Steve Callender, President

Over the last 36 years, Steve Callender built his highly-regarded reputation beginning his career path as a dealer at Resorts when that first Atlantic City casino debuted in 1978. He quickly worked his way up the ranks over the next decade to Vice President of Casino Operations before making the jump to the Atlantic City Hilton as its Casino Manager.

Callender continued to build his resume as the Senior Vice President of Table Operations at Bally’s Atlantic City, where he played an instrumental role in melding the Claridge Casino into the Bally’s brand. Following that task, Callender came full circle back to Resorts as its Senior Vice President of Operations. In 2010, Steve Callender made the move to Tropicana as the Vice President of Table Games.

Callender, a graduate of Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), is currently the General Manager of Tropicana Casino & Resort.

Ellen Loughney, Vice President & Action Committee Chairperson

Ellen Loughney retired in June, 2011, after having served for nearly 26 years as an Assistant Prosecutor in the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. At the time of her retirement she was a Chief Assistant and the supervisor of the Special Victims Unit, and investigative unit comprised of Crimes Against Children and SART/SANE cases. Prior to that assignment she served in the Special Litigation (appeals), Trial, Narcotics, and Special Prosecutions Units over the course of her career.

Ellen had abundant contact with Police in the ordinary course of business, but also volunteered for the Prosecutor’s Office Police Legal Advisor Program and as a PTC Certified Instructor at the Atlantic County Police Academy. At the Academy she was an instructor for Recruit Classes (Police and Corrections), and for the ongoing year-round In-Service Program.

As a member of the Atlantic County Bar Association, Ellen has volunteered as an Attorney Advisor for Absegami High School’s Mock Trial Program (13 years) and, more recently, as a Judge in the preliminary levels of competition.

A 1984 graduate of the Rutgers School-Camden, Ellen has been a Board Member of the Law School’s Alumni Association and served two terms as the Chancellor of the Association.

Ellen serves as a volunteer board member for AtlantiCare Behavioral Health (past board Secretary) and for Career Opportunity Development, Inc. (CODI). She also serves as a member of the Auxiliary of the Weymouth Volunteer Fire Company and the South Egg Harbor Neighborhood Watch.

Ellen also is Chairperson of the 200 Club Action and Memorial Service and Brunch Committees.

Thomas Raferty III, Treasurer

 

Thomas W. Raftery III is the founder and the Managing Partner of The Falcon Consulting Group, International, LLC., a U.S. based firm serving clients globally in the areas of business integrity and compliance, safety and security, investigations, threat assessment and due diligence.

Mr. Raftery enjoyed a 23-year career in federal law enforcement. Mr. Raftery served as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1988 through June, 2010. Mr. Raftery also served as a Special Agent with the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) from 2010 to 2011 where he was deployed to Afghanistan.

Mr. Raftery was appointed as the first appointed Inspector General for the Delaware River Port Authority and the Port Authority Transit Corp. from February 2012 until October 2014. As Inspector General, he was the independent watchdog for this bi-state Authority operating four bridges, a 164-member police department, a river ferry, and a high-speed transit line.

Mr. Raftery has a B.A. in Economics from Dickinson College and a M.B.A from Drexel University with a concentration in Accounting. Mr. Raftery is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

Sarah (Sally) E. Romonowski, Secretary

Sally is the Project Coordinator for SWAP FOR RENT (Services Which Aid Professionals) of Absecon.  Between the years of 1987 and 2005, Sally served as the Parade/Hostess Administrator for The Miss America Organization in Atlantic City, dealing with a number of important responsibilities to ensure the success of the Miss America Parade and Pageant. Sally owned and operated JAVIM INC./ROMAC INVESTORS Corporation of Egg Harbor Township for twenty years and served as the Office and Project Manager for the Maxwell Construction Company.

Sally was born in Easton, Pennsylvania and has been an Atlantic County resident since 1962. She has served in a number of Community and Civic roles that include sports, recreation and scouting. Sally is married to retired Captain Fred Romonowski of the New Jersey State Police. Together they have 3 sons and 5 granddaughters.

Peggy Mallen, President Emeritus

Peggy Mallen is one of the founders of the Cape Atlantic 200 Club and the former vice president of C.O.P.S. Chapter of the New Jersey State Police Survivors of the Triangle. Her husband, Albert Mallen, was a New Jersey State Trooper killed in the line of duty in 1985.

Vincent Premone, Vice President Emeritus

Vincent Premone is a retired Atlantic City Police Department Captain and a co-founder of the Cape Atlantic Annual Memorial Mass and Breakfast. Vince is also a founding member of the Cape Atlantic 200 Club and has held various positions within the organization.

Evelynn (Lynn) Caterson, Esquire Legal Counsel

Even as wife, mother of 2 and grandmother of 5, Attorney, specializing in Business and Corporate Law, Founder/President of her own unique business SWAP for Rent (Services Which Aid Professionals), President of Absecon City Council and President of the Atlantic County League of Municipalities, Lynn still finds the time and energy to volunteer her services to many, many organizations and causes. Her background as a Municipal Court Judge and Assistant Atlantic County Prosecutor, has given her insight in the various areas she devotes herself. Presently she is serving as Member of Arc of Atlantic County’s Human Rights Committee; Charter Member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative of United Way and Chair of the Mobilization Committee; Choir Member of the United Methodist Church in Absecon and is the Delegate to the General Conference of the World United Methodist Church and serves on the Jurisdiction Committee on Investigation; Chair of both Family Service Enterprise Board and Family Service Operations Board; Co-Treasurer of the Salvation Army Absecon Service Unit; Volunteer Corporate Counsel for the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame; Member of the America Association of University Women, Atlantic City Branch.

Lynn Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Rutgers University School of Law and holds a BA degree from University of Pennsylvania in Biology and Certificate in Secondary Education.

Douglas J. Heun, Tax Advisor

Doug Heun is one of the founding partners of Tracey Heun Brennan & Co., CPA’s. Doug graduated from Drexel University in 1969 with a B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration. He is a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), and also a licensed Public School Accountant. Doug is in charge of the firm’s client development, financial planning and managerial consulting business. He also handles a full load of tax and accounting clients. Doug is a member of the Board of Directors of Sun National Bank. He is Chairman of the Bank’s ALCO Committee and serves as a member of the Audit Committee. Doug is and has been active in the community. He currently serves as Vice President of the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children in Avalon, New Jersey, is a member of the Avalon Lions Club in Avalon, New Jersey, and is President of the Challenged Children’s Charities Corporation. He is also a member of the Stockton Foundation Board of Trustees in Pomona, New Jersey, and is a member of the Stainton Foundation, Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point, New Jersey.

Rev. Louis Strugala, Jr., Chaplain

Since 2004, Reverend Louis Strugala, Jr. has served churches in the Greater New Jersey Conference of the United Methodist Church on a full time basis as a minister and Pastor. He served in Asbury Park and Highlands, Blue Anchor, and is currently appointed in English Creek and Ventnor. Prior to that, Reverend Louis Strugala, Jr. was self employed as a general contractor for approximately 20 years in New Jersey and as a licensed contractor in Arizona. Currently, his volunteer work includes being a Trustee on the Board of Family Service Association and on the Board of Trustees of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has served on a volunteer basis as an auxiliary police office in New Jersey and Arizona for approximately 10 years. It was service in that position which affirmed his belief that there are times when a Chaplain is needed in Law Enforcement settings, just as one is needed in our Armed Services.

Committee Chairpersons

Peter Tampellini, Finance Committee Chairperson

Peter is a Branch Manager, Senior Vice President – Investments with Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. He is a graduate of The College of New Jersey and has been registered for approximately 20 years. He is also a well respected Certified Financial Planner Professional.

Fred Romonowski, Membership Committee Chairman & Nominations Committee Chairman

Fred Romonowski is a licensed private investigator and a member of FSR Investigations, L.L.C., with offices in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. He served twenty-five years as a New Jersey State Trooper before retiring with the rank of captain during 1990. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Mr. Romonowski served twenty-two years in the United States military (Army and New Jersey Army National Guard) with military occupational specialties in military police, intelligence, and physical security.

Daniel Tracy, Scholarship Committee Chairman

Dan Tracy is an attorney at Goldenberg Mackler law firm in Atlantic City, where his practice is focused on representing injured workers. Prior to joining the firm, Dan served four years on active duty in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. Captain Tracy’s first assignment was at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth Kansas, where he was a prosecutor and legal advisor to the commandant and commander of the 705th Military Police Brigade. Captain Tracy was next assigned to the Army’s Trial Defense Service, where he represented soldiers charged with crimes at courts-martial and in administrative proceedings. Dan is a graduate of the Army’s Airborne School, and Northern Warfare Training Center. He was also awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

Dan is currently a Trustee of the Atlantic County Bar Association, and serves as chairperson of the bar association’s scholarship committee. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and is active in assisting military veterans. In January 2015, Dan successfully summited Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, Africa, on a trip sponsored by the Military Assistance Project, a veterans advocacy group based in Philadelphia.

Dan is a graduate of Loyola University (Maryland), where he earned a degree in accounting, and a graduate of Rutgers School of Law. He has also successfully completed various courses at the U.S. Army JAG School at the University of Virginia, and at the Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center.

Kevin Dixon, Valor Awards Committee Chairperson

Kevin Dixon moved to Atlantic County from Pittsburgh in 1984, to start a planning and engineering business which he still runs today. He lives in Galloway Township with his wife, Lisa Marie, and their three children, Tim, Shawna and Taryn. His sister, FBI Special Agent Martha Dixon was killed in the line of duty in a shootout in the Washington (DC) Metro Police Department on November 22, 1994. To rebuild their lives and preserve her memory, the family established the Martha Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping the legacy of her love for children alive, by raising funds through an annual 10K run, and building playgrounds in the Pittsburgh area, her hometown. Mr. Dixon was inspired to become more involved and finally was admitted to ride in the 2014 and 2015 Police Unity Tours to raise awareness of line of duty deaths, and raise funds for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington DC.

The Police Unity Tour helped Mr. Dixon to become more involved, and this led him to the 200 Club which he heard about through friends. He was quickly recruited to the Valor Awards Committee to help provide appropriate recognition of officers’ contributions to the community by exceptional acts of valor. Mr. Dixon believes the Valor Awards committee provides a critical component of the code of honor by which officers conduct themselves, knowing that their risk and sacrifice will always be recognized and their service will be supported. Mr. Dixon believes that recognizing officers for valor in this life reinforces their ability to trust that acts.