Windmill Alliance To Hold Gala Celebration

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Press Release

Joseph Doria and Peggy Simpson-Baber
To be Honored at
The Windmill Alliance's Gala Celebrating “The Miracle on 5th St.”


BAYONNE, N.J., Aug. 17 – Bayonne Mayor Joseph V. Doria and Marguerite (“Peggy”) Simpson-Baber will be the guests of honor at a gala hosted by The Windmill Alliance, a longtime Bayonne nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting the area’s disabled and disadvantaged.

The gala will take place Sept. 28 beginning with cocktails at 6 PM at the Chandelier Restaurant in Bayonne. The Hon. Doreen DiDomenico, Hudson County freeholder, District 1, will be the event’s mistress of ceremonies.

The Windmill Alliance’s “Miracle on 5th Street” campaign will raise nearly $ 4 million to expand and upgrade the existing facilities on the 5th Street campus, in order to complete the organization’s long-term site plan. The Windmill Alliance seeks to recognize outstanding members of the community who share the Alliance’s mission of respectfully and effectively serving those who are disabled or disadvantaged. Doria and Simpson-Baber were chosen to be honored for their valuable contributions in this area.

The Hon. Joseph V. Doria, Jr. is serving his third consecutive term as Mayor of his hometown, Bayonne, a position to which he was first elected in May 1998. He was reelected in 2002 and in 2006. Doria served for nearly a quarter century the New Jersey General Assembly, first elected in 1979. Doria was elected Speaker of the Assembly by his colleagues for the 1990-1991 legislative session and served as Minority Leader from 1992 to 2002. On June 9, 2004, Doria was unanimously chosen by the Democratic County Committee members from the 31st Legislative District to serve as interim Senator following the untimely passing of Jersey City Mayor and Senator Glenn D. Cunningham. On November 2, 2004, Senator Doria was elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term, which ends in January of 2008.

Peggy Simpson-Baber spearheaded the opening of the Busy Bee program, which offers multi-disciplinary early intervention for young children with developmental challenges. The program, which opened in 2002, is a collaborative effort by the Bayonne Medical Center, Bayonne Board of Education and the Simpson-Baber Foundation for the Autistic. Mrs. Baber is the founder and Chairman of the Board of trustees of the Simpson-Baber Foundation. The Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to educating the public on the spectrum of Autism and providing educational, social, and recreational opportunities to children with Autism. She is the former Director of Financial Services for the Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, and is currently employed by the Bayonne Board of Education as a teacher in the Autism Program. Mrs. Baber has served as a trustee and treasurer of the Bayonne Medical Center Foundation, a Director of the Bayonne Chamber of Commerce, and a Director of the Bayonne Town Center. She is currently serving as a Commissioner of the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority.

The Windmill Alliance serves nearly 40 persons with developmental disabilities in its Windmill Center day program and up to 15 in its Windmill Residence supervised apartments program. The HIGHWAYS thrift store and counseling service is open five days a week and provides new and almost new clothing and home furnishings as well as a food pantry and crisis counseling on site. The Alliance employs 32 people with an annual budget of $1.5 million.

The Windmill Alliance, Inc. is a ministry of Trinity Episcopal Parish in Bergen Point, the Rev. Gerard A. Pisani, Jr., Rector. To purchase tickets, or for more information, please contact the Rev. Robert F. Solon, Jr., executive director, at (201) 858-4460 or rsolon@windmillalliance.org

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