Worrall employee recognized by Union’s historicalsociety

Longtime Worrall Media employee David VanDeventer was one of six ‘Class of 2023’ Union Township Historical Society inductees as part of this year’s theme of ‘Spreading The Word’ about Union.

The lavish gala was on Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Galloping Hill Caterers reception hall near the town’s iconic Five Points intersection and featured an endless cocktail hour, multiple carving stations, Venetian Table and auctioned sculptures created by a noted local artist.

VanDeventer’s background bio was included in the evening’s official hall of fame induction program and is reprinted in its entirety here:

“Dave is what you would call a quintessential ‘Kawameeh Kid.’ He grew up on Kawameeh Lane, played in Kawameeh Park and attended Kawameeh Junior High School from 1978 to 1981. His childhood backyard was literally 200 feet from the western edge of Kawameeh Swamp.

“During his busy junior high and Fightin’ Farmers high school years Dave lettered in varsity soccer and track and frequently contributed his artistic abilities to both school newspapers and countless other community endeavors.

“His family has a rich and proud Union Township heritage: Dave’s father was a beloved UPD patrolman for a quarter of a century His mother was a secretary for the township’s legendary Mayor Edward Biertuempfel during the 1960s and his younger brother just retired from the Union Fire Department after almost 26 years of service.

“After graduating from Kean College in 1988 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Dave enjoyed over a decade in the world of graphic and packaging design before returning to his earlier creative passions of entertainmentreporting and photojournalism. Dave’s two favorite side projects include an adventurous 8-year run of star-studded pop culture fan films that spotlighted dozens of Garden State comic conventions and horror shows as well as his popular New Jersey-themed foodie series called “BatDave & Strochak: The Bites Guys” co-created with former Kawameeh classmate and lifelong friend, David Strochak.

“As an ongoing content contributor to both the monthly Union Leader and the weekly Union County LocalSource for the past two decades, Dave continues to eagerly ‘spread the word’ about his former hometown’s fascinating past, evolving present and bright future.”

The five other deserving “Spreading The Word” ambassadors who were also inducted into the UTHS Hall of Fame that evening included Kathy Cryan, Adrienne Browne Dempsey, Kelly Komar, Jonny Rosser and Sal Terrezza.

To learn more about the Union Township Historical Society, their upcoming events and how you can help keep the town’s important past alive, check out unionhistory.org.