After 28 years of service, Middlesex County Surrogate Kevin J. Hoagland will retire effective Dec. 1.
Hoagland was first elected as surrogate in 1992, making him the longest serving surrogate in Middlesex County history, according to information provided by the Middlesex County Office of Communications. During his tenure, he established 11 satellite offices that have served more than 33,000 people throughout Middlesex County. Hoagland also extended office hours to better accommodate the public and supervised the digital recording of all probate records in Middlesex County dating back to 1790.
“It is with both pride and gratitude that I announce my retirement as surrogate,” Hoagland said in the statement. “I am deeply proud of all that my colleagues and I have accomplished over the course of nearly three decades and am grateful to the people of Middlesex County who trusted me to work on their behalf. As a lifelong county resident, it has been a true privilege to serve my community as surrogate.”
Hoagland’s accomplishments also include initiatives designed to better inform people on legal matters involving wills, trusts and estates. He has published booklets on these topics and founded a speaking program on wills and estates that is available to any senior, civic, or religious group in Middlesex County, according to the statement.
In 2007, Hoagland established Middlesex County’s National Adoption Day. Held each November, the event promotes and celebrates adoptions throughout Middlesex County.
“On behalf of the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, I offer our sincerest congratulations to Surrogate Hoagland on his retirement and thank him for this decades-long service to the residents of Middlesex County,” Freeholder Director Ronald G. Rios said in the statement. “The dedication he has had to his work is unmatched, and the commitment he makes to the greater community, including serving as the founder of Central Jersey Spinal Cord Association, is an inspiration to us all.”
Extending his community service beyond his position at Middlesex County, Hoagland is the founder and president of the Central Jersey Spinal Cord Association. He has served on the New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Research, and as chairman of the Mayor’s Committee for A Barrier Free New Brunswick and on the New Brunswick Human Relations Commission.
Hoagland is a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus and past grand knight of New Brunswick Council 257. He is also a member of B.P.O. Elks 324 in New Brunswick.
Hoagland was appointed to the Judiciary-Surrogate Liaison Committee by Chief Justice Deborah Poritz in 2005, according to the statement. He is a member of the Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey (COANJ) for which he served as treasurer from 2005 to 2011 and as conference chairman from 2005 to 2008. He is a recipient of the Gil C. Job Award from COANJ in 2007 for outstanding service to the organization and the NJAC Service Award in 1997.
In 2017, Hoagland was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame when he received the Unsung Hero Award, and in 2014, he received the Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service, according to the statement. Additionally, he has been honored by the Middlesex County AFL-CIO with the Hubert H. Humphrey Award in 1997, the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce with the 2001 Community Leaders of Distinction, the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Central Jersey with the “Irishman of the Year” in 2000, and the North Brunswick Emerald Society “Man of the Year” award in 1995.
Prior to being elected surrogate, Hoagland spent four years as the director of Home Care Services for the Middlesex County Department of Human Services and was a patient accounts representative at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
