Harry Pozycki, Chairman of the Jersey Call to Service. Photo by John M Flores

 250 people attended the Business Call to Service Conference on Monday November 1st at Raritan Valley Community College. The conference was hosted by the Citizens' Campaign and the Somerset County Business Partnership. Mike Kerwin, President of the Somerset County Business Partnership said he co-hosted the Call to Service event because he believes that business can influence economic development by getting more involved in government leadership. Listen to his podcast interview. 

The conference began with Harry Pozycki, Chairman of the Citizens' Campaign, recruiting the audience to answer the Jersey Call to Service, the movement to inspire and empower 5,000 people to constructively participate in the leadership of New Jersey government and political parties. His presentation featured an introduction to the tools and training the Call to Service offers to empower individuals to get results in their communities and beyond.

Watch video interviews from the Business Call to Service. Interview by Caroline Pozycki

  
Harry described the "People's Tool Kit," and its model "Ready for Adoption" waste cutting laws that Cherry Hill and Vineland citizens recently used to cut wasteful spending in their government and school districts, resulting in savings of over $6 million. The Citizens' Campaign interviewed people after the presentation, and it was clear that they were inspired to take advantage of the offer of power to make positive change. (Click to watch video interview) 

Kelly Johnston, VP of Governmental Affairs, Campbell Soup, giving the keynote address at the Business Call to Service Conference. Watch the entire conference at www.JoinTheCampaign.com

Kelly Johnston, VP of Governmental Affairs, Campbell Soup, who has been involved with the Jersey Call to Service since its launch gave an inspiring keynote address. You can watch the complete video coverage of the Business Call  to Service Conference on our website www.jointhecampaign.com. The Home News Tribune recorded the event and broadcast it live on their website and also shared it with us. The Courier News also covered the event (read story and view photos) as well as New Jersey Newsroom (read story) and NJ BIZ (read story). 

Dennis Bone, President of Verizon, moderating the Corporate Citizenship Panel at the Business Call to Service Conference. Photo by John M Flores

A panel of business leaders discussed how they are exploring ways to support and promote employee involvement in public service, and how they have been connecting their employees to the Jersey Call to Service. Dennis Bone, President of Verizon, led this panel on Corporate Citizenship. He told the audience that he had invited all his employees to the statewide Jersey Call to Service Summit this summer and had hosted a number of leadership forums for his employees. Mr. Bone expressed his determination to do even more.

Courtney Billington, VP at Janssen Supply Group, a Johnson & Johnson Company. Photo by John M Flores.

The Corporate Citizenship panelists included Melissa Feltmann, US Community Affairs Director of sanofi-aventis, Courtney Billington (pictured), Vice President of Manufacturing and Technical Operations at Janssen Supply Group, a Johnson & Johnson Company and Finn Caspersen Jr, Executive Vice President & General Counsel at Peapack-Gladstone Bank. They discussed their businesses involvement in community service and agreed that they would like to engage their employees in constructive citizen leadership by promoting the Jersey Call to Service. How can a business best Answer the Call? Connect your employees to free events offered by the Jersey Call to Service, share with them our website, our newsletter, and our free classes. Then incorporate the Call to Service in your advertising campaigns, and share the movement with your customers.