Mary Ellen Cleveland didn’t think she was signing on for a lifetime of public service when she decided to help her niece with some paperwork for the North Bergen Volunteer First Aid Squad some 20 years ago. “I was just looking for something to fill my time,” Cleveland said. “I offered to help out with some secretarial work. But after hanging around a while, I thought that I could do more, maybe take a shift.” At the same time, Al Jacob was being asked to serve on the township’s Alcohol Beverage Control commission. The former salesman for Sears-Roebuck had no idea what he was getting into. “At the time, the commissioner in charge of public safety, Nick Fortunato, approached me and asked me to serve on the ABC,” Jacob said. “I just wanted to help out. After a while, I became pretty good at it.” That was 1980. Now, 20 years later, both have risen to the top of their respective organizations. Cleveland serves as the president of the Volunteer First Aid Squad and Jacob is the chairman of the township’s ABC. Last week, Mayor Nicholas Sacco and the township’s board of commissioners decided to honor both Cleveland and Jacob with plaques for their 20 years of service to the township. “When I received the call that I was getting the award, I was really surprised,” said Cleveland, who has served as an officer with the First Aid Squad for 19 years, including the last four as the president. “A lot of people don’t take the time to say ‘Thank you’ for what you do. But when they do, it makes it all worthwhile.” Jacob was also flattered to receive the honor. “I only thought I was going to do it for a short period of time,” said Jacob, who also serves as the township’s senior housing director. “I never would have imagined it would be 20 years. It felt good to get the recognition. I really didn’t expect it.” Cleveland is only the second person to remain with the First Aid Squad for 20 years and the first to remain in active duty. She juggles her full-time position as a medical transcriber for the radiology department at Palisades General Hospital with her duties as squad president. She still takes an active shift once a week in the ambulance, responding to calls, while she also handles the countless paperwork necessary that comes with being the chief operating officer. “Although I’ve remained active, I’ve been trying to pass the torch a little over the past few years,” Cleveland said. “When we’ve been shorthanded, I’ve had to take a regular shift. But we have a membership of 50 to 60 people now, the highest we’ve ever had. And those people all look to you to make decisions. It takes a high level of commitment.” Cleveland added, “And there are a lot of people whose lives depend upon what you do. When I’m not feeling well, or when I just want to go to the movies, I can’t stay home or go, because so many people depend on me. There’s a lot of work and a lot of responsibility involved.” Cleveland was asked if everything she does is worth the effort and the time. “There are days that I wonder to myself, ‘Why do I keep doing this?'” Cleveland said. “But then I think of a little girl choking or the baby that I helped to deliver. Or the elderly, who tell me that I’m an angel when I help them. Then, it’s all rewarding. And I was touched that the administration chose to recognize me. It was a nice award.” Jacob has also endured some tough times as the township’s head of the ABC. “I’ve served with a lot of great people who have supported me over the years,” Jacob said. “They all put in a lot of time, sometimes with hearings that last until 3 a.m., listening to testimony. But I’m proud of the people and proud that we were able to bring a quality of life back to North Bergen. We helped to stop a lot of neighborhood nuisance.” Not to mention, handle his share of controversial hearings, including those involving the closing of the Navel Base go-go club and the Millennium dance club. “I think we’ve helped to put the township in a better position,” Jacob said. “The ABC Board is different, because we have to uphold the laws of the state and the township. There’s no other board like it. We’ve made some tough decisions, but we attacked them willingly. And I would do it for another 20 years, if they want me around.” Both said that they were glad to be able to serve the township for two decades. And now, both Mary Ellen Cleveland and Al Jacob have a piece of hardware that shows the level of dedication they gave to North Bergen.
Our Digital Archive from 2000 – 2016
