The general criteria used in selecting the honoree include the following:
1. Honoree must have graduated from Rutherford High School at least ten years prior to nomination.
2. Honoree's achievement must reflect significant accomplishment in his or her career.
3. No restrictions are placed on types of careers

Honoree's outstanding contributions must have achieved national, state, or local recognition.

The selection committee includes the following people: high school principal (chair), research assistant, vice-president of student government, social studies supervisor, and National Honor Society advisor.
A permanent recognition plaque in the high school contains the names, career fields and graduation dates of all honorees.

	Thomas R. Pickering. UNITED NATIONS AMBASSADOR 1990 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1949
	Mr. Pickering was appointed United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations by President George Bush in March, 1989. He holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the United States Foreign Service. Ambassador Pickering previously served as Ambassador to Israel from 1985 - 1988 and to El Salvador between 1983 and 1985. From 1981 until 1983, he was Ambassador to Nigeria. Previously, he was Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, completing that assignment in 1981. From 1974 until 1978, Ambassador Pickering was the United States Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

	Peggy Noonan.WRITER 1991 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1968
	Peggy has written a best selling book called "What I Saw At The Revolution," which is about her experiences as President Reagan's speech writer. She also wrote President Bush's now famous "thousand points of light" speech for his 1988 election campaign. Ms. Noonan was also a news writer for Dan Rather of 60 Minutes. She has been written about in New York Times Magazine, Ms., and Saturday Evening Post.

	Ferdinand Petrie. ARTIST/ILLUSTRATOR 1992 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1943
	Mr. Petrie spent 22 years as an illustrator for studios and advertising agencies in New York City. Although he continued to illustrate, in 1969 he concentrated on easel painting, specializing in watercolors. He is a very popular demonstrator and conducts workshops throughout the country. Mr. Petrie operated his own gallery in Rockport, Massachusetts. He was commissioned by the Smithsonian to paint 24 watercolors of the Institution's buildings, which are displayed in "The Castle," the original Smithsonian Building, Washington,D.C. Mr. Petrie is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who in The East.

	Sheryl Hilliard Tucker. EDITOR/JOURNALIST 1993 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1974
	Ms. Tucker is an Editor-In-Chief at Black Enterprises magazine. She was an editor at CBS Special Interest Publications, an Executive Vice President and partner of Tucker Hilliard Associates, a marketing communications and design firm based in New Jersey. Ms . Tucker received several national journalism awards. She was selected as one of the Ten Young Outstanding Working Women by Glamour Magazine and was inducted into the YMCA Academy of Women Achievers in 1985.

	John E. Decker. AEROSPACE ENGINEER 1994 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1969
	Mr. Decker is the Mechanical Systems Manager of the Hubble Space Telescope Project at NASNGoddard Space Center, a Structural Engineer, and Aerospace Engineer at NASA. He performed and supervised dynamic and structural analyses for the Scientific Instruments prior to the Hubble Deployment Mission. He played a key role in the resolution of the "stuck" High Gain Antenna anomaly, building a Tinkertoy model to illustrate the problem. Mr. Decker was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and Astronauts Personal Achievement Award ("Silver Snoopy").

	Herbert G. Miller. M.D. PHYSICIAN/PUBLIC SERVICE 1995 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1927
	Dr. Miller has been a resident of Rutherford since 1918. He was a Varsity Member of the 1926 RHS Championship Football Team. He is a former high school science teacher and a former member of the Rutherford Board of Education. He organized the Red Cross Disaster Emergency Program and in 1985 received the "Citizen of the Year" award. Dr. Miller is also a former President of General Hospital Center at Passaic.

	Charles Evered. WRITER 1996 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1983
	Mr. Evered produced plays at the Circle Repertory Theatre, the Guthrie Theatre, Yale Repertory, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, Brown University Theatre, Theatre Center in Toronto, Penguin Repertory, West Coast Ensemble Theatre and the Actor's Studio. He was also recruited for Steven Spielberg's film company. He is also the recipient of the Crawford Award, Eugene O'Neill Memorial Scholarship, Audrey Wood Scholarship, George Pierce Baker Scholarship, Hendon Fellowship, Bert Linder Fellowship, Writers Film Project Fellowship and the Albee Writing Fellowship. He has written screen plays for Asteroid Man. Dreamworks SKG. A Prince in New Jersey. MembersOnly and Nation's Finest. Mr. Evered directed HomesDun and Traces.

	Dr. Nancy Kedersha. CELL BIOLOGIST 1997 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1969
	Dr. Kedersha has moved into the forefront of research in cell biology and has developed her own process of photographing "Immunofluorescents." Her work has been exhibited in the the Nikon Museum in New York, in the Boston Museum of Science and numerous magazines and professional textbooks. She has been published extensively and spoken around the country in her field. Her discovery of "Vaults" many believe will form the basis for an eventual cure of cancer. She is a member of the professional societies American Association of Scientists, American Society of Cells Biologists, Microcosmos International Advisory Board and Society for In Vitro Biology.

	Louis Frey, Esq. U.S. CONGRESSMAN 1998 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1951
	Mr. Frey, a graduate of Colgate University and the University of Michigan Law School, served in the United States Congress representing the state of Florida from 1968 through 1978. During his tenure, he served on such committees as Interstate & Foreign Commerce, House Science & Technology, Space, and Narcotics Abuse & Control, as well as the Subcommittee on Communications. He was also a candidate for the Governor of Florida. Currently he is the President of Former Members of Congress and a visiting professor at Colgate and Denison Universities.

	Sister Sylvia Postles. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 1999 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1958
	After graduating in the Class of 1958, Sister Sylvia went to Our Lady of Victory Infant Home to train to become a Child Care Technician. Her work in the Pediatric Department of St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic was terminated when Sister Sylvia Postles was received into the Maryknoll Missionary Sisters Community in Valley Park, Missouri in December, 1959. Her high school ambition, "To set a goal in the eyes of God and reach it with the help of God" was to become a reality when she was assigned to Tanzania, East Africa in 1964. Working as a nurse and midwife in rural areas, Sister Sylvia was unable to communicate with the people until she studied the national language of Kiswahili. According to Sister Sylvia, the most difficult part of her work in the early days was to see people die unnecessarily due to a lack of medical care, poor diet and insufficient knowledge. Although vaccines were free, some did not avail themselves, so many children died of measles and TB as well as diarrhea and malaria. "We need a lot of health education and preventive medicine," stated Sister Sylvia.

	Thomas J. Hirata. ARTIST 2000 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1973
	As a 1973 graduate from Rutherford High School, Mr. Hirata has garnered success as a wildlife artist that includes the winning of sixteen state duck-stamp designs, two from his former home state New Jersey. Hirata received his training from the Art Students League of New York and the Art center College of Design in California. After working as a commercial illustrator in New York, Tom began to focus on painting wildlife. "You have to present the feeling that the bird, or animal, is alive when one looks at the painting." A painting of a black Labrador Retriever and hunter was the 1994 Pennsylvania Ducks Unlimited Print of the Year. His work has been shown in several museums, including the Smithsonian, the Denver Museum of Natural History, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum and the Philadelphia Academy of Art and Science.

	Barbara H. Chadwick. FREEHOLDER 2001 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1939
	Barbara H. Chadwick was elected to the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1981. She is currently serving her sixth term on the Board as Chairman of the Committees on Health & Human Services and Organization/Internal Affairs. Additionally Freeholder Chadwick is liaison to the Committee on Bergen County Board of Social Services, The Bergen County Community Action Program, and the Bergen County EMS Training Program. Freeholder Chadwick served as Mayor of the Borough of Rutherford for 10 years, and also as a member of the Borough Council for three years. In addition to holding elected office, Freeholder Chadwick has been active in the community for many years . She is a member of numerous organizations, including the Order of the Eastern Star for 52 years, the Woman's Club of Rutherford for 45 years where she has served as its President for the past six terms, the Board of Directors of St. Mary's Hospital, the Board of the Meadowlands Williams Center for the Performing Arts, and the Hackensack Medical Center Auxiliary.

	Joanne Spadoro. 2002 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1976
	Currently the senior vice-president of operations for Roche Molecular Systems in Branchburg, NJ, Dr. Spadoro developed more than twenty tests to detect various infectious disease agents. A presentation to students will be given by Dr. Spadoro on May 21 at 10:30 a.m. in the high school auditorium which will be followed by a reception in the library. Dr. Spadoro earned her B.A. in 1980 from Douglass College, New Brunswick, NJ and then received her Ph.D. in 1985 from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT. From September 1985 through August 1987 Dr. Spadoro completed a Postdoctoral Fellow for the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California at Davis.

	Ruth E. Shea 2003 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1969
	After leaving Rutherford High School, Ms. Shea received a B.S. in Biology from Muhlenberg College and a Masters in Wild Life Biology from the University of Montana. Ms. Shea has had an outstanding career in wild life biology and the environmental movement. She has served as a teaching assistant at the University of Montana, has worked as a wild life research biologist for U.S. Fish and Game, has been a District Wild Life Biologist and a Regional Biologist for the State of Idaho, was a contract employee for the U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service and is the Executive Director of the Trumpeter Swan Society.

	Ms. Leila Kenzle 2004 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1979
	Ms. Kenzle is an actress who resides in Los Angeles, Ca. Best known for her six year stint as Helen Hunt's best friend on the NBC sitcom, "Mad About You," she has also appeared in numerous television programs, plays and films. Among her credits are White Oleander, Other People's Money, "Friends", and a voice in the animated series "The Wild Thornberrys."

	Dr. Kirit Bhatt 2005 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1988
	Dr. Bhatt, Rutherford High School Class of 1988, is currently a clinical instructor in plastic surgery at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, New York University School of Medicine. A graduate of the University of Chicago with a BA in South Asian Languages and Civilization, Dr. Bhatt went on to Boston University School of Medicine where he received his medical degree.

	Ralph LaRossa 2006 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1981
	Mr. Ralph LaRossa is a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in industrial engineering, and has completed the Harvard Business School’s Program for Management Development.  Mr. LaRossa is president of PSE&G.  He also served as vice president.  In 1998 he received Gas Industry Magazine’s Outstanding Manager of the Year Award.  He is on the board of directors of Bergen County’s United Way, and a member of the Montclair State University board of trustees.

	Shimmy Mehta 2007 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1993
	In 1999 Mr. Shimmy Mehta founded the Internet-driven, nonprofit organization, ANGELWISH.ORG. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Angelwish, whose mission is to provide the public with convenient and rewarding opportunities granting individual wishes of children living with HIV/AIDS all over the world. There have been 35,000 wishes granted since its inception and a network of over 80 HIV/AIDS care centers have been created in the United States. In addition, Angelwish is working with 32 HIV/AIDS clinics in 24 countries on 6 continents. Click here to read more.
	June Kress 2008 HONOREE
	RHS Class of 1967
	Ms. Kress is the Executive Director of the Council for Court Excellence in Washington D.C. She has been in that post since 2004. Prior to that she served for nine years in the U.S. Dept of Justice as a senior policy analyst specializing in Indian Country Law and at the office of justice focusing on corrections and reentry. She also was one of the founders of St. Luke's Homeless Shelter for Men in 1991 and was a recipient of the Benjamin Cooper Award for her work with the homeless in 2002. She resides in Washington, D. C.