Valor Awards
NJ State PBA Member of the Year Mike Schulze Monmouth County Sheriffs Officers Local 314
The consummate room mate
To fully comprehend what elevated Monmouth County Sheriffs Officers Local 314 State Delegate to 2017 NJ State PBA Member of the Year , we have to allow that he didn ’ t want to be at the Valor Awards to receive the honor and due recognition . No disrespect . Far from it . From testifying at the State House in Trenton to dialing at a phone bank to hauling gifts for a toy drive , Schulze answers each and every union call to serve .
But on this Nov . 18 night , the NJ State PBA hockey team was playing the FDNY EMS , and at the moment he was announced member of the year , the game was tied , 1-1 . The hockey organization Schulze spawned a year ago , the one that has become a fundraising juggernaut , needed him .
Not necessarily on the ice . ( The PBA eventually scored a 3-2 victory .) The PBA hockey team has more skilled and more fleet skaters than the feisty , blueline battling defenseman that is Schulze . But what he means to this team is what he means to Local 314 , the Monmouth County Conference and the State PBA .
So to define what makes Schulze the member of the year , we must turn to hockey . Much of what motivates a hockey team occurs in what they call “ the room .” Most people know it as a locker room or a dressing room , but in hockey it ’ s just “ the room .” There ’ s nobody better in the room than Schulze . This room , or any of the PBA rooms Schulze plays .
“ When I approached Mike about starting the team , I never envisioned he would turn it into a really powerful fundraising machine ,” Colligan commented . “ He ’ s made a big impact throughout the state . Choosing our member of the year is a hard decision to make because there are so many great things our members do . And what Mike has done with the hockey team is an ongoing great thing . Our name is out there . He ’ s made the right connections . It ’ s an awesome story .”
What Schulze has accomplished has
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been nothing short of a Miracle ; partly the Herb Brooks kind and partly the act of God kind . To see how far the name is out there , merely scroll through the PBA Hockey Team Facebook Page and you will see so many exploits . You will also most likely stop at a post about team member Mike Podlaski playing in the annual NYPD-NJPD game , at which he had the chance to take a picture with Robert DeNiro .
But the scroll also documents the efforts that in a little more than a year have raised more than $ 50,000 for the NJ State PBA Survivor & Welfare Fund , as well as a number of other charities . As part of being named the Jersey Shore ’ s best nonprofit by WOBM FM Radio 92.7 , PBA Hockey played that Nov . 18 game to benefit The Ladacin Network , which provides services to children and adults with special needs in Ocean Township and was the runner-up to the PBA hockey team to be the Jersey Shore ’ s Best Nonprofit this past spring .
The year has been filled with events to benefit organizations , like a Dec . 29 match with the NJ State Police at Mennen Arena in Morristown for Mallory ’ s Army , which educates parents and students on the dangers of social media and bullying . Or the 2018 Outdoor Winter Classic at Navesink Country Club to benefit the fund for Berkeley Sergeant Alison Wray , who passed away unexpectedly of a stroke at the age of 32 .
Schulze has played hockey his whole life , but if you have seen him on the ice , you know he has played to enjoy moments like all of the above .
“ To be honest , it has surprised me a little bit ,” Schulze confides . “ But it ’ s great to get so many people together rooting behind the PBA .”
That attitude is what makes Schulze good in the room . He has displayed that all-for-one passion that has become contagious for so many PBA members .
Schulze wanted most to express his thanks to the people in the big room during the Valor Awards . Time does not permit such opportunities , but as has been the custom here , we can turn over some space to Schulze for excerpts from a speech he wrote for this occasion :