(MORRISTOWN, NJ)— On Saturday, October 14, 2006 the Friends of the Morris Museum will honor community leaders at the Kaleidoscope Ball, the museum’s annual black tie gala. Fred H. Rohn of Madison, NJ will receive the ninth annual Chester H. Newkirk Award. The museum will also award the third Community Spirit Award to David Grant, president and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.  

The annual Kaleidoscope event will be held at the North Maple Inn in Basking Ridge, New Jersey and will feature both a live and silent auction, music and dancing. Guests will enjoy entertainment by the Anthony St. James Orchestra and cuisine prepared by the renowned North Maple Inn executive chef and former UN chef, Scott Lahey.

The evening will benefit the many exhibitions, performances and educational programs that the Morris Museum provides to more than 200,000 adults and children each year. For an invitation, please call 973.971.3733.

Chester H. Newkirk Award – Fred H. Rohn

The Morris Museum is pleased to honor Fred H. Rohn with the Chester Newkirk Award for his outstanding dedication and leadership to the museum over the past 15 years. The award, named after the Morris Museum’s first professional director, is awarded to individuals who have shown consistent hard work, dedication and generosity through their volunteer efforts, both at the museum and within the community.

“I am most honored to accept the Chester Newkirk Award at this year’s Kaleidoscope Ball,” said Rohn. “There have been many great community leaders who have gone before me to accept the same award. I am quite proud to be included among them.”

Rohn serves the Morris Museum in various capacities. He chairs the Morris Museum Foundation, serves on the Campaign Cabinet and is a member of the Executive, Finance and Investment Committees. He has been involved with previous capital campaigns that included the Bickford Theatre and the Main Gallery.  

Formerly a partner-in-charge at Deloitte and Touche’s Morristown office and a member of the firm’s management committee, Rohn is now a general partner of North American Venture Capital Funds. He is a past president of the NJ State Board of Accountancy and has chaired both the New Jersey Historical Society and the Madison Area YMCA. He is also actively involved as an alumnus of Colgate University.

With a B.A. from Colgate University and an M.B.A. from New York University, Rohn has authored four books on the subject of business and accounting. The first book was an international prizewinner in 1963. He then went on to write three others.

Rohn has four children and nine grandchildren. He and his wife, June, grew up in Hillside where they attended high school together. They now reside in Madison, New Jersey.

Community Spirit Award – David Grant, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

The Friends of the Morris Museum will honor David Grant with the museum’s Community Spirit Award. He will accept the award on behalf of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, a Morristown-based foundation that provides financial support and guidance for pre-collegiate education, environmental issues, arts in New Jersey, animal welfare and specific Morris County projects. 

“I am humbled by what the Community Spirit Award represents this year- a celebration of a longstanding partnership between two organizations that have worked together for over thirty years to enhance community life in Morristown and beyond,” said Grant. “On behalf of the current Dodge Board and staff, I’m delighted to accept the award as a symbol of our shared values and ongoing relationship with the Morris Museum.”

The partnership between the Dodge Foundation and the Morris Museum began in 1975 when the museum was one of the first two recipients of a Morris County project grant from the Foundation. The $250,000 grant award established the museum’s Geraldine R. Dodge Room, which contains art objects from the late Mrs. Dodge’s collection. Over the years, the Foundation has supported numerous programs and exhibitions, including both the New Jersey artist and science discovery series, sculpture, glass and quilt exhibits; Bickford Theatre performances and operational support for educational programming and outreach. Dodge funds help to underwrite Fresh Perspectives, an annual juried art exhibition that recognizes talented high school students and the dedication of their teachers.

Grant came to the Dodge Foundation in 1998 with an extensive professional career as an educator. He taught English and coached at Milton Academy prior to founding the Mountain School of Milton Academy with his wife, Nancy Boyd Grant. The Mountain School offers a semester-long, interdisciplinary environmental studies program in Vermont to high school juniors. From 1994 to 1998, he was a consultant to schools nationally and led numerous workshops on curriculum, program design, professional development and assessment practices.

Grant is currently vice chair of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and a member of the board of the Surdna Foundation in New York City. While living in Vermont, he served as town moderator and as a board member of the Vermont Humanities Council. His avocation has been performing as Mark Twain in a one-man theatrical show since 1976, which he took around the world in 1982.

Grant graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a B.A. in English, and he holds an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Michigan. He and his wife, Nancy, currently reside in Maplewood, New Jersey.

About the Museum

Founded in 1913, the Morris Museum explores and celebrates the arts, sciences, and history through exhibitions, educational programs, performing arts and special events. The museum serves over 200,000 adults and children each year.

The Morris Museum, located at 6 Normandy Heights Road (at the corner of Columbia Turnpike) in Morristown, NJ, is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Admission to the museum is $6 for adults and $4 for children, students and senior citizens. Admission is always free for museum members and is free to the public every Thursday between 1 and 8 p.m. For more information, call 973-971-3700, or visit www.morrismuseum.org. 

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