Longtime township volunteer retires
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
7/22/2010

Members of the Cherry Hill Council and public honored a long-time township volunteer after he announced his retirement from both the township zoning board and historical commission.

Tom McCallum accepted his proclamation from Mayor Bernie Platt and thanked the council for honoring his more than two-decade’s worth of volunteerism to Cherry Hill. He served 21 years on the historical commission and 14 on the zoning board.

“Tom McCallum has probably been one of the most valuable volunteers Cherry Hill has ever seen. He served 21 years on the historical commission and 14 years on the zoning board. You don’t get that dedication from many people. He took volunteerism to heart. His knowledge of the town, his knowledge of things that came before the zoning board was invaluable,” Platt said. “He will be sorely missed. You’ll never find anyone to replace him. Instead of having one person, I’ll have to find two volunteers. He will never be replaced because you can’t find a guy like Tom.”

Council Vice President Sara Lipsett praised McCallum for his dedication to Cherry Hill and his desire to make the right decisions for township residents.

Lipsett served alongside of McCallum for several years on both the zoning board and historical commission.

“Tom and I served on the zoning board and the historical commission together. He’s always been great and he’s served for a long time,” she said. “The town has come a long way since he started to volunteer with us. A lot of that has to do with his dedication and his vision.”

McCallum and his wife Jeanne started their volunteerism in Philadelphia with the Friends of Independence Park.

The couple moved to Cherry Hill in 1964 to the Barclay Farms neighborhood – a move that was originally intended to be temporary, he said – and quickly fell in love with the community.

Looking back on his volunteerism, McCallum said he would fondly remember his many years on the historical commission. Watching Croft Farm become what it is today from its infancy has been especially rewarding, he said.

“It was the development of Croft Farm. We were in on that from its infancy and we saw that thing go from a ramshackle place to what it is today. Receiving those grants from New Jersey Preservation to restore Croft Farm was so rewarding,” he said. “It’s really a splendid piece of property. Cherry Hill has two fabulous properties, the Barclay Farmstead and the Croft Farmstead. “

Creating a cultural resources survey of almost every historic home in Cherry Hill was great as well, he said. That survey is still used to this day to determine what can and cannot be done on certain properties in the township.

The zoning board was more challenging and presented more unique obstacles, McCallum said, but was certainly a good experience as well.

As for the future, McCallum said he and Jeanne would spend some more time in their home in Stone Harbor. Also, there’s a patch of crab grass in his garden right now that may need some work as well, he said with a chuckle.

He also encouraged Cherry Hill residents to become more involved in their community and consider volunteering.

“I encourage people to get involved in their communities. Do something constructive instead of being critical all the time. You get a lot in return, you really do. I’m very happy that somewhere along the line it happened to me. It’s very, very rewarding,” he said. “I’m also lucky that I volunteered under two great administrations by the way, starting Susan Bass Levin. Bernie has been a very good mayor and under these extraordinary circumstances right now, financially, it’s very hard to govern.

“I think Cherry Hill is a wonderful community. I’m glad I ended up here.”