FREEHOLD, NJ – On the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 27, the plaza in front of the Hall of Records will be filled with great music, good times and the family and friends of Bill Heine when the inaugural Hope for the Hungry Concert takes place.
Standout local performers Jo Wymer, Jerry Topinka, Chuck Lambert and Meant To Be will perform a free concert from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. as part of an event to benefit the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The rain date is Friday, Aug. 29. Downtown Freehold has teamed up with the family and friends of Bill Heine to create an extra special evening of music and good food in his memory.
Bill, who passed away suddenly in 2012, had been Monmouth County’s chief spokesman and director of public information from 2005 to 2012. Bill’s Family and Friends Fighting Hunger, or BFF’s Fighting Hunger, has worked with Downtown Freehold to encourage several of the local restaurants to offer special menu items on the evening of the concert.
“Bill loved jazz and being with family and friends,” said County Administrator Teri O’Connor, liaison to Downtown Freehold. “The concert is being put on in Bill’s memory and will help us carry on his enthusiasm for music, food and time spent with people we care about.” The FoodBank will be on hand at the event to accept food donations and monetary donations.
Bill coordinated many of the details of the County’s largest food drive in 2012 that brought in more than 21,000 pounds of food and helped reduce hunger in Monmouth County.
“Bill Heine was a great friend of the FoodBank who was dedicated to fighting hunger in our communities,” says Carlos M. Rodriguez, FoodBank executive director. “His passion and commitment to helping others lives on through events like these. We’re grateful that Bill’s friends and family chose to remember him this way.”
The FoodBank is the primary provider of food and other resources to a network of 300 feeding programs in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. One out of ten residents – including 51,000 children – receives emergency food from the FoodBank.
Bill had been employed with Monmouth County as the chief spokesman and department head of the Monmouth County Public Information and Tourism Departments form 2005 to 2012. Bill also championed many charitable endeavors including many food drives for the FoodBank and the Howell Little League.
Bill was honored for winning a nationwide photography contest sponsored by the National Association of County Information Officers and was the recipient of many other state and national awards for his work in the county’s public information program.
Prior to his employment with Monmouth County, Bill served as the spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance and State of New Jersey Public Defenders Office. He was also a reporter and editor for the Asbury Park Press from 1980 to 1997.
“Bill was a consummate professional and touched many people on both a personal and professional level,” said County Administrator Teri O’Connor. “Bill’s keen wit, intellect and attention to detail is missed by many; this evening will be a nice remembrance of him.”