MARLBORO – Jeff Weiss, who has served as the chairman of the Marlboro Shade Tree Committee for the past nine years, was recognized for his contributions to the community by the Township Council on Dec. 14.
Weiss and his wife, Amy, are moving out of town in 2018 and he has concluded his volunteer service.
During his time on the committee, Weiss was involved in the creation of the Marlboro Community Garden, the planting of more than 20,000 trees in the township and most recently, he helped to spread awareness about an infestation of an invasive species known as the Emerald Ash Borer.
Mayor Jonathan Hornik presented Weiss with a certificate of appreciation and said he helped to advance the municipal government’s initiative to make Marlboro green and environmentally conscious.
“We wanted to empower our Shade Tree Committee. One individual took charge of the committee. He has led us over nine years and has done an unbelievable job,” the mayor said.
“When Jeff said they were leaving town, I felt a pain in my heart because sometimes people volunteer, leave and somebody else fills in. In this circumstance, there was nobody who can fill Jeff’s shoes. He has done a great job for Marlboro; 20,000 trees have been planted in this township at no cost to us and none of it would have gotten done without Jeff Weiss,” Hornik said.
Weiss said, “I am thankful to have been able to serve this administration. I never felt like I was a burden to anybody. Whenever I needed something, everybody stepped up to the plate and helped me out. The saying goes that it takes a village and we have a wonderful village. I worked with some wonderful people so I have no qualms about leaving. I have great people to fill my shoes and I think they will do an even better job than I did. I’m going to miss everybody here.”
Councilwoman Randi Marder, who has been the governing body’s liaison to the Shade Tree Committee for nine years, said, “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Jeff. With his leadership and guidance, the committee took on a life of its own, beginning with research.
“We were able to get new programs, free trees and eventually become certified as a Tree City, USA. In addition, my vision of having a community garden in Marlboro came to fruition.
“Jeff reached out to Whole Foods for a corporate sponsor and was able to help retain the volunteers we already had as well as to find new volunteers and reinvigorate interest in Shade Tree and the community garden. Working with volunteers is always amazing, but working with Jeff has been incredible,” Marder said.
“Whenever I ask the council members about their committees, I ask Randi about Shade Tree and she says, ‘Jeff did it again’ or ‘He was able to do this,’ ” council President Jeff Cantor said.
“It is incredible to hear it over and over again because when people volunteer, they put in five hours here, 10 hours here, but Jeff has done an unbelievable job by creating a tempo that is unsurpassed by any committee in Marlboro. We can’t thank Jeff and Amy enough,” Cantor said.
