Town News from Paramus, New Jersey • A23

Town NewsSPORTS PAGE 23December 19, 2007 PARK RIDGE Rob McGov- ern of the Oradell and Bergen Catholic McGovern family is the YMCA of Greater Bergen Coun- Person of the Year for 2007. McGovern was honored two days before Thanksgiving at the 42nd annual sports awards banquet at the Park Ridge Marriott. He gave a heartfelt talk about his life and the importance of family and relationships. Just as moving was the professionally done video with a voice-over about the life and times of McGovern, the contributions he has made to his country. One of nine children, McGov- ern grew up in Oradell and attend- ed Bergen Catholic High School.

His outstanding athletic prowess turned him into a high school foot- ball hero. He was heavily recruited by numerous colleges, but chose to attend the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, where he led the Crusaders to several years of domination in Division I- AA football. McGovern earned All-Ameri- can honors at the linebacker posi- tion, and the Holy Cross captain was drafted into the National Foot- ball League in his senior year. He competed four seasons in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs, Pitts- burgh Steelers and New England Patriots before giving up his fading hopes of becoming more than just a special teams player. McGovern decided to attend Fordham Law School and landed his dream job as a special narcotics prosecutor for the Manhattan Dis- trict Office.

And, for good measure in 1997, he decided to enlist in the Army Reserve. McGovern was relishing his life as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. From 1997 through 2001, he was in the big leagues of crime fighting. He would team up with undercover policemen to tar- get high crime areas and formulate strategies to bug, bust, arrest and convict drug dealers. On Sept.

11, 2001, McGovern was emerging from a subway when the clouds of toxic dust billowed out from the shattered World Trade Center. Wanting to help, he spent countless hours working at Ground Zero. Later, he learned that one of his fellow officers had died in the terrorist attacks. So, the next week, he called his Army Reserve unit, volunteering for active duty. After eight months of intense training jumping out of planes, crawling through rugged terrain and honing his combat skills he headed for Afghanistan as a JAG officer and helped create the Afghan Army.

McGovern arranged govern- ment funding, developed plans for when and where to deploy troops and helped establish a central authority that would prevent war- lords from spinning out of control. He tailored rules of combat and answered legal questions about pursuing the enemy across the bor- ders. He lectured soldiers about the law of warfare. He dealt with vio- lence on a daily basis. Taliban fight- ers would launch rockets at his compound, once missing, by the length of a football field, the tent where Captain McGovern slept.

When four Afghan youngsters scavenging a practice range for scrap metal to sell were killed by U.S. Army mortars, McGovern was assigned to defuse the volatile situation. He expressed deep regret to the families of the victims and helped arrange for the building of a school dedicated to the youngsters. He undo the tragedy, but he could show that America cared. McGovern was then assigned by the Army to prosecute war crimes in Central Criminal Court.

In five months, he won more than 400 convictions. He had a 90 percent conviction rate against grenade-throwers, bombers, terrorists and insurgents of every description. McGovern stood nearby as four mortars exploded at the United States Embassy in Baghdad. He was there when a suicide bomber drove into a crowd where an American soldier was handing out candy to Iraqi children; the solid- er and 18 youngsters died. McGov- ern had to search for justice in a minefield of mindlessness.

McGovern is currently stationed in Washington, D.C., where he lives with his wife, Major Kelly McGovern, and daughter, Reagan. He travels with an Army JAG team training other military lawyers to prosecute at home and abroad. have experienced significant events in my life, and, hopefully, it has made me a wiser McGovern said. are serious consequences to every decision. That drives me to work hard at my Rob McGovern is Bergen County Person of the Year LITROFF U.S.

Army Captain Rob McGovern receives the YMCA of Greater Bergen top annual honor, Person of the Year, from Co-Master of Ceremonies Tom Curry, the athletic director at Dwight-Englewood High School. Former Bergen Catholic and Holy Cross College football star and National Football League player Rob McGovern addresses the audience of 313 people at the YMCA of Greater Bergen 42nd annual sports award banquet. W298116-01 W298116-01 THE ULTIMATE CARDIO EXPERIENCE GYM PARAMUS Bring in this ticket today for a FREE ONE-DAY admission! First time visitors only, available at Gym in Paramus. 21 and older with valid local I.D. other restrictions may apply 49 Midland Ave Paramus, NJ 07652 201-265-7722 www.goldsgym.com/paramusnj.