Messineo receives state award

Lafayette — For his two-and-a-half years of volunteer effort leading The Six Centuries Club in Lafayette, and his 23 years of publishing 46 issues of Sensations Magazine, Lafayette resident David Messineo was one of two Sussex County residents to receive a 2009 New Jersey State Jefferson Award for Public Service, in a ceremony held recently at NJPAC in Newark. Out of hundreds of nominees, Messineo was one of only 26 individuals selected statewide for this award, and one of only three in the “Arts” category. The second Sussex County resident is Dorothy Sands of Sparta, in the “Community Pillar” category. Messineo launched The Six Centuries Club in 2007 with a simple concept: generate a greater interest and awareness of American history by examining a different century of that history every six months during a three-year period. He also intended to re-examine and return to the public some of the forgotten history of Lafayette. “Our primary goal was simply to create some nice free-to-attend events in and for Sussex County,” Messineo said. “Things have been increasingly rough financially for a growing number of people, and we felt we could play a role both in building community and lifting people’s spirits. We came to Sussex County because we believed it was underserved in free-to-attend arts programming, especially in the literary and historical genres, and we wanted to make a good-faith effort in those regards.” Next from The Six Centuries Club: “American Poetry, 1776-1800,” near Lafayette Mill, on Saturday, July 18. For more information, visit www.sensationsmag.com.