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(tense dramatic music) From NJ PBS studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

- Welcome to a special edition of NJ Spotlight News.

I'm Joanna Gagis in for Briana Vannozzi.

We're coming to you from the 2025 New Jersey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

17 New Jersey are being inducted, recognized for the work they've done and the impact they've had across the state.

We had a chance to speak with many of them.

Here are those conversations.

She's used to coming first, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 400 meter hurdles.

Her feelings on being inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

- It's so special.

I mean, this is where the dream started, where I fell in love with track and field.

And so, just being able to come back to come full circle like this is so special.

Growing up here, you know, I never knew what the future held and if I was gonna make it to where I am now, but I have to credit my roots here in that journey.

- [Joanna] How so?

What did New Jersey, what did growing up here give you and of course your family- - Yeah.

- And being rooted in that, that space.

- I think just the pride of where you come from.

You know, I come from a very small town and we're a little bit of a smaller state and so I've always just carried that pride with me, even to the world's biggest stages of wanting to show, like, listen, you can do anything you put your mind to.

And I think the whole journey has been nurtured here from a young age all the way through high school.

I've had amazing coaches, you know, trainers, teammates, all the different things that have helped me.

And so, yeah, this is just a huge part of who I am.

- The obviously next Olympic games are gonna be right here at home in LA.

What do you hope to accomplish?

- Hopefully just continuing the greatness, you know, just wanting to show that anything's possible.

- You're going for gold.

- Always going for gold.

100%.

Going to push the bounds of what's possible and you know, hopefully just continue to represent Jersey well.

- What is your message, what's your advice to young women who wanna follow your path, who wanna push themselves to greatness?

- My message is always run your own race.

Everybody's journey's different, everybody's pace is different, their timing's different.

And I think when you get distracted looking to the left and right, you can forget and lose what's in front of you.

And everyone has their own hurdles to clear.

And so, you just have to focus on your lane and trust that it'll happen when it's supposed to.

- Her award presented by one of the most decorated female Olympic runners in US history, Joetta Clark Diggs.

What does this Hall of Fame mean for New Jerseyans and especially for young people, maybe young athletes who have a dream but don't know where to take it?

- Well, the first question is, this Hall of Fame is something special.

It's the best Hall of Fame to be inducted into, no matter where you're from.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame is special.

And as far as young people, at this point, I'm 63 years old now, and my job is to let people know, especially the younger people, that no matter where you come from, you can do great things.

I grew up in the city of Newark, came through during the riots and then we moved to South Orange.

So there was a lot of adversity.

But through it all, we all stuck together.

And I think that in this culture we had to support one another and the younger people have to see us supporting them.

So my job is to let the young people know that no matter where you are, New Jersey, you can get it done.

- David Bryan is a founding member and keyboardist for the rock band Bon Jovi, who's also a Tony Award-winning lyricist and composer.

Tell me about the journey.

Obviously it's been decades, but in terms of the growth of the band, in terms of your personal growth, how has it changed you?

How have you, as a person, have you as a band just come to this moment where you are right now?

- Everything's the same.

(chuckles) Not at all.

- Nothing's changed at all.

- Not at all.

(chuckles) - I was 20- - The hair hasn't changed.

- Thank God for that.

Jon and I were both 21 years old, you know, when we got a record deal and I left, we live with our parents.

You know, I live with my parents in Edison, New Jersey.

It's been an unbelievable journey.

We're very fortunate and we're blessed and we keep working hard and hard and hard.

- We've seen bands that didn't stand the test of time, that couldn't stay together.

Is there a certain magic about Bon Jovi that kept you together?

Was it hard work?

Was it communication?

What was it?

- Pretty much blackmail.

- (laughs) Best dancer ever.

(both laughing) - No- - You'll tell us later?

- It's a lot.

- You'll tell me later.

- I'll tell you later.

I got pictures.

No, it's, you know, there is no formula.

We just were, it started off with five guys really setting out to conquer the world and we just, we kept going and going and going.

And then, you know, the band changed as it does.

You know, Alec was, he retired from us in '95, and then Richie hasn't been in the band in about 13 years and we just keep going forward.

- What does it mean to you now to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame and to be here with your brother from the band?

- It's pretty excellent.

I actually knew about, I was in Newark Airport, I looked on the wall and I went, there's Bruce, there's Jon, there's Little Steven.

I'm like, hey.

- What about me?

- What about me?

So.

- And you said it loud enough and they- - I said it loud enough and boom, here I am.

No, and all my other, you know, stuff I've done with the band, the work I've done with the band.

Then also the work I've done with musicals.

I got into the whole world 'cause I'm a classically trained piano player and I composed one called "Memphis Musical" and won three Tony's, four, we won four Tony's and I won the Best of Broadway show.

And then that launched a whole different side and a different career.

And it's just, it's all great.

You know, we all like ventured out and did different stuff, but always come back to the mothership with more knowledge.

- [Joanna] And the Jonas Brothers.

Joe, Nick, and Kevin New Jersey's pop rock trio, taking a break from their international tour titled "Greetings From Your Hometown" and fresh off the set of creating the film, "A Very Jonas Christmas Movie."

- Jersey is such a part of our story and our roots.

You know, you look at the number of iconic musicians and artists and creators that have come out of this state, it's really wild.

It must be something in the water.

And to be recognized and to be, you know, amongst those people now is such a dream for us.

And we're just, we're thrilled to be here to celebrate it.

- You're still here.

- Yeah.

- [Joanna] So you're still drinking that water.

- Definitely.

- So what is it that New Jersey gives you that has shaped you as you go out and have success on a global stage?

- I think it's a sense of community.

You know, I left my daughter's school this morning and it was just incredible to see the families that actually all watched the Christmas movie we were just in and, you know, just rallied around and obviously said, congratulations on today.

It's a big deal.

When you got some Jersey Pride, you know how it feels.

- Yeah, we sure do.

You've each done a single, you've each had individual success and of course success as a band.

The Christmas movie, is any of this like life imitating art, art imitating life, you coming back together?

- A little bit.

We spent a lot of time with the writers to get to know us properly on how our relationship is and what it's like and that banter back and forth.

Yeah, there's a little bit of realness there.

I mean, we are playing version of ourselves.

It's oddly kind of challenging, but we are trying to get home for Christmas.

That is a goal.

- That is.

- Maybe show on the 22nd.

It's not too far from where we're spending holidays, but with the New Jersey and New York traffic, you never know.

- Founding anchor for CNN and former anchor of this nightly news show, Mary Alice Williams reflected on what this recognition means to her professionally and personally.

Congratulations on being inducted.

This is so well-deserved.

What does this mean to you?

- It is incredible.

Now I'm gonna cry again.

(chuckles) It's incredibly moving for anybody to think that I would belong in this august group of people but it's just a wonderful thing.

And I think that the most important thing is when I was a kid, in my day, girls were not allowed to do this.

And the fact that they can walk in there and see all the faces of the people in this hall of fame, who many of whom were stopped at every step, but followed their own dreams and did it anyway and accomplished extraordinary things.

Extraordinary.

- And of course you have three girls.

I see your daughter's here with you tonight.

What do you hope that you've taught them about being a woman, about leadership, about journalism?

- That's a big question.

Well, one of my daughters is a journalist.

She's with MS NOW but I guess I've taught them that being kind to people, that this living business and being in journalism is a team sport.

Like living in New Jersey, it's a team sport, am I right?

I mean, it takes all of us.

- Like driving in New Jersey is a team sport.

(chuckles) It takes all of us to make it work.

- [Joanna] Yeah.

- And they can follow their dreams and don't take no for an answer.

- Any final thoughts for us as you go to become inducted into New Jersey's Hall of Fame?

- I miss all of them so much.

I wish that you were all with us now, but I'm glad you're here.

- Yeah, Thank you.

- I am astonished and humbled by your amazing honor - And current CNN chief political correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics with Dana Bash, who may be in DC now, but Jersey's always with her.

- I love being from New Jersey.

Every time I interview somebody from New Jersey, you know, it's kind of a thing that we do even on the air.

It was the place that made me who I am.

I went to middle school and high school in New Jersey.

- [Joanna] Teaneck and Montvale, right?

- Yep.

I lived in Teaneck when I was very little.

And then we moved back and I was in Montvale, New Jersey.

I went to Pascack Hills High School and they were obviously the most formative years for me, but they really kind of defined who I am.

Gave me, I think the grit.

- Yeah.

Right now it takes grit to be a woman in this industry, especially as of late.

I'm just curious how you see the space for women right now.

Where do women need to go in a space where they're being silenced, condescended to, called piggy?

What is the answer here?

- Keep doing what we're doing.

The answer for women is just to keep excelling and doing as well as we have been.

I have to say it's tough, but it's been a whole lot tougher.

Is it total equity?

No.

Do we still have challenges?

Absolutely.

But I just think we have to keep pushing, keep, you know, being as persistent as we possibly can and having each other's backs.

- What's your advice for a young journalist who maybe didn't grow up in New Jersey, maybe doesn't have the thick skin that you have?

What's your advice for someone wanting to come up in this industry?

- Well, if you don't have thick skin, try to figure out a way to grow it 'cause it is important.

But I think the number one thing is just to keep your eye on the ball and you're gonna get challenges, there are gonna be bumps in the road that you're gonna hit, but you gotta pick yourself up, you gotta dust yourself off, and you gotta keep going and thinking about what it is that makes you, like, makes us wanna do what we do.

I think it's just a sense of curiosity and persistence - Presenting Dana Bash with her award is Edie Falco who played leading lady Carmela Soprano on the Jersey-based HBO hit series "The Sopranos."

You are here tonight presenting for Dana Bash, you're inducting her into this Hall of Fame.

- Yeah.

- That's a significant moment for both of you.

Just explain why.

- Well, I'm a huge fan of her work and you know, these people who are on television regularly, news anchors in particular, they start to feel like family.

Their, you know, for myself anyway, their voices are on in the background.

They're on your newsfeed and- - [Joanna] They're there in your heart.

- They are, they are.

And it is a voice that I recognize as sort of calm and smart.

And to ask, to be a part of celebrating her work is a huge honor for me personally.

- What does it mean this New Jersey Hall of Fame to you?

Obviously you are probably the single leading lady, we'll say, of New Jersey when we think about your work on "The Sopranos."

- Well, I'm thrilled.

I mean, I spent 10 years of my life working there, but I've never lived in New Jersey.

- [Joanna] And as an observer of news, female news reporters have had to be tougher than ever.

- Gosh, I'm so reluctant to open my mouth at this point because I don't know if I can close it.

Yeah, we are at a crossroads.

Something's gotta give, you know, and I have a feeling I can feel the undercurrent of an energy of people finally putting their foot down without certain treatment.

That is becoming normalized.

- Yeah.

- I hope I'm right about that.

And I'm ready to join the bandwagon quickly and furiously.

- Could we talk about something a little less heavy, but maybe equally controversial?

Would Tony and Carmelo have really named their daughter Meadow?

(both laughing) - That's funny.

I think they probably thought it was sort of artsy and cute.

You know, I had thought about that in the past and it's, you know, she should have been Maria probably or something.

- Gianna.

- Yeah, Gianna, exactly.

But maybe they thought they were like ahead of the curve as far as being like, you know, forward-thinking.

- A little bougie maybe.

- That's right.

- Trying to be bougie.

- Yes.

Yes, I like that.

- And a posthumous induction for the late Sheila Oliver, former Lieutenant governor of New Jersey.

And the first woman of color elected to statewide office.

Accepting the induction award on her behalf is her niece Renee Oliver.

- It means everything.

She was a phenomenal, phenomenal woman and really a special place in our family.

We all looked up to her, she guided us.

She was warm, kind, and just an amazing woman.

But she also was that to the people of New Jersey too.

So, it's very special and very fitting for her to be receiving this induction tonight.

- She was the first Black woman to ever be lieutenant governor of the state of New Jersey.

She broke ground for many young people who never knew or saw that potential possible for them.

For you watching her do that, what does that mean and what impact do you think that has?

- Yeah, so for me growing up, you know, a lot of people have to look outside of their family for role models, but I had one right in front of me who was changing my diapers as a baby and ushering me into adulthood.

So, she really showed me how to set the standard, how to serve with grace and lead with excellence and what leadership means, what compassion means, and to care about injustices that are being done in the community, big or small.

A little impact can make a big difference.

- Hockey Hall of Famer, Martin Brodeur, former goaltender and current team executive for the New Jersey Devils is an icon among Jersey sports fans.

22 years in the NHL, 21 with the New Jersey Devils.

Is that about right?

- That's about right.

You know, played lots of years in Jersey.

It's been great.

- [Joanna] Just looking back at your career, did you ever think it would take you that far?

- Not really.

You know, when you're a kid and you play a sport, you know, you try to make it as far as you can.

And obviously, you know, I got lucky, got to a great franchise with the Devils and had a lot of success along the way and, you know, still when I think back about what I've accomplished, it's kinda hard to believe, but that was at exciting times for me.

- [Joanna] You're being inducted tonight into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

What does that mean to you?

- It means a lot.

You know, obviously, like, I'm not from New Jersey but I understand that people from Jersey, you know, my all five kids were born here in Jersey and we spend lots of time here.

And there's the fact to be recognized with the greats of Jersey is pretty amazing.

- Stopping by to celebrate with some of those greats, New Jersey's senior US Senator Cory Booker.

Why is something like this important?

- You know, New Jersey needs to flex a little bit sometimes 'cause people forget the legends that have come from our state, from the chairman of the board, to the boss, to the queen, Queen Latifah to the count, Count Basie.

I mean, we are a state that has transformed not just the United States, but humanity as well.

And sometimes people don't realize the greatness that's come from New Jersey.

So, here's a night where we get to celebrate the garden state and the people that really make it so extraordinary.

- [Joanna] Jersey's known for many things, but food is at the top of the list.

David Burke is a renowned restaurateur and culinary innovator with four restaurants right here in New Jersey.

- Jersey gets a bad rap and it does deserve it.

It's the garden state and we have so much good food.

We got the ocean, we got the mountains, we got the farms, we got the wineries now.

- We do.

- And we got, we got the people.

- We got the people.

All right, let's rank it.

People, number one, food, number two.

You know what, you built really a restaurant empire for yourself and you could have gone elsewhere, but you really expanded here in New Jersey.

- [David] You know, I came out to Jersey in '07 realizing, you know, my career mainly New York, that's where you can make your bones and you learn from the best.

I mean, and there's a learning process and then you gotta teach.

But yes, I came out to Jersey early on.

- It's such a diverse state and there's such diversity within the state.

How do you as a chef kind of speak to that?

Or do you try to create something that's uniquely your own?

How do you approach your work?

- Well, I've always tried to create my own style, and I still do, but the better, when two or three or 10 good restaurants come to Jersey, five years later they produced 30 great chefs have worked there.

But competition breeds greatness and that's what we have in New Jersey.

People are competitive and the chefs especially, it's a competitive business.

- Between bakeries, restaurants, cookware, being on TV shows.

What haven't you done that you still want to accomplish?

- I wanna open a cooking school.

I wanna have a school.

Whether it's big or little, maybe attached to a hotel.

I wanna teach.

Teacher, have a school behind me that does scholarships, helps people that can't afford school to go in and learn 'cause this craft is something anyone can do, whether you have money or not, or educate or not, it's something you can learn and get really good at.

It's an opportunity job, you know what I mean?

It's passion.

- [Joanna] Drury Thorpe is an elementary STEM and environmental science teacher in Montclair who is inducted as the Educator of the Year.

- I think it's fantastic that we're actually honoring teachers in this way, that we think that we need to put them against or next to so many of these more publicly famous figures.

So that right off the bat is just fantastic.

So I'm honored to be the one who was chosen this year.

- [Joanna] It is not an easy time to be a teacher.

I don't know that there ever was an easy time to be a teacher, but it's certainly hard right now.

You're in a district too that's dealing with major cuts and potential cuts.

How do you stay focused on the kids, on the work, on the joy of it, even amidst all the other kind of noise?

- I can tell you that the moment you see children's faces, I'll get like teary talking about this.

The moment you see children's faces, everything else has to wash away and it does.

And so you get up there and you're doing your craft.

But yeah, it's a tough time in public education, especially right now.

I feel like events like this can really help us honor and elevate the profession and it's not easy.

You know, we work so hard to help create problem-solvers and thinkers and help children learn that they have to know how to get along with people who might have differing idea.

And that's even more important now than it ever was.

So I think that's a gift that I and other educators give our students is this idea that we do have to be able to think critically and problem solve.

And they're our future.

And I feel for them, I think we're headed in the right direction in that way.

- Shirley Ann Jackson is the former chair of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the recipient of a National Medal of Science.

What does it mean to you to be inducted into New Jersey's Hall of Fame?

- Well, it's a great honor because this is really the springboard to my whole career.

And I started out doing theoretical physics research at the great Bell Labs and then went on to become involved in issues of science, technology, and public policy.

And to be on the board of great companies like PSEG was all part of that.

And when you think about it, New Jersey has been very important in energy and telecommunications and bio science and biotechnology, great universities.

And it's enabled so many people to live in various ways and move into the middle class.

And I think it's a unique state.

- [Joanna] Jersey boy Michael Uslan is the originator and executive producer of the "Batman" movie franchise.

- This means everything to me.

I am a New Jersey boy through and through, born and raised.

It's about New Jersey attitude.

It's about New Jersey knowing where you come from and knowing where you're going.

It's about having friends and family in a support system.

It's also about knowing a guy who knows a guy.

- [Joanna] To make the "Batman" movie that you did, did you have to know a guy who knew a guy?

What does it take to make that happen, that huge enterprise?

- Well, it's an interesting story that is now being turned into a Broadway play.

And I had the audacity as a geeky comic book collector growing up as a kid to go to the president of DC comics and say, "I wanna buy the rights to 'Batman' because I wanna show the world the true 'Batman.'"

Not the pow, zap, wham, potbelly funny guy, but a dark and serious Batman, the way he was really created.

They said, "Why would you wanna buy 'Batman?'

Nobody's interested in 'Batman' since it went off here on TV."

I said, "Yeah, but this could be like a new form of entertainment."

I bought the rights to "Batman" when I was still a kid in my 20s, put it in my back pocket, went out to Hollywood.

And after a 10-year struggle where everybody turned me down, every studio rejected it, we finally got our first "Batman" movie made, we changed history, we changed Hollywood, and we changed the world culture's perception of comic book superheroes and "Batman."

- [Joanna] Giving Back was the theme of the night.

Zygi Wilf is a New Jersey businessman and real estate developer, as well as chairman and co-owner of the Minnesota Vikings.

- It's a special honor for me to be here.

My family's been here doing business for over 70 years.

Came from a background, my parents are Holocaust survivors and they made New Jersey their home.

And because of that, we have so much more to give back.

Because of the success that we've had, we want to give back to the community for our family, so.

- You're a business owner, you own the Minnesota Vikings.

To run a football team, you gotta be tough sometimes, right?

What are your Jersey, how does that Jersey toughness come out when it needs to?

- It does come out.

Jersey is a special place for people to be able to be successful.

It's a tough state.

It toughens you up and it makes you work much harder to be successful.

And that's what I think the success for many of the people here in New Jersey, wherever they go around the country, around the world, makes them a successful business person, athlete, whatever they thrive to become.

- Dorothea Bongiovi, wife of rock singer Jon Bon Jovi, was recognized as an unsung hero for her work feeding the Hungry in New Jersey.

Dorothea, so wonderful to talk to you.

Congratulations on being inducted.

You started the JBJ Soul Kitchen in 2011.

What did you hope it would accomplish and how has it met or exceeded your expectations?

- Well, at the beginning we really just wanted to feed people who were suffering from food insecurity.

And our idea was to feed them in dignity where they could contribute in some way.

So, people are either paying it forward through cash or people are paying it forward through their deeds.

And then we came to realize that it's a lot of different issues that are people, keeping people food insecure.

So then we developed programs where we could connect them to other resources in the area and maybe connect them to some services that they might not have known about.

- [Joanna] What does it mean to you to be recognized for that work?

Obviously among some greats in New Jersey, but you're doing work on the ground every day.

What does it mean to be recognized for that work?

- Well, I had mentioned to Anna Diaz-White, who was at 180, who was a huge inspiration for me and worked so tirelessly for victims of domestic violence.

And I think that, you know, anybody can help, you know?

And I think that if you find the thing that you're passionate about, just, you know, try to see what impact you can make.

It doesn't have to be on a huge level.

It could be just even on any level just to give back.

And if we all did that, I think we'd be in a better place.

- That's all the time we have.

On behalf of everyone at NJ Spotlight News, thanks for being with us.

We'll see you next time.

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