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Union County Freeholders Recognized for Service to Teens and Adults with Special Needs  

 

UC Chairman Bruce H. Bergen 2016
Chairman Bruce H. Bergen.
UC Vice Chairman Sergio Granados 2016
Vice Chairman Sergio Granados.

Union County, NJ – Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Vice Chairman Sergio Granados will receive community service awards from the nonprofit organization Community Access Unlimited during its annual Awards Night Celebration on Tuesday, April 5 in Scotch Plains.

Chairman Bergen will receive the Excellence in Community Living Award, and Vice Chairman Granados will receive the Community Services & Partnership Award for an individual.

Chairman Bergen was born and raised in Cranford, and has been a resident of Springfield for almost 30 years. He has practiced law in New Jersey for 35 years while engaging in numerous civic projects. First elected to the Freeholder Board in 2012, Bergen has been named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Cranford Rotary Club and received an International Citizenship and Civic Award from the Springfield B’nai B’rith.

“I thank Community Access Unlimited for this award. It is a testimony to the many Union County residents with whom I have connected over the years, including those at Community Access, who have dedicated their lives to helping others,” said Bergen. “I look forward to many more years of service, working with kind and caring people who give their time generously to make our community stronger.”

“Since first becoming elected to the Freeholder Board, I have sought to champion the cause of people with special needs, worked to create more opportunities in the community for employment and recreation, and to help ensure that their voices are heard,” said Granados. “I am profoundly grateful to Community Access for its very fruitful partnership with Union County, which has enabled us to have a positive, lifelong impact on people with special needs.”

Chairman Bergen’s 2016  Initiatives, “One County, One Community,” include enhancing services for the County’s seniors and veterans, and programs for transportation and economic development, and the environment. As a Freeholder, Bergen’s areas of focus have also included open space preservation and funding for local recreation projects, improvements to commuter rail service on the Raritan Valley line, and long term solutions to flooding along the Raritan River.

Vice Chairman Granados was elected to his first term as a Freeholder in 2013, becoming one of the youngest Freeholders in the state of New Jersey. A native of Elizabeth, he has a long record of volunteerism and activism in the community that encompasses many cultural and civic organizations.

Among his the main initiatives, Granados has concentrating on strengthening and expanding County services that improve the quality of life for people with special needs. As the liaison to the Workforce Development Board he has overseen efforts to create hundreds of new jobs, including new job opportunities for people with special needs through such initiatives such as work-from-home employment.

As the liaison to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Granados has also worked to expand the County’s recreation resources for people with special needs, such as the County’s first  fully wheelchair accessible and spectrum-friendly playground, slated to open in the summer of 2016 at Mattano Park in Elizabeth. He was also instrumental in bringing the 2015 National Junior Disability Championships to Union County parks.

Community Access Unlimited is a non-profit agency based in Elizabeth that provides support services for youth and adults with disabilities. For more information visit online at caunj.org, call 908-354-3040 or email info@caunj.org.

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

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