MACRIE , from Page 1 time experience gained at Macrie Brothers Blueberry farm . for the past year , Macrie has also served on the atlantic County Board of agriculture . Macrie said that , previously , his father and two uncles have also served on that board .
“ Now that me and my cousins are older , myself and my cousin Nick [ Macrie ] felt it was time for
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us to get on a board and start getting more information , and make sure we ’ re getting personable with other people in agriculture , just to see the ins of everything and knowing who is in charge of what , and just to keep our minds open and aware of everything that ’ s going on in our county ,” Macrie said . Macrie said that his interest in the agriculture development
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board — which , according to Macrie , handles , among other matters , farmland preservation and right-to-farm acts — grew from his participation with the board of agriculture .
“ there was talk of it in one of our meetings a couple of months ago . i noted that i was interested , so i sent an email out about how could i apply , and what i could do to be on the board . i thought it was another thing where i ’ d be able to learn and meet people in atlantic County who are working in this side of agriculture ; to learn , and help out any way i can ,” Macrie said .
Macrie noted that farmers are preferred members of such boards , and he is able to bring his experience to both .
“ the board of ag [ riculture ] covers all types of agriculture . My expertise comes from the blueberry side , so it ’ s to make sure whenever there ’ s any kind of information about blueberries , blueberry farming or any kind of employee relations with the seasonal workers , it allows them to get a perspective from blueberry farmers , because there ’ s also vegetable farmers on the board and cranberry farmers ; there ’ s all different farmers on the board , so it ’ s nice to have a blueberry perspective , especially since blueberries are such a big part of the town of Hammonton . We try to
Wednesday , March 31 , 2021 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3
Hammontonians serving on Atlantic County boards
keep ourselves in the board of agriculture ,” Macrie said . atlantic County fifth District County Commissioner James Bertino said that such positions are open to all qualified applicants , and described the appointment process .
“ Normally , they ’ d send their resume or request into the county executive , saying they ’ re interested in a particular committee . if there ’ s an opening that opens up , then the county executive and the administration review the applications , then submit the app of the best qualified to the board of commissioners for approval ,” Bertino said . Bertino noted that all such appointed positions are unpaid , and that several come from this area .
“ it ’ s all volunteer ; they all volunteer their time , and we are happy to take advantage of their experience and expertise in helping us run atlantic County ... there ’ s quite a few Hammontonians that are serving in different areas of atlantic County government ,” Bertino said .
One such Hammonton resident is John Lyons , a commissioner with the atlantic County Utilities authority ( aCUa ), first appointed in 2015 .
Lyons brought with him years of experience , having served on the Hammonton Board of education since 2003 , and also serving on the
New Jersey attorney ethics Committee .
“ i serve on a lot of different boards and commissions . i was chairman of the zoning board , and a member of the zoning board for a long time . i appreciate the value that the volunteers that serve on these different boards and commissions bring to the table . it ’ s important , and you ’ ve got to have smart , level-headed people making these choices and decisions . i felt like i can really contribute to the board , so i worked with the freeholders and submitted my paperwork to be considered , and it worked out ... Certainly , the aCUa is something that intrigued me in terms of the work that the authority does , county-wide , and how pivotal of a role it plays . it ’ s something i wanted to be a part of ,” Lyons said . Lyons said that he appreciates having the opportunity to serve , and believes such positions are “ equally as important — or sometimes even more important — than the role elected officials play .”
“ as a commissioner on the aCUa , i serve with a number of other people from across the county . We meet to approve spending , work with the administration to identify the vision and some of the decisions that get made as far as initiatives that
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