MEND Hosted their Annual Dinner Dance on November 12, 2011

MEND hosted their “Magic of Giving” Dinner Dance for almost 200 friends and supporters at the Westin Hotel, Mount Laurel, NJ on Saturday, November 12, 2011.

Matthew Reilly, MEND’s President and CEO, reminded the guests about “the need to maintain and expand affordable housing” and he “thanked them for the civic, political, spiritual and financial support that they provide to MEND.” 

MEND was proud to have a special speaker, Ahaji Schreffler, MEND resident and Board Member.  Ms. Schreffler provided guests with personal thoughts and insight on the benefits of being able to live at one of MEND’s properties with her son.  She  stated that “I am so thankful to have the opportunity to live and be a part of such a strong and welcoming community”.

This year MEND honored James Greene of Mount Laurel and Craig Lord of Moorestown who received the MEND Beacon Award for their volunteer work with the Friends of MEND and their unwavering support of and commitment to affordable housing. Mr. Greene is a Senior Vice President with Liberty Bell Bank and Mr. Lord is the principal of R. Craig Lord Construction Company.

In the spirit of “The Magic of Giving”, all attendees were encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for Live Civilly, a small non-profit organization located in Moorestown, NJ, that strives to combat hunger and homelessness.  Anna, Grace and Abigail Buss, founders of Live Civilly, greeted guests as they arrived and were so happy to have collected over 200 pounds of food items to help prepare the Bethel A.M.E. and Moorestown Ministerium food shelters for the upcoming holiday season.

MEND is a private, nonprofit, faith-based housing development organization founded by Moorestown churches in 1969.  It has developed and now owns and manages 500 residential units in the Burlington County region of southern New Jersey.  MEND is dedicated to providing safe and affordable housing to senior citizens, disabled persons, and families of low and moderate income.

*Robert J. Laramie Photography

*Liberty Bell Bank

*Live Civilly

*Magrann Associates

*Maple Landscaping

*Moorestown Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends

*Edward & Barbara Omert

*Padgett Business Services

*Photo Booth Center

*Quality Landscaping

*R. Craig Lord

*David Ramsay Cabinet makers

*RBC Wealth Management

*The Reilly Family

*Rooms in Bloom

*Root 24

*St. Matthew Lutheran Church

*Scanlink

*Sir Speedy Printing Maple Shade

*Stout & Caldwell Engineers & Surveyors

*Taylor Rental

*Title America

*Trinity Episcopal Church

*The Weber Family

*Wegmans

*Whitesell Construction

*Woodmansee & Company

*Thomas & Deborah Atherholt

*Bowman & Company

*Randy & Cindy Cherkas

*CLC Locksmith        *Harold & Rachel Cooper

*Patrick & Kathy McIlroy

*Mac's Maintenance

*Maple Landscaping

*Suzanne Madara Coffee

*Andy & Louise Cross

*Matthew DelDuca & Patricia Kruyff

*Holland Media

*Deborah Irwin

*Nina Ladof

*Mary Moore

*Robert & Margaret Morris

*Graham & Lucille Neary

*Murray & Enid Rosenblatt

*Steven Smith

                                                                      In tribute to

                                                                 Boyce M. Adams

                                                          inspired founder of MEND

                                                                     1930 - 2006

James L. Greene
James L. Greene, a member of the Friends of MEND Board of Trustees since May, 2004, served as the volunteer President of the Board from February 2006 through January 2010; and he remains on the Board today as a member of the Endowment Fund Committee. He played a major role in guiding the organization through its formative years.

Mr. Greene is currently a Senior Vice President and Chief Deposit Officer of Liberty Bell Bank, a position he has held since 2009. Mr. Greene’s banking experience also includes a five-year stint (1987-1992) as Assistant Vice President /Business Development Officer for the First Peoples Bank of NJ. In 1992, Mr. Greene founded the Infinity Title Agency in Moorestown. He served as President from 1992 to 2009 when he sold the agency and returned to banking. During his tenure, the agency worked with a wide variety of bankers, real estate professionals, attorneys and mortgage companies, selling title insurance to individuals, corporations (both for-profit and non-profit) and municipalities.

In addition to his now 7+ years with the Friends of MEND, Mr. Greene has been involved with many other civic organizations. He is a past President of several organizations including the Washington Township Chamber of Commerce, Business Committed to Burlington County and the Y’s Men’s Club of Moorestown.

Mr. Greene is a graduate of Moorestown High School (Class of 82) and then went on to get his BA in Business Administration (Management and Finance) from Old Dominion University (go “Monarchs “), Norfolk, Va.  Mr. Greene and his wife Andrea reside in Mount Laurel. They have 3 children: Collier, Raychel & Maci.

R. Craig Lord

R. Craig Lord, a member of the Friends of MEND Board of Trustees be-tween 2004 and 2010, served as the volunteer President of the Board during 2010 and also served as the Vice President during 2007 - 2009. He was instrumental in establishing the annual Friends of MEND Spring Golf Event and he worked diligently as a leader of the Golf Committee for five years from 2006 – 2010. While Mr. Lord no longer serves on the Board, he continues to be a prominent and generous supporter of MEND.

After working for the S.R. Maines Company, Mr. Lord founded the R. Craig Lord Construction Company in 1980 and continues as its owner and President to this day. The firm is a multiple award-winning design-build remodeling company based in Moorestown. The firm has built a regional reputation for quality workmanship and positive customer experiences.

He has authored several articles on construction-related topics for national publications including The Journal of Light Construction and Tools of the Trade. Remodeling Magazine recently named Mr. Lord to its Big Fifty list which recognizes quality companies with sound business practices. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious national awards in the remodeling industry.

Mr. Lord believes that “a company should be a good citizen and help make our community a better place”. To that end, he and his firm have dedicated countless hours of community service to causes both in and outside Moorestown including Urban Promise Ministries in Camden and Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts in Alabama.

He was born and raised in Moorestown and is a graduate of Franklin and Mar-shall College, Lancaster, PA.  He and his wife Debbie live in Moorestown with their children Nate and Augusta.