Joe Luzzi has played in an outdoor men's basketball league at Rock Spring Park in Washington Township, and now plays in a men's basketball league at the Parsippany PAL.

How did you get involved in basketball? Joe Luzzi:  It started when I was 7 years old, I would sit in the [...]]]>

Joe Luzzi

Compiled by Parsippany This Week

Joe Luzzi has played in an outdoor men's basketball league at Rock Spring Park in Washington Township, and now plays in a men's basketball league at the Parsippany PAL.

How did you get involved in basketball? Joe Luzzi:  It started when I was 7 years old, I would sit in the living room with my father and watch every Knicks game. Watching John Starks inspired me to play basketball.

   How long have you played? Thirteen years, since sixth grade.

   Where have you played? Vernon High School, County College of Morris, Sussex County Community College.

   What was your best memory from playing at Vernon High School? We had a two-game lead on Sparta, with four games to play. They were coming into our gym. If we won, we all but clinched the regular-season championship. We entered the locker room at halftime down 29-5. We ended up coming back and winning by three. The gym was packed with our fans and they stormed the court.

   What was your best memory from playing at SCCC? Hanging out with the team after our first win.

   Have you coached anywhere? In 2009-2010 as an assistant at SCCC.

   What are some of your other hobbies? Strat-O-Matic Baseball, wiffleball and yoga.

   If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why Telekinesis. I would use my mind to hit the snooze button on my alarm in the mornings before work.

   If you could have dinner with three people, living or deceased, who would they be and why? Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. My questions would be, "Who is the best and why?"

What's your sport? Contact Frank DiLeo at 973-428-6673 or e-mail contact@parsippanythisweek.com.

W e always like to file our federal income taxes around Labor Day. None of this fight-the-traffic-on-the-parkway stuff for us. Nosiree! We hunker down right in our living room, as the smoke rises from dozens of neighborhood barbecues, and do our civic duty.

   No matter how late we [...]]]> By The Editor
Parsippany This Week

W e always like to file our federal income taxes around Labor Day. None of this fight-the-traffic-on-the-parkway stuff for us. Nosiree! We hunker down right in our living room, as the smoke rises from dozens of neighborhood barbecues, and do our civic duty.

   No matter how late we are.

   And, you will not be surprised to learn, we've got our reasons.

   One year, our Jersey Shore curiosity got the better of us, and we found ourselves on the beach in Belmar on what could only be described as an overcast day. At least we won't be burned, we thought, and we slept.

   Upon awakening some hours later, we discovered a special quality of ultraviolet rays: They can travel through clouds and clothes, and they do it really well. As we tiptoed in agony back to our car, the pain ever-increasing in our raw skin, we thought longingly of the pile of W2s and interest income statements sitting on the dining room table.

   The dining room — that's the room without a single, troublesome ultraviolet ray bearing down on its occupants.

   Later, soaking in a bathtub filled with cold water and every ice cube from refrigerators up and down the street, we vowed that we would leave to the experts exposure to the sun in any sustained way. Experts who, for instance, can understand this:

   "The sunburn protection factor indicates the time a person can be exposed to sunlight before getting sunburn with a sunscreen applied relative to the time they can be exposed without sunscreen. For example, someone who would burn after 12 minutes in the sun would expect to burn after two (or more) hours (120 min.) if protected by a sunscreen with SPF 10. In practice, the protection from a particular sunscreen depends on factors such as . . ."

   Let's just stop there, shall we? It's way too confusing and, besides, we've got to get started on our taxes.

Golf  Picatinny Federal Credit Union's  12th annual Golf Outing to benefit the Capt. Sean P. Grimes Fund [...]]]> Baseball 
Joe Lavaia and Company are offering hitting, fielding and pitching clinics to local children of all ages for free. All clinics are held on Sundays. For more information, call Joe Lavaia at 973-879-4806 or visit http://www.parsippanysundaybaseball.com.

Golf 
Picatinny Federal Credit Union's  12th annual Golf Outing to benefit the Capt. Sean P. Grimes Fund will be held Sept. 13 at Picatinny Golf Club. Cost is $125 per golfer. For more information, call Tournament Director Ken Miner at 973-361-5225, ext. 240 or visit http://www.picacreditunion. com.

Daytop New Jersey Golf Invitational  will be held Sept. 20 at the Spring Brook Country Club in Morristown. For more information, call Grace DePaula at 973-543-0162, ext. 725 or e-mail to gdepaola@daytopnj.org.

8th annual Matthew C. Sellitto Golf Classic is set for Sept. 30 at Ballyowen Golf Club in Hamburg. For more information, e-mail Joe Huchko at joeh@thelinxgrp.com or call 908-281-9290, ext. 11.

NewBridge Services' 15th annual Golf Outing  is set for Oct. 11 at The Knoll Country Club West in Parsippany. Deadline is Sept. 20. For more information, visit http://www.newbridge.org.

Running 
The American Heart Association's Heart Walk and 5K Run will be held Oct. 10 at the Mack-Cali Business Campus in Parsippany. For more information or to register, call 609-208-0020 or visit http://www.morriscountynjheartwalk.org.

RPI Design Build LLC's Share The Care 5K Run/Walk  to benefit the Morris Habitat For Humanity will take place Sept. 9. Following the 5K, a Kids Fun Run for ages 2-14 will take place. Participants will run a marked course through the streets of Morris Plains. Refreshments, food, entertainment and goody bags will be provided for all pre-registered participants. Children participating will receive a medal. All net proceeds go directly to Habitat for Humanity. For more information, call 973-451-0143 or visit http://www.morrishabitat.org or http://www.morrisplainsboro.org.

Wrestling 
Par-Troy Wrestling Club  is conducting registrations for both their offseason program (going on now) and for the 2010-2011 regular season, which begins in November. Children in grades K-8 from the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills are eligible. For more information, visit http://www.parsippanywrestling.org.

Send your items for the Sports Bulletin Board to Leslie Ruse at lruse@gannett.com.

Over the past several years, Nathan Richardson has helped guide his company's efforts to help the Alzheimer's Association, both locally and nationally through fundraising and outreach.

   Richardson, a regional director with Bankers Life and Casualty Company and branch manager of its Parsippany office, has taken on [...]]]>

Patricia A. Lombreglia, left, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association's Greater New Jersey chapter, presents an appreciation award to Nathan Richardson for the efforts of Richardson and Bankers Life and Casualty in supporting the cause. (Photo Courtesy of Bankers Life and Casualty)

By MATT HARPER
SPECIAL TO PARSIPPANY THIS WEEK

Over the past several years, Nathan Richardson has helped guide his company's efforts to help the Alzheimer's Association, both locally and nationally through fundraising and outreach.

   Richardson, a regional director with Bankers Life and Casualty Company and branch manager of its Parsippany office, has taken on a leading role working with the New Jersey chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, which works to provide and enhance care for those afflicted with the disease and advance research into a cure. It is a cause that hits close to home for Bankers Life, which prides itself on  serving the financial needs of seniors throughout the country.

   "Here at Bankers, we help folks in the areas of Medicare and long-term care, so we're working with folks who can see the direct benefit of all the work that the Alzheimer's Association does," Richardson explains. "There are customers that the Alzheimer's Association helps and we've just found it a real good fit to give back in that area and hopefully help out a little bit and be a conduit helping our policy holders to get programs and services from the organization (when they are needed)."

   Bankers Life first became involved with the association's annual Forget Me Not Days fundraiser in 2003 and Richardson's branch joined the effort the following year. Over the last seven years, the company's participation has grown from involving six of its roughly 160 branches throughout the country to 150 branches this year.

   During that time, Richardson's Parsippany branch has been the leading fundraiser for the Forget Me Not donation drive four times.

   "It's real easy for our agents and all the people at the branch to get involved because they see a lot of folks that are in that age bracket and are needing care or needing services, and I definitely think we make a real good connection that way," Richardson says.

   As a result of the success his branch had with collecting donations through the Forget Me Not Days fundraiser, Richardson was asked to join the Legendary Links Golf Raffle committee and is credited by the organizations as a key fundraiser. He was asked to join the Board of Directors in 2008.

   Though he has clearly contributed a great deal to the Alzheimer's Association personally, Richardson is quick to point out that he considers himself more of a representative of the efforts of all the employees involved.

   "I think (my being named to the board) is a credit to a lot of the hard work that the folks here at this branch have done, and I'm kind of just the spokesman, really," he says. "It's meant a lot to me to see our branch participate and do so at such a high level, and it's also been very rewarding to work directly with the association."

   Richardson says that his and his company's efforts are part of a larger responsibility that local businesses have to the areas they serve.

   "We're all fortunate enough to be able to do business here in northern New Jersey and it's also very important that we do things within the community," he explains. "We can talk to our customers and tell them not only are we going to be a responsible business. ... we're going to try and go the extra mile and support the community and support folks who need care. When you put it all together like that, not only does it feel good to be part of that, but you're also helping people at a lot of different levels."

   Patricia Lombreglia, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, Greater New Jersey Chapter puts Richardson's contributions into perspective.

   "The over 350,000 New Jersey individuals and families whom we serve benefit greatly from the compassion and dedication of Nathan, and we are deeply grateful to him for all of his efforts and support," she says. "He truly is an 'Alzheimer's Champion'."

Know a local hero in Parsippany that you would like us to feature? Tel us about it at contact@parsippanythisweek.com. Put "my business" in the subject line.

Fans came clad in costumes, color contacts and even fangs for the official "Twilight" Convention last month at the Parsippany Hilton.

   The three-day convention drew vampire enthusiasts of all ages and featured cast appearances, trivia contests, a vampire ball, photo ops and autographs. The cast of The Hillywood [...]]]>

Ava Difalco, 10, and her mom Dawn, of Mount Laurel, pick out pictures at a recent "Twilight" convention in Parsippany. (Photo: Meghan Ryan)

By KATELYN FARAGO
PARSIPPANY THIS WEEK

Fans came clad in costumes, color contacts and even fangs for the official "Twilight" Convention last month at the Parsippany Hilton.

   The three-day convention drew vampire enthusiasts of all ages and featured cast appearances, trivia contests, a vampire ball, photo ops and autographs. The cast of The Hillywood Show, a troop of actors who have gained popularity for their Twilight parodies, emceed the convention dressed as the characters from the series.

   "You meet so many really cool people," said 18-year-old Melissa Milne of New Milford, who attended the event for the second year in a row with her sister, Jessica. "Yes, I like the books, and I enjoy the movies but it's a lot about the community."

   The convention, which drew roughly 600 registrants this year, celebrates the "Twilight" book series and the feature films the saga has inspired. The third movie, "Eclipse," was released this past June and generated record sales of more than $30 million from midnight showings in United States and Canadian theaters. The last two movies, based on the fourth book in the series, are yet to be released.

   "Twilight is something that's always going to be a part of my life," said Melissa Rivett, a fan who traveled from Illinois to Parsippany for the convention.

   Rivett was equipped with three different costume changes for the event and displayed two Twilight-inspired tattoos.

   Though women largely dominated the convention, some men were in the audience as well. Dressed as a vampire similar to those depicted in Bram Stoker's "Dracula," Roy Burmeister, of Atlantic City attended the event with his 14-year-old niece, Kayli Hayes.

   Joel Gutteridge of Secaucus also attended, after having purchased tickets for his wife, Anna, for Christmas. She has accompanied him to a few "Star Trek" and "Stargate" conventions over the years, he said, so he thought it would be nice to attend one for her.

   Explaining that she has read all four books four times, Anna Gutteridge said she enjoys the universal themes in the Twilight saga, and considers herself a member of "Team Edward."

   Andrea Vega of New York arrived at the Parsippany Hilton with her 13-year-old daughter, Amanda; her 7-year-old son, Justin and six other family members. They wore "Team Booboo" shirts in honor of actor Booboo Stewart, who plays the youngest wolf in the third movie and was one of the cast members who attended the convention.

   "We are real Twi-hards," she said. "Everyone is so into it."

   Amanda's bedroom is papered in posters of the cast, Vega said, and the family went to see the last two movies at midnight on the day they were released. Even her 3-year-old is learning the character names.

   Amanda said she likes the "cute guys" in the movies, while Vega, a teacher, said she appreciates the the fact that the books are age-appropriate for her teenage daughter.

   "I think it was very well-written by Stephenie Meyer," she said.

   Sisters Jenn Ceschan of Palmyra and Lisey Ceschan of Cinnaminson first met twins Patti Kessler and Chrissy Kessler of New York at last year's Twilight convention. The ladies are hoping to get a new fan club off the ground called Twi-Sisters.

   "We embrace our inner 'dorkness'," Lisey Ceschan said.

   Her sister, Jenn, added: "Who doesn't enjoy the story of first love?"

   Rachel Plaskon, 13, of Clifton, expressed a similar sentiment when asked about the widespread popularity of the series.

   "I think that it relates to what teens are going through," she said, and the "hotness of the cast doesn't hurt.

Katelyn Farago:973-428-6630; kfarago@njpressmedia.com

   The medals were presented during a recent ceremony at the Morris County Administration and Records Building in Morristown. Those whose names were added to the list of [...]]]> The Morris County Freeholders honored 12 veterans, including a Parsippany man, for their service by presenting each of them with the Morris County Distinguished Military Service Medal.

   The medals were presented during a recent ceremony at the Morris County Administration and Records Building in Morristown. Those whose names were added to the list of medal recipients Wednesday were Raymond Schmitt of Parsippany; Wilfredo Rodriguez of Dover; Angelo Scalo of Morris Plains; Roy Mabee of Hackettstown; John Jandura Jr. of Towaco; Joe Delloiacovo of Randolph; George O'Dell of Blairstown; George Ondish of Mount Arlington; John Amicucci of Rockaway; James Titus Sr. of Pompton Lakes; Frederick Orejola of Long Valley; and Willie Richardson of Morris Plains.

   The freeholders began awarding commemorative medals in 1999 to Morris County veterans, living or deceased, who participated in the 1944 D-Day invasion and the liberation of France. Since then, they have presented more than 9,000 medals to veterans who have served during conflicts from World War II to today's war against terrorism.

   Requirements for receiving a medal include having served on active duty during periods that have been designated by Department of Veterans Affairs and for which a veteran is eligible for battle pins.

   The individual may be a current or former Morris County resident, but did not have to live in the county during active duty. Honorable discharge papers are required for proof of service. Veterans or their family members must register with the Morris County Department of Human Services at 973-285-6866.

   More information about the program may be obtained by calling the Morris County Veterans Service Office at 973-285-6866.

   "It was made [...]]]> Former Parsippany High School boys basketball coach Bill Medina is taking over the Montville High varsity boys basketball job. Medina coached Parsippany for the last three seasons and resigned during the summer. The Red Hawks had their best year in 2009-10 when they made a state playoff appearance, losing to Madison.

   "It was made official July 28," Medina said of his hire. "It was just an opportunity to take another challenge. It's about coaching at a bigger school and getting a fresh start."

   Medina, who grew up in Boonton, will continue to teach at the Lincoln Park Middle School, where the commute is comparable. He replaces Joe Kaiser, who was hired to take over at Montville late in the 2009-10 preseason after a previous coach was dismissed.

Museums and historic sites throughout the county, including the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in Parsippany, opened their doors for free, while encouraging [...]]]>

From left are Karen Hollywood of Macculloch Hall Historical Museum and Gardens; Betty Wyka of the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms; Jody Marcus of the Community Children's Museum; Mark Texel of the Morris County Park Commission, and Bonnie-Lynn Nadzeika of the Morris County Historical Society at Acorn Hall.

 Representatives of several Morris County museums recently came together to donate about 700 pounds of food collected during the Morris County Alliance for Tourism's annual "Be Our Guest" museum open house day.

Museums and historic sites throughout the county, including the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in Parsippany, opened their doors for free, while encouraging guests to contribute a nonperishable food item for the Interfaith Food Pantry in lieu of the normal admission.  F

NAME:  Diana DeMottie    AGE:  9   SCHOOL:  Center for Clay Art in Parsippany 

   What do you like most about the art you make? I like how it turns out when it's done because it's always a surprise, the glazes are different every time.

   What other things do you participate in at [...]]]>  

Diana DeMottie, 9, is a student at the Center for Clay Art in Parsippany.

NAME:  Diana DeMottie
   AGE:  9
  SCHOOL:  Center for Clay Art in Parsippany 

   What do you like most about the art you make? I like how it turns out when it's done because it's always a surprise, the glazes are different every time.

   What other things do you participate in at school? Hand building.

   Are there any accomplishments that stand out to you? The hand-built animals I've made, such as a hedgehog and a cat, stand out. They were hard to do, but came out very well.

   Who are your role models? I don't have any right now because I'm only 9.

   What are your plans for the future? I want to live on a farm, and own a bakery, and sell my art pieces.

If you'd like to nominate someone to be featured in the Student Spotlight section, contact Aaron Morrison at amorrison@njpressmedia.com.