Logistics trucking company, supplied the truck, while friend Mark Jackson, of Liquid Cargo, paid for the fuel.

"We just did it because we wanted to," Lombard said. "Everybody needs help once in a while."

The goods had been collected in Monroe and nearby Spotswood, he said.

Corbisiero said that Monroe's PTO-sponsored Katrina drive was "spearheaded" by Tabitha Mischler, whom she nominated for a Woodland award.

Daughter Samantha also received a certificate, along with two other girls in her Girl Scout troop, for volunteer service.

As for Jennifer Lucas, who has a legally blind sister herself, Mischler said this personal connection "gives her a compassion like no other."

"She has come up with new strategies for subjects such as math," Samantha Mischler said, adding that Lucas has also helped her daughter prepare for daily oral quizzes in grammar. Samantha earns straight As and is on the principal's list at Woodland, her mother said.

"It's just been an experience I could never have gotten anywhere else," Lucas said. She will soon graduate from Monroe Township High School and attend Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, with intentions to become a social worker.

The ceremony served its purpose.

"I think it went wonderful," Corbisiero said afterward. "But I also think there's many more volunteers who were not nominated and could have been here tonight."

Corbisiero herself wished to thank Robin Freedman, Colleen Acs, Sue Lowery and Kristen Hummel for their help in ceremony preparations.

The application deadline for next year is set for early March, and Schultz said the ceremony will probably be held in April. More information can be obtained by calling the Woodland School at (732) 251-1177.