Keynote speaker: Value all the working women
By ELIZABETH LITTLE/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – The Salute to Working Women Award was presented to Mary McGuckin on Thursday afternoon during a luncheon at the Ocean City Yacht Club.
McGuckin was honored for her work as manager of the Lightkeeper’s Society with Shore Medical Center.
McGuckin is a woman of community. With her work for the Lightkeeper’s Society, McGuckin has provided “concierge-like benefits” to Shore Medical Center donors. Not only is she an active leader of the Lightkeeper’s Society, but McGuckin also serves on the board for the Ocean City Ecumenical Council, which provides food and clothing to those in need.
The ceremony started with the pledge of allegiance led by Dave Allegretto and opening remarks from Michele Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce. Gillian also introduced previous recipients of the Salute to Working Women Award.
“The key to all those organizations is that you’re associated with people that also care about the betterment of Ocean City,” said Edwina Piriano, the 2006 recipient of the award. “There is nobody nicer and finer than her [McGuckin].”
Piriano noted that she was one of the first people to join the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce when it began.
“I watched it grow and it’s amazing,” she said.
Assemblyman Antwan McClellan (R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic) presented the 2021 Salute to Working Women Award to McGuckin. “Mary is being recognized as an understanding professional of business who has achieved many personal successes. God bless you, and God bless your family,” McClellan said.
“Thank you so much for this honor,” McGuckin said. “I am pleased, honored and humbled to accept this recognition and join the past recipients I have long admired and respected. I can’t express how touched I am to share this platform with you.”
McGuckin introduced and thanked her family for their support. She thanked her parents for “instilling strong morals, values and traditions, along with teaching the importance of having a good work ethic. I know they would be proud.”
“What brought me to Ocean City, New Jersey? It was my husband, Michael, who didn’t want the summers to end,” McGuckin said. She noted that she settled in Ocean City permanently because she wanted to raise her children at the shore.
McGuckin gave the attendees insight as to her career in the past. McGuckin served on the board of the Ocean City Gardens Civic Association for eight years, and the board of the Ocean City Community Center from 2009 to 2012.
“After taking 10 years off to stay home with my children, I made the decision to go back into the workforce. In 2010, I became a part of the Shore Medical family. Shore has been a wonderful place to work. Best of all, my position and responsibilities have allowed me to integrate myself into the surrounding communities, where I have had the opportunity and pleasure of forging lifelong friendships. Most all, my job has taught me the art of loving and appreciating life,” McGuckin said.
She got a standing ovation following her speech.
Keynote speaker: Salute every woman
After lunch, keynote speaker Christina Renna, president of the Chamber of Commerce for South Jersey, delivered her address. Renna served in former Gov. Chris Christie’s administration. During her time at Christie’s office, Renna was the director of intergovernmental affairs, the director of business affairs, and a legislative liaison to name just some of many responsibilities she had.
Renna’s speech centered around the reason of the hour: saluting women in the workforce. She gave insight to her career and her life in southern New Jersey, and reminisced about the COVID times finally behind us.
“We’re here to talk about working women, and saluting working women. Many of you know business professionals really have their hands full. Especially if you had children in school this past year, learning to be a teacher and a business professional. The working women really bore the brunt of so much,” Renna said. “The working women carry that burden with them, and during the pandemic I think we felt it the most. The pandemic definitely made us better multitaskers than we already are.”
“To be clear, a working woman isn’t just someone who goes into an office every day, is it? I always look at my step-sister, who was a union plumber for 27 years. It is our women in the military, fighting every day to protect us. We are here to salute all of the working women, however you define working. Every woman deserves to be saluted, no matter what that looks like,” Renna said.
Student honored
Also recognized was University of East Stroudsburg student Sara Davis. Davis wrote an essay for one of her college classes about her love for her family’s home in Ocean City. Gillian read an excerpt. “Her professor was so intrigued with it he thought it was a great tourism piece, and we do as well,” Gillian said. “Sara is very important to us.”
“One of my favorite memories is going to the boardwalk when I was very young. It’s a big treat to go on rides. It was exciting to get tickets to decide what rides to go on first,” Davis wrote. “The boardwalk is full of fun entertainment; the smell of Johnson’s Popcorn, Manco and Manco Pizza, and Shriver’s fudge.”
Davis’ essay was met with booming applause from the attendees. Gillian presented Davis with Ocean City apparel. Mayor Jay Gillian presented Davis with a key to the city, which was a surprise to everyone including Davis, who was all smiles.
“I never expected that. I grew up here, I’m just very excited I got that key,” Davis said.