Friday, May 1st was the day that the first installment, $5,000, was due from those who are planning to participate in the Love Hope and Strength Foundation's latest musical journey. This year, 2009, the 30 "trekkers" will be climbing to the roof of Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. The total minimum amount required for participation in what is being billed as Kilimanjaro Rocks is $14,000 and does not include the cost of air travel or the climber's personal equipment. It is probably pretty safe to assume that barring any unknown circumstances County Manager George Devanney managed to get his money in to reserve his spot once again with his teen music idol Mike Peters of the band The Alarm. To review the entire 13 day itinerary and financial requirements to participate please visit the official website at www.lovehopestrength.org
As in 2007 and 2008 there is a tie in between the Love Hope and Strength Foundation and the Union County Musicfest. There have been some rumblings that the event which was for the most part a washout last year because of a nasty Nor'easter could possibly be taking place at the old Oak Ridge Golf Course in Clark rather than the usual Nomahagen Park in Cranford. A review of the Union County website events calendar, contained the only mention of Musicfest, showing the event being scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12th and Sunday Sept. 13th in Cranford making it Union County's own mini two day Bamboozle, but of course the dates and location could change.
A separate website at www.ucmusicfest.com boasts a bit more information advising of 3 stages of live music and again a fund raising walkathon as well as a 5K run. What seemed a tad odd was that the web address did not hotlink from the county site www.unioncountynj.org nor was it just another page but rather notice it is a separate and independent "dot com" address. Why is that? Is the Musicfest becoming an entity which will exempt itself from OPRA much like the Union County Alliance has been attempting to do for years all the while accepting a huge chunk of it's funding from the public till? Circumventing the OPRA could certainly make it easier to operate out of the public view while not adhering to NJ ELECT laws regulating just what incumbents can and cannot do when it comes to public money and events when up for reelection and what donations both monetary and in-kind should be included on campaign reports.
The aforementioned situation deserves a watchful eye as does the walkathon and where Devanney gets his financial support to go to Mt. Kilimanjaro. In the past his donation meter on the LHSF web site has taken a sudden surge upward after the walkathons making it appear that perhaps he received the credit for part of the proceeds that the event generated. It is no secret that George in past letters to county employees urged their participation by walking with him. Who wouldn't feel compelled to support their boss's favorite charitable organization's activities especially in the current financial climate when jobs are at a premium? And what of his direct appeal to Union County residents via the Union County Alliance's publication "Directions" when in an article he supposedly wrote he provided instructions/directions to his fund raising page for those wishing to give him their financial support!!
So far George has managed to get himself on treks to the base camp at Mount Everest in Nepal, and Machu Picchu in Peru to commune with the Incas why not go for the hat trick and add Kilimanjaro complete with an African safari to his photo album courtesy of county residents. One has to speculate that the tax codes would put a greater value on the income benefit of the trips and free complimentary gear to the participants than on Devanney's body surfing in the mosh pit at Bamboozle Cranford…..or will that be Clark?
