Board Members

This page is being added to as bios are received.  Stay tuned.....
 
 
 
Bill Solan – President 
 

 
Bill enlisted in the US Marine Corps after graduating from High School in July of 1978. He served during peace time until 1982.  After the Marine Corps active-duty service, he was sworn in as a New Jersey Police Officer in March of 1982. He also continued on with the Marine Reserves until 1986.  Bill served as a Police Officer and Detective until April of 2011.
 
Bill is married to his wonderful wife Ivana for 35 years. They have three sons, two in Florida one in New Jersey.
 
Tom Smith - Vice President
 
Al Ruggiero – Treasurer
 
All enlisted in the US Army in March of 1969 and served in the Signal Corps as an instructor of electronics at Ft. Monmouth, NJ for three years, until the end of the war in southeast Asia. All of his Army and Air Force students were deployed to communication centers in Vietnam or Bangkok. Following his ETS, he worked for 18 years in Atlantic County government starting as a Junior Accountant and later being appointed to the positions of Chief Administrative Officer and Deputy County Administrator. 
 
He was recruited by the private sector and joined South Jersey Industries in 1989 and retired from the company in 2007. During his tenure at SJI, he directed multiple corporate support functions including external affairs, customer services / commercial operations, information systems, facilities and materials management and Human Resources. He was also responsible for three of SJI’s subsidiary companies; Marina Energy (builders and operators of distributed generation systems); South Jersey Energy Service Plus (HVAC & appliance service, warranty, and installations) and Millennium Account Services (meter reading and related services). For over a decade, he chaired the SJI Investment Committee which bore responsibility for the asset management of employee/officers/directors qualified pension plans; non-qualified SERP; and 403(B) portfolios. 
 
            Al has a lifelong commitment to service and the community. He served for 12 years, including two years as Board Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey; as Director Emeritus and past Board Chair of ARC Atlantic; as Board Chairman of the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey; as Board Chairman of the South Jersey Stage Company and as a Trustee of the Friends of the Ocean City Pops. 
 
            Al has also served as Board President of the Atlantic County United Way; as a gubernatorial appointee to the NJ Public Employment Relations Commission; on the Executive Advisory Council to the Rutgers-Camden School of Business; as Chairman of the Linwood Zoning Board; as Trustee and Treasurer of Atlantic Cape Community College; and as a member of the Jersey Shore Partnership and the National Conference of Community & Justice. Al also chaired several blue-ribbon panels pursuing criminal justice alternatives in Atlantic County and chaired the technology committee for the Atlantic County 2000 Initiative.  
 
Once retired, Al served as a Director, Treasurer and Board President for a Florida based HOA, later working in volunteer capacities for 15 years…overseeing the HOAs budgetary, accounting, and financial management systems/ resource/ reporting. He rewrote the HOAs Declarations & Covenants; Bylaws and Rules and Regulations consistent with the then governing Florida State statutes; and designed and published its first website.
 
            Al has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting & Economics from Stockton University and a graduate degree in Business Administration from Monmouth University. He is happily retired with his wife Gail and enjoys summers at the Jersey shore with their twin sons and eight grandchildren.
 
 
Keri Pyse - Secretary
 
Bev Werth- Director of Membership
 
Michelle Schaefer - Chaplain
 
Sandra Amato-Shipton - Assistant Treasurer
 
Bill Schaefer - Director
 
Charlie Brown -- Director Emeritus
 
Charles “Charlie” Brown was a U.S. Marine Corps (1966 -1969) rifleman in Vietnam with the 26th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. For 7 months during 1967 – 68’ he was in a Marine Combined Action Platoon (“CAP”) living full time with his Marine squad mates in a Vietnamese village fighting alongside South Vietnamese Popular Forces soldiers against Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army units. After completing his enlistment, Charlie, (“Sergeant Brown”) graduated from Michigan State University and Emory University Law School. Following law school, Charlie was a Marine Judge Advocate Officer at Camp Pendleton, California, in court martial proceedings. After his “JAG” obligation, Charlie became a state and then federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, followed by a 20-year career in corporate law with General Motors and Delphi Automotive Systems. Charlie, because of his experiences, has a deep appreciation for what it means to be a veteran, and why it matters so much to him and other veterans. As with many veterans whether drafted, enlisted or retired, military service remains a “Hallmark Event” in their lives. Before “retiring” to Florida, Charlie worked as a volunteer counsel in the Veterans’ Court program in Novi, Michigan, and as a pro bono counsel for veterans in Oakland County, Michigan. Charlie’s military awards include the Navy Cross, Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Service Campaign Medals and National Defense Service Medal. Charlie and his wife, Terrie, have resided in Valencia Lakes since 2012.
 
 
Ron McKenzie - Vet Transportation Liaison
 
 
 
Barry Levine - Director 
 
 
Allen Lalk - Sergeant at Arms
Allen retired after a 25-year career in 2015 with International Paper Company.  Allen and his wife Maggie moved to Florida in 2004 and finally to Valencia Lakes in 2012. They have 3 sons, 2 daughters-in-law, and 6 grandchildren.