Annual Business and Labor Reception to be held March 1

The Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, has announced that Alexander Gerardo, Vice President of Administration and Government Relations for the Troy Corporation, and Joseph Demark, Jr., President & Business Manager of Sheet Metal Workers Local 25, will be honored at the 23rd Annual Newark Archbishop’s Business & Labor Recognition Reception on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at Mayfair Farms, West Orange, NJ.

The Reception, which has raised more than $2 million since its inception, is attended annually by hundreds of labor and business leaders alike. It benefits the Newark Archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Organization and Retreat Center in Kearny, which serves thousands of young people of every race, religion and ethnic background.

“Both these gentlemen exemplify the best in leadership qualities and are well known for the generous amount of time they dedicate not only to their professions, but also to charitable work,” said the Archbishop in making the announcement. “These gentlemen are icons of character and success among their peers and exemplify the type of leaders who have been honored before them these many years.”

Mr. Gerardo holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Seton Hall University. Prior to becoming Vice President at the Troy Corporation in Florham Park, Mr. Gerardo held senior executive positions in employee and labor relations for many leading companies, including Givaudan Corporation/Hoffmann-LaRoche and the parent company of Matchbox toys. Mr. Gerardo serves as Vice Chair of New Jobs (The Business PAC of NJ) and has held leadership positions with the Society of Human Resource Management, the New Jersey Small Business Compliance Advisory Panel, and The Chemistry Council of New Jersey, among others.

Mr. Demark is a third-generation sheet metal worker who began his career at 18 as an apprentice with a Sheet Metal Workers local in Bloomfield, NJ. He rapidly moved up within the ranks of the union through his volunteer and organizing work and was elected to serve on Local 28’s Executive Board and subsequently hired as an organizer. His dedication and work on the front lines led to his election as Business Agent and Recording Secretary for Local 28 prior to his becoming President of that Local in 2007. Mr. Demark currently serves as a vice president of the New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council and as vice president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO. He has been honored by numerous labor and business organizations, including being named Labor Leader of the Year by both the Essex West Hudson Labor Council and the Essex County Democratic Committee.

For more information or tickets for the 23rd Annual Newark Archbishop’s Business & Labor Recognition Reception, contact Geraldine Menegolla of the Archdiocese’s Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at 201-998-0088, extension 4154.