On Thursday, September 24 the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (GCADA) recognized the volunteers of the year for 2015 at a ceremony at the Mercer Community College Conference Center in West Windsor. GCADA funds the Verona Municipal Alliance Committee (VMAC) as part of its mission to develop and disseminate public awareness campaigns to reduce the stigma associated with alcoholism and drug abuse.
This year, Suzanne Broullon was selected as the volunteer of the year from Essex County. Broullon has been an active member of VMAC for over 13 years. She joined VMAC as an SCA liaison for an elementary school. As a member of the VMAC Board, she served as recording secretary and co-chair, before serving as chairperson from 2013 through 2015.
During Broullon’s tenure as VMAC chair, her greatest accomplishment has been her ability to reach out to leaders of other community groups and partner with them to bring programs to Verona. In the 2014-2015 school year, two programs in particular were made possible because of the coordination among several groups in town, a workshop dealing with heroin addiction and “Hidden in Plain Sight”, which used a mockup of a teenager’s room to illustrate potential warning signs to parents.
