Rudloff named Person of the Year

Jefferson-Township resident Bill Rudloff has been named "Person of the Year" by Catholic Charities' Department for Persons with Disabilities. A member of the department's board of trustees since 1999, Rudloff frequently spends entire days volunteering at the organization's Gruenert Employment Center. He also serves as the chairperson of the Gruenert Task Force and researched and successfully developed the Christmas card project. Rudloff also volunteers at the Wallace House in Sparta, one of the department's nine adult group homes. He has included the residents as volunteers of the kitchen committee at the weekly Marquette Knights of Columbus Council No. 588 bingo event held at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta. Rudloff is a daily communicant at Our Lady of the Lake and serves as an usher at weekend Mass.  He serves as a member of several church committees, including the carnival, beefsteak and Haiti committees.  He has traveled to Haiti on six occasions in the last few years doing humanitarian work. On his most recent visit, he helped to design and build a church/school. Rudloff is a Past Grand Knight as well as a Faithful Navigator of the Fourth Degree and he also coordinates the Knights of Columbus golf tournament for his Council. He is an officer with the Paterson Federation of the Knights of Columbus Councils, an organization encompassing all of the Knights of Columbus Councils in the Diocese of Paterson.  Additionally, he is a life member of the Jefferson Township Rescue Squad. Rudloff and his wife of 34 years, Gale, have three married children: Morie, an officer with the Morris County Sheriff's Department; Todd, a quality-control software specialist; and Jeni, a dental hygienist. Rudloff retired after 29 years as engineer for AT&T and is currently employed part-time as a ski instructor at Mountain Creek in Vernon. "Bill is always the first person to volunteer anytime there is an opportunity to help someone," said Thomas Barrett, DPD executive director. "He truly exemplifies the ideals of the DPD." Joseph Duffy, Secretariat for Catholic Charities executive director added, "The DPD is fortunate to have Bill as a dedicated member of the Board of trustees and volunteer." Rudloff will be honored at the Department for Persons with Disabilities' Murray House Dinner Dance on Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Cotillion Restaurant in Garfield. For information and tickets, call Roy De Franco at 973-697-1230. The Department for Persons with Disabilities is a Catholic Charities Agency of the Diocese of Paterson.