Highlands Resident Russell Karshmer, a cadet in the NJROTC program at MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, was honored at last week’s meeting of the Monmouth County Commissioners for his winning design for the coin for the Commissioning of the nation’s newest submarine SSN796, USS New Jersey.
In presenting a certificate of appreciation to the cadet, Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone praised his talent and ingenuity in creating a design that not only featured the submarine, but also numerous historic highlights of Monmouth County and the state.
Each of the four other Commissioners joined the Director in their praise of the cadet and his work.
Karshmer, who is a junior at MAST, explained the design which will appear on the pre-commissioning coin when the submarine is commissioned at NWS Earle in Leonardo, and spoke at the county commission meeting why he included all the aspects of the artwork. His design, selected by the Pre-Commissioning Committee, was selected from more than 300 submitted by high school students from throughout New Jersey.
Peter Engleman, a member of the USS New Jersey commissioning committee was also present for the ceremony.
