Chatham Native Nominated to NJ Hall of Fame

Chatham native Alice Waters is one of 50 members of the fifth generation of nominees to the New Jersey Hall of Fame this year.

Waters is among 10 nominees in the Enterprise category, which includes scientists, business leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and leaders in medicine.

“We expanded our list of nominees this year because the people of New Jersey have nominated so many remarkable individuals over the past 12 months,” said John O’Brien, Chair of the New Jersey Hall of Fame Voting Committee and Director of the New Jersey Press Foundation.

Waters' main claim to fame is for her deeds not in Chatham, but on the opposite side of the country: in Berkeley, Calif., where she owns her own restaurant. As a chef and restaurant owner, she has been a champion of promoting the use of locally-grown fresh fruits, vegetables, erbs and other ingredients for cooking. She has also become a leading advocate for food education in schools and promoting a stimulus package to give every child in public schools a free breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack.

Other nominees in the Enterprise category include:           

• Alfred Vail Morristown (1807-1859): An inventor and skilled mechanic who helped Samuel Morse develop and commercialize the telegraph.
• David Sarnoff Princeton, Camden (1891-1971): Considered “the father of electronic communications,” he formed the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and the Radio Corporation of America (RCA).
• Dr. James Still Moorestown (1812-1882): Known as "the black doctor of the pinelands," he drew people from miles around New Jersey, although had no formal training as a physician.
• Elizabeth Coleman White New Lisbon Pemberton (1871-1954): She introduced the nation's first cultivated blueberry and was the first to use cellophane in the packaging of blueberries.
• John Dorrance Cinnaminson (1873-1930): A chemist by profession, he went to work for the Joseph Campbell Preserve Company, now renamed the Campbell Soup Company.
• John Roebling Trenton, Roebling (1806-1869): A German-born civil engineer, he originated the wire rope suspension bridge design.
• Mary G. Roebling Trenton (1905 – 1994): Broke the glass ceiling for women in business in general and in the banking and financial services industry specifically.
• Paul Volcker Teaneck (1927 - ): Born in Cape May, Volker graduated from Teaneck High School and Princeton University to become a leading economist and Chairman of the Federal Reserve under Presidents Carter and Reagan.
• Samuel I. Newhouse Bayonne (1895-1979): A legendary publisher and media giant, he founded Advance Publications which now owns The Star-Ledger and magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker.
  

Members of the public can vote on which of the nominees should be inducted into the Hall of Fame now through Jan. 1 by visiting the Hall of Fame website.