Gerry De Felicis
Newspaper headlines contain the athletic feats achieved by the athletes participating on the field, mat, track or court. Rarely do the headlines include the accomplishments of the individuals who do the work of building an infrastructure so that the sporting events can be conducted. One of the individuals who was instrumental to Haddon Twp in this area is Gerry De Felicis. Gerry began his community service in the early sixties as a member (and eventually President) of the School Board. In those early days of the district creating its own high school, he was a major influence in the discussions that resulted in the high quality educational and athletic programs that exist today. In 1971, he accepted the opportunity to serve as a township commissioner and spent twenty years in that role. Although there are many other accomplishments for which he was responsible, perhaps his most notable achievement was the conversion of a mud bottom swimming facility, Crystal Lake, into a concrete bottom Olympic size pool. Still heavily used many years after it was created, this facility has become a model of community recreation planning and implementation. Still a resident of Haddon Township, Gerry and his wife Sonia raised three children, Trish, Thea and Jay, who all benefited from his contributions to Haddon Township and they have blessed them in return with six grandchildren.
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