CLINTON Freedom House hosted the 15th Distinguished Citizens Award Banquet on Monday, Dec. 8 at Fiddlers Elbow Country Club in Bedminster Township.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Family Save-A-Life Scholarship Program, which supplements every residents stay at Freedom House and The Family Afterward and provides a full scholarship for indigent clients.

This years banquet honored former Freedom House CEO Frederick T. Reihl. Reihl was appointed to the position of executive director of Freedom House in November 1990 and became Freedom Houses first CEO in 1997. Reihl oversaw Freedom Houses major developments, including the establishment of the Foundation and the introduction of The Family Afterward Program, a program that seeks to reunify recovering women with their children and families.

It has been a great honor to work with an organization that is at the forefront of combating the pressing drug and alcohol issues in New Jersey, Reihl said. I am confident that Freedom House will continue to do great work and serve as a critical resource for many more decades to come.

In addition to honoring Reihl, the evening also highlighted the successes of recent Freedom House graduates to raise awareness of the growing heroin problem in the state, especially in suburban areas. Donna DeStefano, a New Jersey mother devastated by her daughters own heroin addiction in 2010, was the keynote speaker. DeStefano was featured in the video Mom Knows Best: A Crucial Message for Parents, produced by Partnership for a Drug-Free NJ in cooperation with the Governors Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the state Department of Human Services. Lead sponsors of the event include Chubb & Son Insurance, Preferred Concepts, LLC, Commercial Mortgage Capital, KRE Group, Navigators Management Company, Inc., The Cavanaugh Family Foundation, and C.R. Bard, Inc.

Reihl has been celebrated for his impact both at Freedom House and on addiction services in the State of New Jersey. Reihl was appointed by Gov. christie Whitman as the first member of the New Jersey Alcohol and Drug Counselors Licensing Committee. He is a faculty member of The Rutgers Summer School of Alcohol Studies. In 2003, Reihl was honored by Sunrise House for his outstanding contribution to the field.

In 2004, he was one of the first counselors to become a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor in the state.

Prior to his appointment at Freedom House, Reihl served as Director of a detox center run by the Bergen County Department of Health. Previously, he was employed as Director of Addiction Services for King James Care Centers. Reihl developed and administrated an outpatient program for a major hospital, served as executive director of an affiliate office of the National Council on Alcoholism, created an alcohol detoxification unit for the City of Newark and beganthe Law Enforcement Alcoholism Program for police officers.

Email: jsaccenti@newjerseyhills.com

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Freedom House in Clinton honors former director