Liz DeLaura

Recently the Port Authority celebrated its 100th anniversary. I looked back and realized that between my dad (Fred Fevola) and I, we had 70 years of PA service. My dad served for 34 years, retiring in 1972, and I had a 36-year career, retiring in 1995.

During that time, the PA offered many opportunities which I managed to take advantage of. Some of those opportunities included college tuition reimbursement, advancement, and complete career changes. I met people from many departments and have had the pleasure of long-lasting friendships formed over the years, some have lasted over 55 years.

In 2007, while having lunch with Stan Raith and Rita DuBrow, Stan suggested forming a luncheon for retirees in the south/central New Jersey area. The first luncheon was held in September 2007 with 32 retirees. News spread about the luncheon group by word of mouth and became an overnight success. Held quarterly, we average about 80 retirees per quarter. One luncheon drew 117 attendees in July 2012.

Mother PONYA was unique in that retirees did not abandon their PA roots and continued to maintain contact with those they worked with over the years. That is evident in the number of luncheons (pre-pandemic) that are available to retirees, both locally and in Florida.