Scharfenberger honored with Public Servant Award

MIDDLETOWN — Gerard P. Scharfenberger, deputy mayor of Middletown Township, has been named the 2009 Public Servant of the Year by the Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce (NMCC).

The award, which is part of the chamber's Crystal Beacon Awards, is presented to the person who "embodies the true spirit of public service through faithfully discharging the responsibilities of their office or position of public service," according to a press release from the chamber.

According to NMCC Executive Director Paul Morris, honorees are nominated and selected by the chamber's membership at large.

Scharfenberger has been serving on the Township Committee since 2005 and served as mayor from 2007 through 2008.

He has been a member of the Middletown Landmarks Commission since 1996 and currently serves on the Middletown Township Open Space Committee and the Municipal Alliance for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

Scharfenberger, who has lived in Middletown for more than 15 years, is employed as a senior archeologist at Richard Grubb & Associates, Cranbury. He holds a master's degree from Hunter College and received his doctorate in 2005 from the City University of New York Graduate Center with a dual focus on historical archaeology and cultural landscape studies.

He currently is a member of the adjunct faculty of Monmouth University in West Long Branch.

This is the 13th consecutive year the chamber has presented the Crystal Beacon Award. Among the other award winners is Guttenplan's Frozen Dough, Middletown, which received the NMCC 2009 Good NeighborAward.