Student Scholarship Honors Late Mt. Arlington Mayor Art Ondish
Published on November 21, 2017
The Morris County League of Municipalities has announced the creation of the Arthur R. Ondish Memorial Scholarship, to be awarded annually in honor of the late Mount Arlington mayor to a graduating high school senior, starting in 2018.
(JPG, 7KB) The late Mt. Arlington Mayor Art Ondish
The $1,000 scholarship is financed by funds raised by the Morris County League of Municipalities to honor Ondish, who long served as mayor of the Lake Hopatcong border municipality, and who was a member and president of the County and State Leagues of Municipalities.
To be eligible for the annual $1,000 scholarship, students must:
- Live in Mount Arlington;
- Demonstrate a commitment to community service;
- Plan to attend a New Jersey college, university, or learning institution;
- Submit an essay on the subject: What Local Government Means to Me.''
More information will be forthcoming about specifics of the scholarship process, including a deadline for submissions.
Art was a selfless public servant who always found time to help those in need, whether it was his town, his county, a family in need, or a neighborhood facing problems in his lake community,'' said Randolph Councilman and current Morris County League of Municipalities President Allen Napoliello.
Art cared deeply about everyone he met, and he was tireless in giving his time and energy as a leader dedicated to improving the quality of life for all of us, said Morris County Freeholder Clerk of the Board and Morris County League of Municipalities Secretary Diane M. Ketchum.
He would be so proud to know that a scholarship in his name will help a young person living in Mount Arlington accomplish his or her academic goals.
(PNG, 19KB)Born in Denville in 1965 to Joyce and George Ondish, Art Ondish was a lifelong resident of Mt. Arlington with roots dating to the 1930's when his grandparents built a summer home on Bertrand Island.
Art and his two brothers were raised in a nearby house on Bertrand's Island, and Art and his wife, Yvonne, lived on the island in another home for some 25 years.
Art was involved in many different organizations locally and statewide. He was a borough councilman for six years and then served as mayor for 13 years, overseeing many improvements in the borough.
He was just 50-years-old when he died in 2016.