The 200 Club Trustees realized that the newly unveiled Wall of Heroes would be a fitting tribute to Bergen County's public servants who made the ultimate sacrifice.  They didn't fully realize the emotional impact it would have, though, until watching family members, former colleagues and friends interact with the Wall at a pair of memorial services last month at the Bergen County law & Public Safety Institute.

    "Overwhelming is the only word I can use to describe the reaction," said Anthony Scardino, president of the 200 Club, who addressed a crowd of about 400 at the Police Memorial Day on May 18. "People walked the length of both walls and were touching each of the more than 100 plaques - reconnecting with lost loved ones.  While we created and sponsored the Wall of Heroes as a perpetual tribute and memorial for their sacrifice, it was the attendees who told us how much they appreciated what we have created."

    The reaction at the New Jersey & New York Volunteer  Firemen's Association Memorial Service - which pays tribute to fallen firefighters and emergency services personnel - was much the same, according to Jack Terhune, a vice president of the 200 Club.

    "Because of the weather, the event was held in the auditorium - what we now call the Hall of Heroes." said Terhune, who chaired the Wall of Heroes Committee for the 200 Club, of the May 22 event. "The plaques and the marble wall added an extra solemnity to the room and to the event, making the ceremony even more meaningful then usual."

    The Wall of Heroes, which runs along both the left and right sides of the Hall of Heroes Auditorium, is comprised of more than 100 beautifully framed shadow-box plaques and an 11x25 foot black granite wall, at the Bergen County Law & Public Safety Institute. The Wall was designed by H2M Group, an engineering, architectural and planning company with an office in Totowa, which donated its services.

    Funds to pay for the Wall, estimated at $50,000 were originally slated to be taken from the 200 Club of Bergen County's general treasury, but once individuals and organizations associated with the Club heard about the project, unsolicited donations poured in the extent that most of the project will be financed via these donations.

    "We were overwhelmed by the generosity of organizations such as Hudson City Savings Bank, Interchange Bank, J. Fletcher Creamer & Sons, and Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli and Bergen County Sheriff  Leo McGuire, among others'" said Scardino. The entire idea started small, but started to grow and grow, and the end result is a great tribute to the public servants of Bergen County."

    According to Scardino, the Wall of Heroes was the brainchild of Frank DelVecchio, who first  proposed the idea late in 2004 when he was the director of the Law & Public Safety Institute. DelVecchio told Scardino about a Wall of Heroes, and Scardino immediately offered the 200 Club to be major part of it's creation and asked Jack Terhune to serve as chairman of the  project. The 200 Club board of trustees whole heartedly agreed and the project was off and running.

    "One of the greatest aspects of the Wall of Heroes is that it's the only place in Bergen County where all the public service agencies - police, fire and EMS - are honored side by side, in one central location," said Scardino. "Now there is a place to visit with these heroes to show our appreciation and keep their loved ones in our prayers. A fireman and friend told me that as he was viewing the wall he began to cry. To cry is to remember and the 200 Club exists to make sure the we never forget."