Dr. Norma S. Blecker Seashore Gardens Foundation will host its annual Gala and Silent Auction. on Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. At the Gala, Drs. Norma and David Blecker will be the recipients of the "2009 Martin H. Klein Executive Leadership Award".

Receiving the "2009 Labov Bernstein Seashore Gardens Living Center Community Service Award" is The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

The Gala pays tribute to the honorees for their outstanding service and dedication to Seashore Gardens Living Center and the community.

Training others and helping the community have been the ideals of Norma and David Blecker.

Norma S. Blecker, Ed.D. is an Associate Professor of Education at The Richard Stockton College of N.J. She had a 30- year career in public education as a teacher, reading specialist, learning disabilities consultant, school administrator and student advocate, striving for excellence in education for all the school students in her charge. To expand her dream to improve the quality of education for young students, she began a second career in higher education.

Dr. Blecker had been an adjunct professor at Rutgers University, while still working as Director of Special Education of the Upper Township (Cape May Co.) School District. For the past seven years, she has been a full-time professor, initially at Georgian Court University and now at Stockton College. Dr. Norma Blecker has had the opportunity to mentor hundreds of teachers. She continues to lecture locally, nationally, and internationally on varied topics within special education.

Dr. David L. Blecker Norma has focused most of her volunteer activities on committees that would benefit from her professional expertise. She served on the Board of Jewish Education for over 20 years including a term as president. She served for many years as vice-president of education of the Hebrew Academy Board, as a member of the Board of Camp Ramah in the Poconos, for 20 years on the board of Congregation Beth Judah, and as a member of the Jewish Federation Board. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Seashore Gardens Living Center.

David L. Blecker, M.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UMDNJ-SOM. After training at Presbyterian University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and Hahnemann (now Drexel University), Dr. Blecker arrived in the Atlantic City area with the dream of improving the quality of medical care in our community.

He co-founded the first Dialysis Unit at the Atlantic City Medical Center, established the first Ambulatory Hypertension Center in Atlantic City and was the Medical Director of the first Community Health Center in Atlantic City. He has devoted the past 31 years to training more than 100 medical residents at Atlanticare Regional Medical Center; more than 25 of these trainees currently practice in our area.

Dr. Blecker has aided in establishing six chronic dialysis facilities in our region, which currently serve over 600 patients. He has been selected as a Top Doctor by Philadelphia Magazine for the past 5 years.

As an enthusiastic volunteer, he served on the boards of the Jewish Community Center for 4 years, Camp Ramah in the Poconos for 18 years, physician division of Federation for 25 years, and Congregation Beth Judah for 30 years (president 2005-7, chairman of the board 2007-9). Currently Dr. Blecker is a Trustee of Bacharach Rehabilitation Center.

The Bleckers are most proud of their children, Hillary, Saul and his wife, Nina, and their granddaughter, Josephine. They are devoted to Seashore Gardens Living Center, not only as an important resource to the community, but also home to Norma's mother, Lillian Shifrin, a retired teacher. The Blecker's commitment to the surrounding community along with their contributions to education and medicine make them appropriate recipients of "2009 Martin H. Klein Executive LeadershipAward."

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey is a nationally recognized liberal arts college with numerous accomplishments, including being ranked among the Best Universities/Master's in the North by U.S. News and World Report for the second consecutive year, classified as a "highly selective college" by the Princeton Review, and is cited as one of New Jersey's ten "architectural treasures" by New Jersey Monthly (April 1999). In addition, Stockton College is accredited by more than a dozen associations for its education, nursing, and health programs.

Besides its ongoing commitment to educating its students, Stockton College is devoted to providing additional resources to our great community. The College's Career Center offers free job-placement assistance; their Small Business Development Center gives direction and assistance to local businesses associated with the casino industry; the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy helps advocate for the policy needs of the region; their Performing Arts Center serves as a cultural hub for southern New Jersey; the Stockton Center on Successful Aging promotes research, education, and services related to the aging population; and the Institute for Community Development cultivates non-profits and community-based organizations through technical assistance and training.

These are just a few highlights of the College's ongoing initiatives that help strengthen our community and illustrate why The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey was a natural choice to receive the "2009 Labov Bernstein Seashore Gardens Living Center Community Service Award."

"We are delighted to pay tribute to this year's honorees for their dedication to bettering our community. We encourage those who have a connection to Norma and David Blecker, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey or Seashore Gardens Living Center, to participate in this year's Gala. All proceeds from the Foundation Gala help Seashore Gardens Living Center to continue to provide quality and compassionate health care to seniors in our community." states Martin Klein, President and CEO of Seashore Gardens Living Center.

The Gala will take place at Seashore Gardens Living Center, located at 22 W. Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $175. For more information on sponsorship opportunities or to purchase tickets, please call (609) 748-4614 or email scismh@seashoregardens.org.

The Simon & Sylvia Zisman Seashore Gardens Living Center is a nonprofit Home for the Aged, guided by Jewish tradition, law and charity, and open to people of all races, religions and creeds. Services at the Living Center include short-and long-term care for seniors as well as an Assisted Living Residence, a Health Care Center, a community senior fitness center, rehabilitation services and an Alzheimer's Residence. Seashore Gardens Living Center strives to set the standard in senior living with its unique "boardwalk" design, art deco décor, homelike accents and attention to detail. The Living Center also features a café, beauty salon and wheelchair accessible 4-hole putting green. The Living Center is dedicated to enriching the quality of life for its residents.