Lake Hopatcong Foundation employee honored

Donna Macalle-Holly, grants and program director of the Lake Hopatcong Foundation, won the Clean Waterways Award from the New Jersey Clean Communities Council (NJCCC).

JoAnn Gemenden, executive director of the statewide litter-abatement program, presented the award during the second annual New Jersey Sustainability in Motion Conference in Atlantic City in March.

Macalle-Holly coordinated the Lakewide Community Cleanup on Nov. 4, an event organized by the Lake Hopatcong Foundation and the Lake Hopatcong Commission.

The cleanup was timed with the state Department of Environmental Protection’s five-foot drawdown of the lake, which takes place every five years.

The Lake Hopatcong Foundation was founded in 2012, and Macalle-Holly has coordinated cleanups in 2013, 2018 and 2023.

Last year, there were 50 cleanup crews composed of nearly 600 volunteers. Using 50 access points to the lake, volunteers removed 28,000 pounds of trash, including 900 tires.

Macalle-Holly worked with four municipalities that border the lake - Hopatcong, Jefferson, Mount Arlington and Roxbury - as well as many other stakeholders and volunteers.

Gemenden said community outreach and media coverage before the event were vital.

For information, go online to lakehopatcongfoundation.org, NJClean.org or LitterFreeNJ.com