2006 Distinguished Service Award Recipients
Assemblyman John C. Gibson
Jack Gibson’s roots are deeply imbedded in South Jersey. He was born in Atlantic City and has been a life long resident of Sea Isle City. When talking about Jack Gibson it helps to use such descriptions as father, small businessman and church member but that still does not complete the full measure of the man.Jack has a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Villanova University and later began his career in that profession after a short stint in the U.S. Army. Over the years while living in Cape May County, Jack raised two sons, Mark and Gary while developing his own engineering and surveying firm. He also was active in education, teaching classes at Stockton College in Pomona and serving on the Sea Isle City School Board.
The people of New Jersey’s First Legislative District iniatially elected Jack to the State General Assembly in 1991. He was elected again in 2003. During his ten-year tenure,
Assemblyman Gibson served with distinction: Chairman of the Assembly Solid and Hazardous Waste Committee, Chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, a member of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and a member of the New Jersey State Beach Erosion Commission.
Jack’s many legislative achievements include laws he sponsored that dedicated $25 million annually for beach protection, increased the property tax deduction for veterans, updated the Right to Farm Act, created the Aquaculture Development Act and kept Cape May County’s environmentally-sound landfill from being closed prematurely, thus saving the taxpayers $150 million. He supported legislation to help the State’s economy by cutting the sales tax, the income tax and the corporate tax rate for small companies. Jack also has supported freezing property taxes for needy senior citizens and created the NJ SAVER program.
Jack excelled in securing funding for many local projects: the Cape May County Public Safety Training Center, a regional laboratory to combat West Nile Virus, the Multi-species Aquaculture Development Facility in Cape May, the aquaculture building and program at Cumberland County College and $12 million for the community college campus in Cape May County.
Many groups have recognized Assemblyman Gibson for his contributions to the community. He received the:
+ 2001 Paul Aiken Encore Award, Delaware Bay Schooner Project
+ 1999 Barn Raiser Award, Cumberland County Board of Agriculture
+ 1998 Outstanding Conservation Legislator Award, New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts
Jack believes one of the most enjoyable aspects of being an elected official is speaking to local school students about state history, government and being a good citizen.