Ryan Schwertfeger Named “Hometown Heroes” Honoree by Congressman Josh Gottheimer
Congressman Josh Gottheimer named Oakland resident Ryan Schwertfeger as a recipient of the 5th District Hometown Heroes Award. Schwertfeger, an active community volunteer and the leader of the Borough Dog Park Project, was honored along with other community leaders from various Bergen County municipalities on December 15, 2020 via a virtual ceremony held by Congressman Gottheimer.
Nominees were chosen by neighbors and community leaders for their outstanding contributions to the community by volunteering, serving or working to help others. The 5th District Hometown Heroes Awards are presented to business leaders, first responders, teachers, children, seniors, and community leaders to recognize their commitment to bettering the lives of other New Jersey residents and families.
Although only 26 years old, Ryan Schwertfeger has shown a commitment dating back to his childhood to public service and volunteerism for his community. He graduated in 2017 cum laude from Waynesburg University with a bachelor’s degree, with a major in electronic media and a minor in political science.
For more than 10 years, Mr. Schwertfeger has worked tirelessly to bring a dog park to the Borough of Oakland at no cost to taxpayers. The project began as a community project for middle school when he was just an 8th grader.
Mr. Schwertfeger’s mom was the inspiration for the idea. In 2009, Mr. Schwertfeger presented the idea to the borough governing body, but at the time the borough had other priorities due to the recession. Mr. Schwertfeger forged on, however, working on ideas and plans for the dog park, and learning the ins and outs of advancing a project through fundraising and making presentations to government entities.
Then tragedy struck when his mother, Jill Schwertfeger, died in August, 2012 -- just six months after her cancer diagnosis. She was just 48 years old.
Her death fueled his desire to complete it even more. His "Dog Park for Oakland, NJ" Facebook page amassed thousands of likes and his efforts have landed him on numerous local news websites, on the front page of The Bergen Record's Local section, and in his local newspaper, as well. Fast forward almost 10 years later, Mr. Schwertfeger has raised over $45,000 and his dream is coming to fruition--the dog park is currently under construction and is expected to be completed this upcoming spring.
“Ryan is a Hometown Hero for his hard work and perseverance in creating a dog park in the Borough of Oakland”, said Mayor Linda H. Schwager. The new dog park will feature two fenced-in areas, one for large dogs and one for small dogs. The dog park will include several newly planted native species trees, two of which will be surrounded by tree benches, and aims to be an environmentally friendly dog park that fits in nicely with the look and feel of Great Oak Park.
Mr. Schwertfeger is also a commissioner on the Oakland Communications Commission, a position he was nominated and approved to in June 2017, and was then subsequently unanimously chosen by Communications Commission membership to serve as its chairman in February 2018 and again in January 2019 and 2020.
The Oakland Communications Commission handles maintaining the Borough's Local Access Television Station, Borough Newsletter, filming Mayor and Borough Council Meetings, and other special programming.
Mr. Schwertfeger has spent much time leading the Commission and revitalizing it by creating a Borough Twitter and YouTube account, bringing on several new commissioners, two commission alternates, creating a Junior Commission member position, relaunching the dormant Borough newsletter in a digital format and turning it from quarterly to monthly, re-purposing a space to create an editing and meeting room for Commission committees, creating a better layout for the TV Studio to improve organization and efficiency, starting the process of updating equipment to make the television operations HD, and created a 5-year plan to move the Commission further into the 21st century and lay out a vision of action for all on the Commission and within the Borough to follow and strive for.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and wanting to provide local, uplifting programming for residents during the quarantine in the spring, Mr. Schwertfeger, along with many outstanding volunteers he recruited, created and launched the episodic series “This Week in Oakland,” a weekly variety program – aired on our cable channel, and also available on YouTube--where our very own neighbors share ideas about organizing closets, gardening, sewing masks, making improvements on your home that usually pay handsomely if you decide to sell, and cooking demonstrations that will leave your mouth watering. This new program amassed thousands of views and was highly popular among Oakland residents.
Oakland Councilman Grant Van Eck, who also serves as Council Liaison to the Oakland Communications Commission, said: “Ryan shows his love for Oakland by taking action to better our community. It was an honor to nominate someone who serves as an inspiration to so many residents because of his work with the dog park and Oakland Communications Commission. As a young professional, Ryan shows other young adults in town who will be the future leaders of Oakland that they can make a meaningful impact for good now, and take on exciting leadership roles today. I hope his example motivates younger individuals to get involved and use their God-given talents to help Oakland. I congratulate Ryan on his receipt of this award.”
Congratulations to Ryan Schwertfeger on his recognition as a Hometown Hero!