Monmouth County Vocational School District honored Danny Pepe, general manager and partner of Good Sports USA, as its 2020 Business Partner of the Year.
The award is given annually to a county vocational technical school business partner for outstanding contributions to career and technical education. Business partners play a variety of roles, including serving on county vocational technical school program advisory boards, offering opportunities for students to gain valuable work experience, donating equipment, or serving as mentors and role models for students.
“Danny has been incredibly supportive and attentive to our students for more than 10 years that we’ve been associated with the company through our mentorship program,” said Superintendent Charles Ford.
“His student interns are always engaged and regularly return to work with Good Sports on a paid basis.”
Good Sports USA is an indoor sports and family entertainment center in Wall.
Ford said Pepe is especially attentive with students and has a knack for identifying student strengths and shaping the scope of their internship experiences to bring out those strengths and challenge them.
“Danny is always the first to step up and offer any help and assistance we may ask of him,” Ford said. “He has brought our program to the attention of several other businesses who have also become regular business partners.
Ford said Pepe’s commitment was especially evident during the coronavirus pandemic in March and April when many other mentorships were cancelled.
“Danny was steadfast in his commitment, offering to take on more students if the need arose,” Ford said.