Now Hear This!
New Jersey Council Events, Updates & Announcements
MASSIVE DONATION MADE BY FREE COUNTRY TO THE NJ COUNCIL
In mid-December, Council Chaplain Spero Kalambakas, was discussing NJ’s outreach and support to military personnel with his friend Ted Kaidas. Ted is the Chief Financial Officer for Free Country Outdoor Gear, a California based high end outdoors clothing supplier. Their initial discussion would continue and soon involved Council President Daniel Dermer. In the final weeks of the year Free Country decided to donate heavy duty outerwear, including coats, Gator facemasks and thermals to the Council with specific requests that the donations go to NJ based US Coast Guard, US Navy and military personnel. With each discussion, the size of the donation increased as did the width and breadth or the intended recipients. By the date of delivery, the donation included all of the military units the Council sponsors, their families and also Veterans who had definitive needs.
On Monday, January 19, 2026, a tractor trailer containing 16 double stacked pallets of Free Country goods arrived at the US Coast Guard Station in Bayonne. Many thanks go out to the Aids to Navigation Teams Officer in Charge, Master Chief Quinn and his personnel for unloading and storing the 16 pallets in their facility. Due to space limitations four pallets needed to remain outside until distributed, which is a true indication as to the volume of this donation. Over the next five days, the personnel in Bayonne, together with members of the NJ Council, sorted, separated, repacked and distributed all of the contents from the 16 double stacked pallets. Pallets stacked double high and then box after box, package after package was distributed to the following units:
US Coast Guard Units:
The Aids to Navigation Team in Bayonne, the US Coast Guard Cutter Katherine Walker, the US Coast Guard Cutter Hawser, the US Coast Guard Cutter Sturgeon Bay, the US Coast Guard Cutter Penobscot Bay, US Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook, US Coast Guard Detachment Sandy Hook other US Coast Guard units stationed in Sector NY and serving NJ.
US Navy
Naval Weapons Station Earle, its tenant Commands including the US Marine Corps Recruiting District. Naval Air Station Lakehurst
Veterans Groups
American Legion Post 25 in Milltown, NJ- VFW Posts in Bayonne, East Brunswick and New Brunswick NJ - NAAM House’s Veteran Services Catholic Charities- Multiple Marine Corps League Veterans Outreach Programs New Jersey Veterans Network
Council President Dan Dermer And then there is more And more !
The US Coast Guard in Bayonne welcomes 16 pallets Dan and NWS Earles’ Master Chief The US Navy accepts 5 pallets
NJ COUNCIL MEMBERS
Dennis Blum Daniel Dermer Dennis Durkin Rich Getts Spero Kalambakas Vince Robinson Fernando Rivera
OUTREACH COORDINATORS
Doug Breen Mike Boll Tommy Coohill Bob Porter Jeanine Stawinski
2026 Installation Dinner
The Council’s Installation Dinner will be held at the Somerville Elks on January 24, 2026. The evening will begin with a Cocktail Hour featuring a cash bar at 5:00 PM, followed by a Buffet Dinner immediately after the opening ceremonies. The cost for Council Members, officers, and their guests is $75.00 per person. An official invitation will be distributed in mid-December. If you have not received an Evite and would like to attend, please contact Dan at the email address provided.
If there are additional guests or others who may be interested in attending, please feel free to forward this information so they may request an official invitation.
If you are unable to attend but would like to sponsor one of our military guests or place an advertisement in our Dinner Program and Ad Journal, please use the contact information provided below for details and payment instructions.
All requests can be made to president@njcnulus.org or via our website at NJCNLUS.ORG (New Jersey Council- Navy League of the US.)
Donations can also be made by check payable to NJC- NLUS sent to Daniel Dermer, 28 Jensen Street, East Brunswick, NJ 08816. If you need any additional information or have any questions, please contact Dan at 908-227-4017.
Requests MUST be received no later than January 15, 2026.
We are now accepting donations for ads in our Installation Dinner Program and Ad Journal. This year’s dinner will be held on January 24, 2026. Please place an ad to congratulate the Council on their successes or to wish the Council good luck in 2026. Your Ad is tax deductible since the New Jersey Council is a 501C3 charitable organization. Submissions MUST be received no later than January 15, 2026. Please use the link provided for your payments. Further information is provided in the article below titled, 2026 Installation Dinner Program & Ad Journal.
The Angels are Flying
On Saturday December 13, 2025, The NJ Council was the gracious recipient of several hundred gifts courtesy of the Manasquan and Sea Girt Police Departments in conjunction with ST. Dennis RC Church.
This yearly event collects gifts for not just the NJ Council but also two associations of the Monmouth County DCP & P. Under the direction of Father Bill and with the help of Boy Scout Troop 59 under the supervision of Jim Scmeider and Sargent Johne Ringo, hundreds of gifts have been donated to families at Naval Weapons Station Earle and the US Coast Guard in Sandy Hook and as far north as Bayonne NJ.
On behalf of the families of the US Navy and US Coast Guard and the NJ Council, THANK YOU and Merry Christmas
Twas a week before Christmas and all over the base……..
gifts, games, coloring books and stuffed animals were laid out in the Chapel of Naval Weapons Station Earle. The gifts were those collected at St Dennis’s RC Church in Manasquan with another 350 games and coloring books donated by Scott Aitken.
Pictured here are members of the First Class Petty Officers Association and Ed Gorman of the MWR Department of Naval Weapons Station Earle. All of these gifts were available for pickup by the active duty folks assigned to or living on base. Additional gifts were also available for pick up on other days and other areas.
In 2025, the New Jersey Council’s Angel Program celebrated over twenty years of toy distribution. The program strives to give every Navy and Coast Guard child at NWS Earle, all Cutters, Commands and Stations of Coast Guard Sector New York at least a warm article of clothing and a gift at Christmas. Over the course of 20+ years, the Council has joined with multiple Agency’s including AT&T, NBC Universal, Amazon and multiple small businesses & Churches.
On Saturday, December 20th, Senior Vice President Bill Aitken and President Dan Dermer visited the local Toys for Tots Distribution Center in South Plainfield. While there, they were assisted by CWO4 Nick D’Andrea (USMC Ret) and Logistics Chief Joseph Leone. Toys for Tots then donated over 100 gifts in order to supplement support to three Cutters and a Coast Guard Station.
During the visit, Council President Dan Dermer assured Nick and Joe that the NJ Council will provide volunteers for their 2026 campaign. We are very grateful for their generosity and extend our thanks on behalf of all of those that will benefit from these gifts.
The New Jersey Council-NLUS using donations from the Toys for Tots Program, Scott Aitken and other donors, delivered Angel Program gifts to the US Coast Guard units in Bayonne, NJ. The gifts will be distributed to children of the crews of the Aids to Navigation Team, The USCG Cutters Katherine Walker, Sturgeon Bay, Penobscot Bay and Hawser.
The Angel Program at large had very inauspicious beginnings. In 1997 two elderly members of the Council, Jack and Elaine Leslie started the philanthropic program by giving a few gifts to children of the Cutter Katherine Walker. As the crew of that cutter increased so did the number of the children that became part of the program. The Council officially started a Giving Tree in 1999 whereby each Council member selected a child and a wish. Those presents were selected, purchased, wrapped and delivered to the cutter.
In 2003, the Council coordinated a now large giving tree program that included three Cutters and hosted three brunch's with Santa. In 2004, the Angel Program was created and expanded to include Naval Weapons Station Earle and any other adopted units.
In twenty-one years, Dan Dermer’s Angel Program has grown in size and scope. It has endured the hardships of government shutdowns, Super Storm Sandy, and the loss of large and small donors. Throughout the years, his dedication to the mission of providing a simple gift to a military service members child has never wavered. Along the way he has enlisted the help of Council members, friends and families. At each and every turn it was and still remains all about “Kids at Christmas”. To date, this program has given over 15,000 individual gifts, with a value exceeding a half of a million dollars.
It’s Official!
On November 13, 2025, the New Jersey Council held elections for its officers and members of the Board of Directors for 2026. We are pleased to share the newly elected leadership of your Council. The New Jersey Council extends its sincere gratitude to two outgoing officers: Salvadore Chairez, who dedicated many years as Vice President of Membership, and Joe Velez, who served equally long as Vice President of Community Affairs. Council President Daniel Dermer expresses his deep appreciation for their hard work, commitment, and longstanding service to the Council. Spiro Kalambakis conducted an informal swearing-in of the new officers and Board Members so they may begin their work immediately. The formal swearing-in will take place on January 24, 2026, during the Council’s Installation Dinner and Awards Ceremony. We wish Fair Winds and Following Seas to our departing officers—many of whom will continue to serve as Directors—and we salute them for their dedication and service.
2026 Council Officers
President: Daniel Dermer *
Sr. Vice President: William Aitken *
VP Military Affairs: Fernando Rivera
VP Membership: Vincent Robinson
VP Community Affairs: Suzanne Le Blon Blum
Treasurer: Dave Guirguess
Secretary: Ashley Curcio
Public Affairs Officer: Megan Miller
Judge Advocate: Hon. Vincent Le Blon (JSC. Ret.)
Parliamentarian: Dennis Durkin, Sr.
Legislative Affairs Officer: Ken Connors
Historian: Angus Gillespie*
Chaplain: Spero Kalambakas (JMC)
Council Photographer: Frank Clyburne
Non-Officer Board of Directors
Scott Aitken
Dennis Blum
Tom Botsolas
Ken Connors
Salvador Chairez
Tom Ehlert
Carlton Hoye
David Hyman
Amber Munchback
Jason Onuschek
Greg Varga *
Joe Velez
Hank Warnke*
Andy Yurchuk
*Denotes past Council President
2026 Installation Dinner
The Council’s Installation Dinner will be held at the Somerville Elks on January 24, 2026. The evening will begin with a Cocktail Hour featuring a cash bar at 6:00 PM, followed by a Buffet Dinner immediately after the opening ceremonies. The cost for Council Members, officers, and their guests is $75.00 per person. An official invitation will be distributed in mid-December. If you have not received an Evite and would like to attend, please contact Dan at the email address provided.
If there are additional guests or others who may be interested in attending, please feel free to forward this information so they may request an official invitation.
If you are unable to attend but would like to sponsor one of our military guests or place an advertisement in our Dinner Program and Ad Journal, please use the contact information provided below for details and payment instructions.
All requests can be made to president@njcnulus.org or via our website at NJCNLUS.ORG (New Jersey Council- Navy League of the US.)
Donations can also be made by check payable to NJC- NLUS sent to Daniel Dermer, 28 Jensen Street, East Brunswick, NJ 08816. If you need any additional information or have any questions, please contact Dan at 908-227-4017.
Requests MUST be received no later than January 15, 2026.
2026 Installation Dinner Program & Ad Journal
We are now accepting donations for ads in our Installation Dinner Program and Ad Journal. This year’s dinner will be held on January 24, 2026.
The Council’s Annual Installation Dinner program will contain an Ad Journal. Please place an ad to congratulate the Council on their successes or to wish Council President Daniel Dermer and his Officers good luck. Your Ad is tax deductible since the New Jersey Council is a 501C3 charitable organization.
We ask that you kindly attach your ad with a description of what you want to say, complete with your artwork and we will take care of the rest. You can email your ad, flyer or note to president@njcnlus.org and make your payment via our website at NJCNLUS.ORG (New Jersey Council- Navy League of the US) and we will size or crop to fit as needed.
Submissions MUST be received no later than January 15, 2026. Checks can be made payable to NJC-NLUS and sent to Daniel Dermer,
28 Jensen St. East Brunswick, NJ 08816. If you need any additional information or have any questions, please contact Dan at 908-217-4017.
Donate To Our Organization
It is through donations such as yours that allows our organization to continue to support our active military and their families. Thank you.
Your donations may be tax deductible; consult with a tax professional.