Caring Basket Gala

Assumption College for Sisters to bestow awards at annual Caring Basket Gala

 

DENVILLE  The Family Life award, the Servant Leader award and the Education award will be given to honorees by the Assumption College for Sisters (ACS) here at the 19th annual Caring Basket Gala on March 26 at the Hanover Marriott, Whippany.

Receiving the Servant Leader Award will be Thomas Anselmi of Florham Park. He and his wife, Linda, were married more than 50 years ago at St. Joseph Church, Maplewood. Their son, Thomas, works with the family business, Anselmi and DeCicco of Maplewood.

With his brother Eustace “Gus” Anselmi, he inspired a company of bold innovators and achievers, known for their honesty and integrity. Anselmi & DeCicco, with more than six decades of experience in constructing infrastructures, has grown into one of the most well-known construction companies in the tri-state area. He attributes success in the business to the dedication of the more than 100 employees, many of whom have been with the company for years.

Benedictine Brother Paul Diveny, former headmaster of Delbarton School, Morris­town, will receive the Education Award in recognition of his lifelong service to Catholic education. Brother Paul attended St. Benedict Prep, Newark, and the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He earned a diploma in Monastic Studies from the Pontificio Ateneo Sant’Anselmo, Rome, Italy, professing solemn vows in 1981 and returning to St. Mary Abbey, Morristown.

He also served as prior of St. Mary’s Abbey from 2004 to 2007. After teaching German and Latin at Delbarton, Abbot Giles Hayes appointed Brother Paul to serve as the 10th headmaster of Delbarton School in 2006. He served in this role until 2018. He now serves as the treasurer of St. Mary Abbey and as the abbey’s vegetable gardener.

Receiving the Family Life Award will be Louis and Julianne Modugno. They are the parents of three children, Isabella, Christiana, and Nicholas. The Modugnos see their Catholic faith as foundation in family life, the development of their children and service to the greater community.

The Modugnos are formally parishioners of Assumption Parish, Morristown, while they participate in Mass frequently at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson.

Julianne Modugno is a registered nurse at the Academy of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station. She is also very active with Del­barton School and Villa Walsh Academy, Morristown, which their children attend.

Louis Modugno serves on the advisory board of St. Paul Inside the Walls, Madison, as a trustee of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, and is the finance committee chair at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

He is a Partner with McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP, Morristown. In 2006, he was named one of New Jersey’s “Top 40 Lawyers under 40” by the New Jersey Law Journal. In addition, Martindale-Hubbell awarded Mr. Modugno its AV Peer Review Rating, its highest level of professional excellence and he has been listed in Best Lawyers® (2015-2020), a Woodward/White Inc. business and partner with U.S. News & World Report, in the areas of Con­struction Law and Litigation-Construction.

Sister Joseph Spring, president of Assumption College, said the Gala is not only an extraordinary event to honor those called to service, it is also the college’s primary source of funding. “Not only does it help underwrite the operating expenses,” she said, “it also generates the funds necessary to provide full scholarships to sister students from developing nations who do not have access to higher education in their homelands due to lack of funds or societal norms that do not value the education of women. We are grateful to our honorees for supporting this mission.”

The gala will feature a mystery raffle, raffle baskets and silent and live auctions. Individual tickets are available for $200. There is also an opportunity to participate in the Gala’s advertising journal.