Cops and Gobblers II
Once again, State PBA combines with State Troopers to provide
Thanksgiving turkeys to needy residents of Atlantic City
and help shine a positive light on law enforcement
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
The Atlantic City Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway the NJ State
PBA co-sponsored with the NJ State Troopers Non-Commis-
sioned Officers Association on Nov. 20 was set to fly in about
30 minutes. But already 200 people had lined up in the alley
alongside the Police Athletic League (PAL) building, where they
had been invited as some of the city’s most deserving of this
inspiring gift.
When the giveaway commenced, a car pulled up looking to
circumvent the police line that secured the alley. PBA Executive
Vice President Marc Kovar wanted to make sure the driver knew
not to enter the alley, but a woman in the car gave him cause to
pause.
“I initially said, ‘you have to wait in line,’” Kovar explained.
“Then she told me she was handicapped and couldn’t get out of
the car. I had tears in my eyes. She couldn’t get out of her car. So
we brought her two turkeys. She said, ‘I only need one.’ She was
an elderly woman so told her, ‘You take two.’”
Clearly, the second annual PBA Turkey Giveaway in Atlantic
City elevated the mutual admiration propriety between law en-
forcement officers and the community that not enough people
get to see. Elevated it even beyond the previous year’s smashing
success.
Behind the leadership of Atlantic City Local 24 Business
Manager Jane Tayoun, the PBA had to reserve the alley to ac-
commodate the expected turnout. Tayoun and Local 24 State
Delegate Mike Auble worked with the PAL to identify residents
who could most use the turkeys and sent out word to muster on
the morning of Nov. 20.
“We started at 10 a.m. and it was non-stop well past 11:30,”
Auble reported. “It made us feel like you can do everything you
can for the people in the community.”
It was a sight to see, one that State PBA President Pat Col-
ligan suggested everybody should get a chance to experience.
PBA First Vice President Pete Andreyev vigorously executed the
detail of moving turkeys from the truck to the 15 members of
Local 24, a bevy of State Troopers, various other PBA members
30
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ DECEMBER 2017
NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan (left) and Executive Vice President Marc
Kovar meet a happy resident at the PBA’s Atlantic City Turkey Giveaway on
Nov. 20.
and Atlantic City Mayor Donald Guardian delivering birds to a
group that included several veterans who had been struggling
to make ends meet.
The reward for both the officers and the residents of the mag-
nanimous and magnificent endeavor hit State Troopers NCO
President Pete Stilianessis shortly after he made the two-hour
drive to hand off the first turkey.
“People were telling us, ‘This doesn’t just feed my family on
Thanksgiving; it will last for a couple of days,’” Stilianessis re-
lated. “It was the difference in being hungry and being fed for a
couple of days.”
Stilianessis, who rallied Troopers to AC with the help of NCO
Recording Secretary David Ryan and Sergeant-at-Arms John
Ioia, praised how 500 families in Atlantic City were able to have
Thanksgiving dinner because of what law enforcement officers
did. But he also praised how law enforcement came together to
help Local 24 members as they continue to endure the storm
that has diminished their pay, benefits and working conditions.