Paul Grzella, born in Somerville and a native of Warren, has spent his entire professional career working in, writing about and volunteering for different organizations in Central Jersey.
For 35-plus years, he had a variety of roles in the USA TODAY Network New Jersey properties, as a reporter, editor and manager. In those roles, he was part of an award-winning team which chronicled how people live, work and play in Somerset, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Union counties. Grzella is proud of the stories he wrote, photographed and shared over the years, because they painted an evolving picture of how our region has changed and grown, and continues to be transformed by an increasingly diverse population. While doing his job, Grzella ensured that his journalistic work was fair, complete and accurate. He retired as general manager / editor of the Courier News, Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com on Feb. 1, 2019.
His work also was informed by a passion for helping others. Influenced by his parents’ example of faith, family and community, he has been deeply involved with a number of community organizations over the years, including the United Way of Northern New Jersey, the Somerset County Business Partnership and Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches in Dunellen and Somerville. He has been a member of the Greater Raritan Workforce Development Board since 2011, and began a new chapter in his professional life on Feb. 19, 2019, when he became interim director of the board. His goal is to ensure that employee training being provided in Somerset and Hunterdon counties puts workers on a pathway to sustainable, well-paying careers. Visit www.thegrwdb.org to learn more.
For this year’s Citizen of the Year event, he invites people to get involved, too! He asks attendees to consider bringing a food-donation item for the Food Bank Network of Somerset County, or a roll of quarters or a bag of washer pods for use by Laundry Love, a ministry of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Somerville. Each month, volunteers from the church gather at a laundromat and provide quarters for people to do their laundry – no questions asked. Your support of these efforts, which help some of the neediest in our community, will be deeply appreciated.
