Giving Back

It’s funny how certain professions carry a stigma associated with them, much of which is not deserved. Lawyers and police officers may top that list and those who sell cars would not be far behind…they are easy targets and often the brunt of jokes. Of course it’s ridiculous to lump those who work in a certain career into one category but we seem to generalize quite a bit. Some of the most generous and philanthropic individuals in our community make their living from selling cars, including Dave Wintrode from the Causeway Family of Dealerships and David Sickle from the Pine Belt Auto Group. They have both been around for a long time and have been deserving recipients of many honors for giving back to the community. Ed Sunday of Gateway Toyota is another and yesterday he was saluted by the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore at their 26th Annual Award Luncheon at Woodlake County Club in Lakewood. I had the pleasure of serving as Master of Ceremonies for the event which was co-chaired by attorney Bob Novy and Jim DeAngelis of the Lakewood BlueClaws.

Honors are nothing new to Sunday and Gateway Toyota, who several years ago were singled out as the Organization of the Year by the Toms River-Ocean County Chamber of Commerce. The dealership does much for the community and Ed, who is the Vice President and General Manager is one who shies away from the spotlight. Sitting with his wife Diana yesterday I know he was almost uncomfortable hearing nice things about himself but the fact is the father of two is a terrific person and an asset to Toms River and the entire community. Not bad for a car guy.

The Manchester Township community is dealing with the loss of one of its favorite sons as brain cancer claimed the life of Rodney Copeland earlier this week at the young age of 44. Rodney was a three-sport athlete at Manchester High School and spent much of his adult life working for the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Department. Besides his family and friends, sports were his passion and he was the Girls Basketball coach at his alma mater for several years. I always enjoyed seeing him at the WOBM Christmas Classic and Rodney was someone who always had a smile on his face and greeted you with a warm handshake. He was one of the good guys and he’s been taken from all of us way too early. Condolences to his family.