The Rebeka Verea Foundation, an organization dedicated to educating teens about the dangers of speed driving, celebrated their 10th anniversary at the Palisadium Banquet Hall in Cliffside Park on Saturday night, where West New York Police Director Robert Antolos was among the nine honorees that received awards.
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The organization was founded by Dr. Jorge and Lourdes Verea, Rebeka’s parents, back in 2005 shortly after their daughter was tragically killed in a car accident in North Bergen hours after graduating from Cliffside Park High School.
Other dignitaries in attendance included West New York Mayor Felix Roque, along with Town Commissioners Cosmo Cirillo and Gabriel Rodriguez, as well as their running mates for the May election: Susan Colacurcio and Margarita Guzman.
Colacurcio has been involved with the Rebeka Verea Foundation for years.
Dr. Verea, the president of the organization, took the podium at the packed venue to talk about his journey over the past the decade. He also spoke to Hudson County View to further reflect on his humanitarian efforts.
Antolos and Roque both praised the Verea family’s efforts when addressing the crowd on hand.
The full list of The Rebeka Verea Humanitarian Award recipients for 2015 are as follows:
1. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
2. John J. Locurto, Jr., MD, FACS – Chief Trauma/Surgical Critical Care & Injury Prevention at Hackensack University Medical Center
3. Meliam Gonzales, RN, BSN – Trauma Prevention Coordinator at Hackensack University Medical Center
4. Michael Maron – President/CEO at Holy Name Medical Center
5. Gregory H Doer, DC – Bergen Chiropractic & Sports Rehabilitation Center International Speaker
6. Richard Gaito – Cliffside Park Chief of Police
7. Lisa Frato – Cliffside Park Board of Education Trustee
8. Robert Antolos – West New York Police Director
9. Stacey Rosenfeld – Journalist and Contributor of 201 Magazine