Mike Rafferty - Lifetime Achievement
 Mr. Rafferty was born in 1926 and grew up in Ballinakill, East Galway in the heart of a locality steeped in the very best of old-style traditional music. Mike is an outstanding exponent of the East Galway style of flute playing. He learned his music from his father, Tom “Barrel” who played flute and uilleann pipes. Mike immigrated to the United States in 1949 and has appeared at an extensive array of concerts and festivals all over America including the Smithsonian Institution’s Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife in 1976 and toured with the Green Fields of America.
Mike has appeared on many recordings and has recorded three albums with his daughter Mary; The Dangerous Reel, The Old Fireside Music, The Road from Ballinakill and most recently his solo CD Speed 78. Mike has devoted a lifetime to exploring, performing, and teaching traditional Irish music on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Rafferty has received several awards from various organizations for his contributions to traditional Irish music. In 2003 he was named Irish Echo's Traditional Musician of the Year. Recently, he has been inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Mid-Atlantic Region Comhaltas Ceoltóirí, recognized by New York University, Kerry Men's Association of New York, Galway Men's Association of New York and in Bogota, New Jersey, the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) named themselves "The Michael Rafferty Branch of CCÉ”.
Richard L. McCormick - Honorary Chair
 Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and a graduate of Piscataway High School, Dr. Richard L. McCormick practically grew up on the Rutgers campus. His mother Katheryne was a long-term administrator at Rutgers, and his father, the late Richard P. McCormick, was an eminent professor of history whose career at the University spanned decades.
Dr. McCormick began his career as an assistant professor of History at Rutgers—New Brunswick. He rose through the professorial ranks, serving as chair of the Department and dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In 1992 Dr. McCormick moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he served as executive vice chancellor, provost, and vice chancellor for academic affairs, and in 1995 he became president of the University of Washington where he served until returning to Rutgers as its 19th president in 2002. The author of three books and numerous articles, Dr. McCormick is a recognized scholar of American political history. He is married to Joan Barry McCormick and has two children, Betsy and Michael.
Justice Jaynee LaVecchia - Grand Marshall
 Justice Jaynee LaVecchia was nominated by Governor Whitman to serve on the Supreme Court on January 6, 2000. She was confirmed by the Senate on January 10, 2000 and sworn in for a term that began February 1, 2000.
Justice LaVecchia served as Director and Chief Administrator Law Judge for the Office of Administrator Law from 1989 through July 1994. She has also served in the Office of Counsel to Governor Kean, first as an Assistant Counsel and then as Deputy Chief Counsel. She has been in private practice and worked as a deputy attorney general in the Division of Law.
Justice LaVecchia was born in Paterson, New Jersey and is a graduate of Douglass College 76 and Rutgers School of Law Newark 79. She has been a member of the New Jersey Bar since 1980. In 1996, she was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Association. She has chaired or served on various Supreme Court Committees, subcommittees, and other Court-assigned projects. She has been an active member of the Douglass College Alumnae Association. Justice LaVecchia is married to Michael R. Cole and they reside in Morris Township.
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