On Sunday, the South Orange Rotary Club held its fifth annual Service Above Self Awards Beefsteak dinner at St. Andrew & Holy Communion Episcopal Church.  The dinner is meant to honor individuals, organizations and businesses that make a difference in the community.

Among those being honored was South Orange Police Chief James Chelel, who received the Public Safety Award.  Chelel joined the SOPD in 1984 and has been Chief of the department since 2003.  He is an honorary member of the South Orange Rotary Club and also a regular participant in the South Orange Rotary 5K Run.

“I’m very fortunate to do what I do for a living,” said Chelel.  “I tell officers when they come on the job that one of the benefits of being in law enforcement is that you can make a change in somebody’s life every day.”

Receiving the Volunteerism Service Award was the South Orange Rescue Squad.  The Rescue Squad was created in 1952 and is run entirely by a group of volunteers.  Squad members give up hours of their time to respond to thousands of calls throughout South Orange and the neighboring communities.

“Thank you very much to the Rotary for this,” said Rescue Squad President Don Boyle.  “For as long as I can remember, the Rotary Club has been very supportive of the Rescue Squad and we appreciate it.”

Receiving the Cultural Arts Award was Marilyn Joyce Lehren. Lehren is the former editor of Livingston Patch and currently contributes to NJ Spotlight. Lehren has also contributed to Maplewood and South Orange Patches — particularly on stories related to education. However, on this night, she was being recognized for her volunteer work with library programs and her work with the Jespy House, a center that caters to adults with learning and developmental disabilities.

“I play the guitar and sing,” said Lehren.  “Sometimes it doesn’t seem like very much until I see one of the children who was a toddler or an infant at the library program and I see them performing on a school stage and their parents come running up to me and hug me and thank me for being their child’s first music teacher.  I see a woman at Jespy House who has few words, but she is stomping and dancing and singing to her favorite rock song and children with down syndrome or special needs playing rhythm instruments to When the Saints Come Marching In.  I’m really fortunate.”

South Orange Village President Alex Torpey was in attendance for the event to help celebrate those being honored.  Torpey, himself a volunteer on the Rescue Squad, took the time to acknowledge the hard work that the honorees and other volunteers do for South Orange.

“I think one of the things that makes South Orange unique is the number of people who take the time to give back to the community,” said Torpey.  Whether it’s through the Rescue Squad, whether it’s the Rotary Club or even whether it’s being an elected official in town, it’s great to have events like this that celebrate those people and what they give back.”

Also honored at the dinner was John Mousseau, a past president for the Maplewood Rotary Club.  Mousseau received the Service in Rotary Award.  In addition, Bayonne Community Bank received the Business Service Award.