American Idol contestant Jax at home, Monday, February 2, 2015, in East Brunswick, NJ.

Rich Rivera, Chairman of the Latino Leadership of New Jersey’s civil rights protection project.

Each year as the holidays approach, the Courier News produces a Wish Book.  It’s a community service project that aims to connect people in need to those with resources to give.  Since its inception 23-years ago, the project has raised $416,000 and filled 420 requests.  Among the people I photographed for the 2011 Wish Book are Laurie Hansen, a cognitively impaired adult from Westfield, above, five-year-old Theresa Cornell of Manville, below, Anthony Kizis, also cognitively impaired, of New Providence, and Plainfield resident Keri Ann Spence, who is visually impaired and has cognitive challenges.

Matawan, NJ – Father John Scully, pastor of St. Clements Roman Catholic Church in Matawan.

Actress Stephanie Zimbalist at the George St. Playhouse in New Brunswick, where she stars in the theater’s upcoming drama “The Subject Was Roses”.

When Metuchen resident Howard Krive died in 2008 following a nearly year-long battle with cancer, he left quite a surprise for his surviving family members. His family and friends knew Krive as an avid guitar player and collector. But no one realized the extent of that collection.
Because Krive’s family had very limited musical knowledge, they called on his friend and fellow musician Christopher Wylde to help them sort through the collection. As they began opening guitar cases, they uncovered a rare Koontz jazz guitar. And then another. And another. Thirty-one in all, each valued between twenty and fifty-thousand dollars. Sam Koontz, a Linden jazz guitar maker, only made approximately 200 hand-crafted guitars in his career, and 31 of them belonged to Howard Krive. The fine Koontz guitars are prized by discriminating jazz players, and because of extremely limited availability, command a hefty pricetag.

Master guitarist Jerry Topinka, below, plays one of the Koontz guitars.