Camden County News in Brief

Liz Ricketti of Cherry Hill, co-owner of Rita's Water Ice at the Moorestown Mall, recently had her business recognized by the mall as its top merchant for the first quarter of this year.

Ricketti has owned Rita's Water Ice with her husband, Glenn, and Leslie and John Aharon of Moorestown since February.

An award certificate, a $100 gift card, and prizes to the employees came with the recognition, which is part of the mall's program to reward merchants who show excellence in retailing, customer service and presentation with a high participation in mall events.

Revisions in the state budget intended to spare several state parks from being shut down also have provided the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield with funding.

The Colonial-era tavern on Kings Highway will remain a state historic site with its annual funding of about $57,000 restored.

Gov. Corzine relented last month on some proposed budget cuts, including the park closings.

The Kennedy Health System recently named two vice presidents for operations.

One, Kathryn Emrich of Voorhees, will have primary responsibility for Kennedy's Stratford campus, which houses a 183-bed hospital and several ambulatory facilities. Since joining Kennedy in 2001, Emrich has held several positions, most recently acting assistant vice president of operations for its Cherry Hill and Stratford campuses.

The other, Frank X. Hendrick, will have primary responsibility for Kennedy's Cherry Hill campus, which houses a 219-bed hospital.

Hendrick, who lives in West Chester, most recently served as associate hospital administrator at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington.

Durand Academy and Community Services in Mount Laurel has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation to start a therapeutic after-school program for students ages 16 to 21 with high-functioning autism, or Asperger's syndrome.

The foundation awards grants to programs that enrich the lives of adolescents and adults with autism.

Durand plans a curriculum that will teach community and social skills, job-development skills and financial literacy.

Durand provides programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities, autism, and other learning disorders and a school for youths ages 4 to 14, primarily to residents of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem Counties.

For more information, call Terry Flannery at 856-235-3540, Ext. 107, or Catherine Medovich at Ext. 103.

Twenty finalists from Cherry Hill and Atlantic City in New Jersey's Boys and Girls Club youth-of-the-year program recently gathered at the Cherry Hill Wal-Mart store to shop for interview apparel.

The members then wore their new professional attire while competing in the final statewide competition.

The youth-of-the-year program recognizes club members ages 14 to 18 from the state's 25 Boys and Girls Clubs who have shown leadership and service in their community, club, home and school.

The selection process includes a written application, an oral presentation, and an interview with a panel of judges.

In addition to a $100 clothing gift card, each youth-of-the-year finalist received a $1,500 scholarship.