Dennis Tully (left), Maureen Eyles, Alfred Dansbury and Dana Selbach (right) received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Haddonfield Alumni Society’s annual ceremony this Nov. 30. Not pictured are honorees Peter Schwartz and Joe Foulk.
The Haddonfield Alumni Society bestowed its lifetime achievement award to six people on Nov. 30.
The winners are graduates Peter Schwartz, Class of ’64; Dennis Tully, Class of ’84; and Maureen Eyles, Class of ’87; and three faculty honorees, Teressa Marvel Dansbury (posthumous); Howard “Joe” Foulk; and Dana Selbach.
The award recipients were recommended to the society.
“We have a process in which you can nominate people online, or by sending us a note or whatever, and there’s no limit to any career or profession that need to be alumni as defined by the bylaws, which means they’ve had to attend the Haddonfield schools,” explained society president Joe Serico. “They can be retired or alumni, sometimes we award posthumously.”
The aware criteria are as follows:
- An alum of widespread and ongoing influence recognized as a leader
- An alum of exceptional accomplishment with high level of excellence
- An alum of exemplary character with a commitment to the highest values.
- An alum of endurance who exhibits long-term courage and perseverance.
This year’s recipients included a wide range of accomplishments. Schwartz is an author and founder of the Global Business Network and a Chief Futures Officer at Salesforce. In his award acceptance speech, he reflected on Haddonfield’s importance in his life.
“We were immigrants, my parents and I,” he recounted. “My mother had survived Auschwitz, my father was a slave laborer, I was born in a refugee camp and we were welcomed in Haddonfield. We felt very welcomed in that community, from the students to the teachers to the citizens of that community.
“If you could imagine the horrors that were experienced by our family, to live in the beauty of Haddonfield was really quite remarkable.”
Eyles was recognized for her impact in both the world of commerce – she started her own business – and as a production manager for the trade show division of Production Group International. Her local impact includes serving on the Haddonfield Educational Trust board for 11 years. Her Rally in the Alley fundraiser to pay for teachers continues today.
The late Dansbury, a former faculty member in the borough school district, was recognized for her work. She was a teacher and a principal of the segregated Lincoln Avenue School when it opened in 1925, influencing “several generations of young Black children in Haddonfield schools,” according to her bio.
Dansbury continued her career in education, and 32 years in, borough schools integrated. Her grandson, county Commissioner Al Dansbury, accepted the award on her behalf.
“The students loved and respected her,” he noted, “and many have stated how the skills that she taught them helped them succeed in life. If a student needed help, she would go above and beyond to help them in any way that she could to ensure that they succeeded.”
Foulk began his career in 1960 as a phys ed teacher at all three borough elementary schools and went on to become a teacher at the middle and high schools as well. He was a coach for football, wrestling and baseball, and the administrator for the school district, later becoming the high-school’s dean of students and athletic director in 1977. Foulk served as recreation director in Haddonfield for 11 years.
Some of his biggest achievements included being inducted into the South Jersey Coach’s Association Hall of Fame and the high-school hall of fame. He brought Friday night lights to the school and helped make Haddonfield’s wrestling program among the top in South Jersey.
Selbach became a school district teacher in 1993, teaching math and science at the middle school and fifth grade at Central School. She is currently a reading and math support teacher and a kindergarten instructor at Central School. She also has been involved with safety patrol for more about two decades.
Tully was recognized for his work with the state police as the executive officer of the force’s special operations section until he retired in 2012. He is co-owner and president of Ronin Security Solutions and is a member and former president of the Haddonfield Civic Association, and a trustee and former president of the alumni society. He is also a member of the Police Chief Advisory Board and trustee of the Haddonfield Foundation. H
Tully was a coach in the Haddonfield Little League, Haddonfield Youth Lacrosse and the high school’s boys lacrosse team. He was recognized for his volunteerism in 2023 with the civic association’s Alfred E. Driscoll Community Service Award, along with his wife, Kathy.
“Growing up in a community like Haddonfield was an amazing experience for me,” Tully remembered. “I was able to follow in the footsteps of people I really respected. Some of them were my coaches, good friends, mentors, and so I learned from them how important it is to give back to the community, but also from my family, grandparents and parents.
“That really is my duty, to give back to the community.”
The Haddonfield Alumni Society has honored 106 former students and 40 teachers with its lifetime awards since 1994. To learn more about how to nominate someone, visit https://hmhsalumni.org/.
