Dan Cirucci: Brendan Byrne? In The NJ Hall Of Fame? Why?

Friday, January 21, 2011

Brendan Byrne? In The NJ Hall Of Fame? Why?

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently announced the newest inductees into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
The hall honors New Jerseyans who have made their mark in the fields of history, entertainment, enterprise, sports or in other fields such as education, the military, and politics.
Many inductees were born or raised in the Garden State; some still live here or have other significant ties to New Jersey.
Here is the newest class: actors John Travolta and Queen Latifah, singer Tony Bennett.business and media magnate Martha Stewart, football greats Franco Harris and Joe Theismann, actor Bruce Willis, World War II heroes John Basilone and Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, novelist Mary Higgins Clark, jazz great Bucky Pizzarelli, business owner Leon Hess and former New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne.
The red-carpet induction ceremony will be in June at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
Previous inductees include Bruce Springsteen, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and Yogi Berra. Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Les Paul, Count Basie, and Carl Lewis were inducted last May.
But I have a simple question: What's Brendan t Byrne doing in this group?
I have nothing against Governor Byrne. He seems to be a nice person. In fact, I even supported him when he ran for office. But, other than being Governor and giving New Jersey the income tax, what did he do?
Certainly, I can think of other Governors of New Jersey who were more effective and more popular, particularly Tom Kean and Richard J. Hughes.
Dick Hughes was one of the most significant figures in the whole history of New Jersey. He was a two-term governor, an innovative national leader and a man of unquestioned character. In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson seriously considered Governor Hughes for the Vice-Presidential spot on the Democratic ticket. After his service as Governor was done, Dick Hughes served as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. In that position he helped create a modern, unified court system that is now a model for other states.He was a tireless, unselfish public servant who dedicated most of his life to the public good.
I've checked over the list of Hall of Fame inductees thus far and I don't see Governor Hughes in there. Why?
Why is Brendan Byrne being admitted and not Dick Hughes?
And why was former Senator Bill Bradley admitted and not Dick Hughes?
And why hasn't former Governor Alfred E. Driscoll been admitted?
It was Governor Driscoll who devised the plans for the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. Governor Driscoll also nominated William Brennan to his first judicial post and later promoted him to the New Jersey Supreme Court. This was long before Brennan became an iconic member of the United States Supreme Court.
You're telling me that Byrne is admitted ahead of Hughes and Driscoll?
Sorry, I don't get it.

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About Dan Cirucci

He's been cited by the late Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed across all media.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, a Save Jersey blog columnist, frequent guest on the Matt Rooney radio show and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.

Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.

Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post, Broad and Liberty and other print and online platforms.

A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.

He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.

In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Cirucci's passions include all things Italian, politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel.

He and his wife Carole have two grown children and seven grandchildren.

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