(WHITE TWP., January 13, 2010) – A Warren County Technical School senior is the first county recipient of a new internship program aimed at teaching green energy technology, receiving a certificate of recognition and a $1,000 check from the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Adam Horridge, 18, of Knowlton Township, received the award and congratulations from the freeholders as Warren County’s recipient of the 2009 NJAC Foundation and Walmart Foundation Green Internship.

Freeholder Director Richard D. Gardner said the freeholders are “very proud” to have the award go to a student from the technical school in Franklin Township. “It shows your perseverance, your dedication and your academic achievement,” Gardner told Horridge, adding, “Much success to you in the future.”

“I’d like to congratulate Adam on his hard work,” Freeholder Angelo Accetturo said, noting he toured Warren Tech recently and was “very impressed with it.”

The Green Internship Program, which provides an internship with county government and the stipdend, is designed to reward outstanding county vocational students who have distinguished scholastic achievement in green energy technology. The program gives students a chance to get hands-on experience with the technologies that will be central to our economic future.

The NJAC Foundation, an educational nonprofit run by the New Jersey Association of Counties, developed the Green Internship program in conjunction with the vocational/technical schools. The program is funded by Walmart, the country’s largest retailer and a leader in energy management.

The program “is also intended to encourage students to pursue careers in county government,” NJAC Executive Director Celeste Carpiano wrote in a letter to the freeholders announcing the award. “The work performed by the student will be in the areas of sustainability, ‘green’ improvements, energy or environmental issues,” she wrote.

“Your county has been especially aggressive in its energy management programs. It will need highly trained and educated employees to work on the green technologies in which you are now investing. The NJAC Foundation/Walmart Foundation Green Internship is intended to increase the pool of qualified employees from which your county can recruit,” she added.

Horridge, accompanied to the freeholder meeting by his parents, Stuart and Virginia Horridge, interned with the Warren County Engineer’s Office. He said he plans on going to college to study mechanical engineering after his graduates from Warren Tech this June.

Horridge said he worked on various green technology projects in the Engineer’s Office.

Ray Gara, apprenticeship coordinator at Warren Tech, said he was glad county staff “took him (Horridge) under their wing and showed him the ropes.”

Warren Tech Engineering Instructor Sean McGeough called Horridge “a fantastic student… very thorough in what he does.”

“He’s one of my go-to guys,” McGeough said later, explaining Horridge was leading a solar panels project at the school.

McGeough noted Warren Tech is in the midst of revamping its engineering project using a $96,000 state grant, to coordinate its curriculum with New Jersey Institute of Technology. The new curriculum will be implemented this fall.

Gardner noted that Warren Tech is continually advancing, adding, “That’s why there’s a waiting list to get in.”

New Jersey’s county vocational/technical school system is recognized nationally as a leader in cutting-edge technologies, attracting some of the brightest and most talented students.

Warren County Technical School Senior Adam Horridge (center) receives congratulations and a $1,000 check at a Warren County Freeholder Board meeting as the county’s first recipient of NJAC Foundation/Walmart Foundation Green Internship award. With Horridge are (l-r) Warren Tech’s Apprenticeship Coordinator Ray Gara, Engineering Instructor Sean McGeough, Freeholder Director Richard D. Gardner and Freeholder Angelo Accetturo.