News Release: October 20, 2003
Contact: Steve Wilson, ext. 245The New Jersey Business & Industry Association will present Anthony Gentile, a customer service professional with PSE&G at its Cranford office, with its Public Service Award during the 2003 Awards for Excellence Dinner to be held October 21 at the Westin Princeton in Forrestal Village.
The Public Service Award is presented to individuals for outstanding service in the public interest. Gentile is being recognized for the outstanding work he has done in organizing blood donation drives and weekend blood-platelet drives at PSE&G.
"Anthony Gentile has organized blood drives that far surpassed participation rates at other corporate blood drives," NJBIA President Philip Kirschner said. "Like many states, New Jersey has a critical need to replenish its blood supply. Anthony Gentile took up the challenge and has delivered in a big way. The New Jersey Business & Industry Association is proud to present this year's Public Service Award to Anthony Gentile."
Working with New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS), Gentile, of Matawan, began organizing blood drives at PSE&G in April 2001. His efforts quickly produced one of the most effective and productive corporate blood drives in the state.
Gentile spearheads at least 16 major blood drives a year at the Cranford office. Approximately 40 percent of the office's 200 employees participate in these drives, eclipsing the statewide average of 10 percent at business and industry blood drives.
Most importantly, Gentile organized Sunday blood-platelet drives. Those undergoing cancer treatments need blood platelets. Platelet units have a very short shelf life and the platelet supplies are often depleted over the weekend. Nearly half of the 60 workers who work at the Cranford site on Sundays participate in the platelet drives, ensuring that a fresh supply is tested and ready to go on Monday morning.
Gentile has since refined his operation, recruiting eight "captains" to help recruit donors on blood drive days, sending biweekly broadcast e-mails about upcoming drives, and even producing a blood drive page on PSE&G's Web site.
NJBS estimates that for every unit of blood collected, three lives are saved. By that measure, the blood collected at the Cranford PSE&G as of May 2003 has saved 1,600 lives.
Since 1984, NJBIA annually has honored a select group of its members with an Award for Excellence. The Awards for Excellence winners demonstrate outstanding achievements in one of three award categories: Environmental Quality, Outstanding Employer, and Enterprise. A Public Service award is also presented to one or more individual business professionals. All NJBIA member companies are eligible to be nominated.
An independent panel of judges comprised of members of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) selected the winners along with three NJBIA policy committee chairs: JoAnn Trezza, Human Resources Committee; Edward Hogan, Environmental Quality Committee; and Tim Carden, Economic Development Council.
WithumSmith+Brown, the New Jersey-based accounting and consulting firm, verified the information supplied by the winning applicants.
With more than 20,000 member companies, NJBIA is one of the nation's largest state-level employer associations.
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