UPPER FREEHOLD — Two mayors were in attendance at the July 23 Township Committee meeting, as both Upper Freehold and Jackson townships honored young men and women from the Allentown High School (AHS) class of 2009 who elected to serve in the military upon graduation.

Jackson Mayor Michael Reina was there to read a proclamation for Abigail Chek, a Jackson resident who attended AHS through its Choices program. Chek won admission to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., and left for her new school on July 27. Reina's proclamation stated that the U.S. Naval Academy seeks highly motivated individuals who excel both academically and athletically.

The other AHS graduates honored were Kyle Abbott, William Nitschman, Sean Beams, Adam Gravatt, Brant Leach, Ben Richards, Joseph Tegano, and Joseph Warner. Only Abbott, Nitschman and Chek were at the ceremony. Some of the others have already reported for duty.

Upper Freehold Mayor Steve Alexander is also Maj. Stephen Alexander, an Air Force reservistwith the 108th Air Refueling Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, based at McGuire Air Force Base in Wrightstown, who served in Iraq as a judge advocate general. He said the nine AHS graduates who are entering the armed forces "embody everything good in our youth." Alexander said the commitment they made to their country and the sacrifices they will make are appreciated. He said that they have heard sound bites and slogans like "go for it" and "no pain, no gain" and those will soon no longer be sound bites but a way of life for them. "With honor and pride, we wish you success and a safe and healthy future," he said. Alexander also thanked Bruce Novozinsky, the chairman of the Upper Freehold Veterans Council, for coordinating the event.

Christopher Nagy, the principal of AHS, said he couldn't begin to tell the graduates how proud their school was of the men and women who elected to serve their country. "AHS is always your home," he said.

Sheila Bogner, mother of Kyle Abbott, said although his decision to go into the military was a shock to her, she was very proud of his decision.

Chek's mother, Joanne, said this has been her daughter's dream since she was 11 years old. "You've got to believe and trust and pray," she said.

Military personnel from AHS get a special gesture of thanks from Operation Redbird, which sends "care packages" and letters to AHS graduates serving in the military.

Anastasia Essl, who works at AHS and runs Operation Redbird, asked that anyone knowing of AHS graduates in the service should let her know so they can be put on Operation Redbird's list. Alexander said that when he was deployed in Baghdad, he received letters from fourthgrade students at the elementary school.

"When we left in a convoy, we used to tap [the letters] as a ritual," he recalled.