West Orange Celebrates Community Spirit at Annual Community Thanksgiving Luncheon

West Orange residents and community organization members gathered at Mayfair Farms today for the Annual Community Thanksgiving Luncheon.

The event is held every year to bring together the community before the holidays in an effort to recognize and celebrate the spirit of West Orange.

The West Orange Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club International, Rotary International and UNICO National sponsored the event.

The celebration consisted of various speakers, including Mayor Robert Parisi, Joanne Kennedy of the Lions Club, guest speaker Ed Lucas and others.

Attendees also had the chance to participate in a 50/50 raffle. Proceeds from the raffle will be donated to the Holy Trinity-West Orange Food Pantry.

Paul Petigrow, president of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce, stated at the event that the luncheon has always been a “special event” that brings the community together before the holidays.

Mayor Robert Parisi thanked those in attendance at the luncheon for recognizing the community organizations and the rest of the community for their hard work through recent difficult times.

“The community has had some challenges over the past few years,” Parisi said at the luncheon. “We’ve had financial troubles, a 30-inch snowstorm the day after Christmas and three more major storms…none of us will know what tomorrow or another year will bring, so today I take pause and acknowledge my family and many wonderful people in the community that I can call friends. I give thanks and hope that everyone here are just as blessed.”

For more information on upcoming West Orange Chamber of Commerce events, visit their website at www.westorangechamber.com.