About the Benefit Celebration

On June 2nd, almost four hundred guests celebrated NJN’s role in the community at the 2009 Benefit Celebration held at The Heldrich in New Brunswick.  The Benefit is the major fundraising event of the NJN Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the State’s only public television and radio network.  NJN’s annual fund-raising event continues to be one of the top networking events in New Jersey, which included a reception in the elegant ballroom, a Silent Auction, and an awards presentation followed by a concert at the State Theatre featuring The Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue.

Proceeds are used to support and make accessible NJN’s award-winning programs and documentaries about the arts, cultural diversity, health issues, and the environment and to provide high quality news and public affairs programming.  Given the current fiscal environment, “NJN has taken great measures this year to reduce overhead costs for the Benefit Celebration,” explains Kent Manahan, Acting President of the NJN Foundation and Acting Executive Director of NJN Public Television and Radio. “Consequently, more of the generous contributions will go directly to support and make accessible NJN’s Uniquely New Jersey award-winning programs.”  Guests were able to view the important primary night broadcast of NJN News along with highlights of NJN’s other outstanding programming during the course of the evening.

The 2009 NJN Benefit Celebration honored four distinguished New Jersey leaders - Bruce E. Mosler, President and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, with the NJN Corporate Excellence Award; Carlos Dominguez, Senior Vice President of Cisco Systems, with the NJN Community Leadership Award; Elizabeth G. Christopherson, President and CEO of the Rita Allen Foundation, with the NJN Distinguished Service Award; and Dr. Clement A. Price, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of History at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with the Governor Thomas H. Kean and Governor Brendan T. Byrne Civic Leadership Award.  For the third consecutive year, Novartis Pharmaceuticals sponsored the Community Outreach program.

NJN salutes all of its generous contributors, including members of its Circle of Visionaries - - The Chubb Corporation, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Lowenstein Sandler PC, M. Brian Maher, New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Prudential Financial, and PSE&G - - for their outstanding support of this year’s Benefit Celebration.

Photos of the 2009 Benefit Celebration

• Purpose of Benefit:

The purpose of the 2009 NJN Benefit Celebration is to raise funds for NJN Public Television and Radio to ensure that NJN can continue to provide high quality news and public affairs programming that millions of New Jerseyans rely on each year. Proceeds from this event also will be used to produce series and documentaries about the arts, cultural diversity, health issues, the environment and much more.  We connect the people of the state with programs and services that educate, enlighten and inform. NJN has taken great measures this year to reduce our Benefit Celebration overhead costs so that more of your generous contributions go directly to fund NJN’s programming and educational initiatives. Thank you for your support.

• Committee Chairs

• Foundation for New Jersey Public Broadcasting

The Foundation was established as a non-profit, education, and charitable organization to sponsor and promote the Authority and its several purposes. Complete list of members.

• New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority – Board of Commissioners

The prime responsibility of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority is to establish and operate noncommercial educational television and radio broadcasting stations and to operate one or more public broadcasting telecommunications networks. Complete list of members

• 2009 Benefit Celebration Press Release

You can see the Press Release in the NJN Pressroom.