TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Township Council Vice President Desserie Morgan had the pleasure, Nov. 8, of helping to recognize the outstanding work of some of the township’s most dedicated volunteers: bright young ladies who helped make the town’s new K-1 Mini Cardinal Cheer Program a soaring success.
Receiving framed service awards from Morgan and Mayor Peter Calamari at that night’s meeting of the governing body were seventh-graders Gina Castronova, Alana Lucas, Alexis Morris, Emma-Claire Readie, Isabella Realbuto, Ellorie Roberts, and Jenna Zotolo; and eighth-graders Adrianna DeNobile and Brianna DeNobile.
Morgan, a veteran cheer coordinator and cheer mom — and a registered nurse, with a master’s degree emphasis on leadership and healthcare — proposed a rec cheer program to her fellow elected officials.
And she went further, setting out to “volunteer to coordinate, manage, and assemble a team of mothers who shared her vision, enthusiasm, and willingness to volunteer,” according to an invitation we received on the occasion of the girls’ honor.
“Desserie believes it is important to highlight the impact these young volunteers have had on the youngest members of our community. They are the positive role models that our children need — and the fact that they are children themselves speaks volumes about the kind of community we have here in the Township,” the invitation read.
At council chambers, where sat the girls and their families, and many others who had turned out for town business, Morgan said senior rec Cardinal cheerleaders volunteered to help with the new five-week feeder program, open to kids in Washington Township and Westwood, which share a school district.
Morgan said the program was received enthusiastically. Twenty-nine young ladies from both communities were the inaugural Mini Cards. Practices, Saturdays from 9 to 10 a.m., Sept. 18 through Oct. 16, were at Memorial Field except for Town Day, when it was at Gardner Field.
She also lauded cheer squad moms, all from the township: Melissa Percontino, Nikki Prunella, and Andrea Vecchione.
Morgan told Pascack Press on Nov. 11 that each intro class starts with a salute to the stars and stripes, emphasizing “respect, honor, and unity.” That leads into stretching, practicing sideline cheers, a “hello dance” (set to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”), freeze tag “just to get the sillies out,” and essential positions and cheer moves and terms. “We wanted them to be familiar with hearing those words.”
Mini Cards move up to Westwood’s Cardinal cheer program for grades 2–8, and then high school cheer.
At the council meeting, Morgan said, “I have had the pleasure of working with these girls in several capacities. First when they were very young, and then as the cheer coordinator for several years. I was honored to watch as they grew into the amazing young ladies in front of us today. Now, they are coaches and mentors for our little ones, and I consider it a privilege and an honor to have been a part of that.”
She said, “Volunteers are the backbone of our community. I, along with the adult volunteers … were completely blown away, week after week, by these nine amazing young ladies.”
Morgan said “They gave this program — this town — their time and energy and expected nothing in return. Every Saturday they showed up early and ready to engage. They have true character and are clearly leaders.”
She read a spirited and motivating poem, “It Couldn’t Be Done,” by Edgar Albert Guest.
Morgan said, “As the first program of its kind here in Township, these ladies are the pioneers who did the impossible and taught 29 5-and-6-year-olds so much more than cheer: They taught them how to think beyond themselves, to work as a team, and — above all else — to be confident and proud.”
As she resumed her seat at the dais she received a cheery bouquet from the program’s volunteers — a gift in kind.