Mayor Richard F. Turner presided over the annual installation of squad officers and awards ceremony for the Weehawken Volunteer First Aid Squad (WVFAS) last Friday night in the Weehawken Elks Lodge.
At the ceremony, various members were rewarded for their personal milestones and exemplary service to the First Aid Squad with plaques and town recognition.
The WVFAS has been serving the emergency medical needs of Weehawken residents and the North Hudson community since 1969.
Career Calls
Turner, along with other members of the Weehawken Town Council, presented plaques and awards to the following WVFAS members in recognition of their personal milestones reached this past year in terms of career calls: Jessica Arebalo, Dan Barcia, Mark Lopez, Arleen Palma, Raul Ronda and Mike Savarese (100 calls); Melissa Cardona (250 calls); Evelyn Murillo (500 calls); Mary Ciuffitelli and Phyllis Walsh (1,250 calls); Gio Ahmad and Yves Saad (1,500).
Robert Quigley was recognized for being only the ninth person in Weehawken First Aid Squad history to reach the 2000 career call plateau.
Most notably, Wayne Lavoie was lauded for his unprecedented grand total of 4,250 career calls.
Also awarded was the Lt. Robert D. Cirri Memorial Award, annually presented to the volunteer who responds to the most calls in a calendar year. The award is named after the late Bob Cirri, a Port Authority Police Officer, paramedic, and Weehawken First Aid Squad member who died in the events of 9/11 while attempting to evacuate injured victims from the World Trade Center.
This year, the recipient of the award was Melissa Cardona for answering 220 calls in 2010.
Life membership awards
WVFAS members Al Berg and Mary Ciuffitelli were both given the Life Membership Award for 10 years of service.
Finally, WVFAS officers presented Jeff Welz with a plaque celebrating his 40-year anniversary with the squad, in addition to his 30-year tenure as president of the organization. Welz was also honored in a town proclamation read by Turner on behalf of the entire Weehawken Town Council.
Preliminary proceedings
Turner also administered the oath to the following members, recognizing their consecutive terms: President Jeff Welz (31 years); Vice President Thomas Cheplic (11 years); Captain Giovanni Ahmad (5 years); 1st Lieutenant Julian Brian Mera (8 years); 2nd Lieutenant Numargo Vasquez (5 years); Treasurer Lauren Piech (3 years); Secretary Evelyn Murillo (2 years); and Assistant Secretary Yves Saad (8 years).
Deanna Cullen can be reached at dcullen@hudsonreporter.com.