Middlesex County Administrator John Pulomena and the DiLeo family will get the honors — and former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno will supply the comedy — at the annual benefit gala for the State Theater New Jersey, to be held June 8 in New Brunswick.
The gala festivities begin with a cocktail & dinner reception at 5 p.m., which will include live music by Shake Rattle & Roll Pianos, a silent auction with select signed memorabilia from some of STNJ’s top performances alongside curated experiences, catering by Fritz’s, the annual awards, followed by a featured performance by Leno on the main stage.
After the performance, guests can enjoy the afterparty featuring the Blaire Reinhard Band.
Leno, of course, figures to be the main draw.
Ticket information
All proceeds from the State Theatre New Jersey gala help provide education and community engagement programs for children, families and underserved residents and support the continued excellence of its world-class mainstage performances. A portion of each ticket price represents a tax-deductible contribution to the State Theatre.
Benefit gala tickets start at $700; sponsorship and advertising opportunities are also available. For more information, or to reserve benefit gala tickets, email gala@stnj.org.
He is known for a variety of roles, including television icon, stand-up comedian, best-selling children’s book author and lovable TV and movie voice-over artist. He now serves as host of “Jay Leno’s Garage” on CNBC.
The proceeds from the gala will contribute to making education and community engagement programs affordable and accessible for children, families and underserved residents in the diverse New Brunswick community, as well as mainstage performances.
The event is set to be co-chaired by Wendy Weibalk and Steven Cahn.
The following people and groups will be recognized at the event:
- John Pulomena, as 2024 Arts Advocate Honoree;
- NAI DiLeo-Bram & Co. as 2024 Corporate Honoree;
- The DiLeo Family Foundation as 2024 Corporate Honoree.
Here’s a more detailed look at the honorees:
- Pulomena: As the county administrator of Middlesex County, a position he has held for the past 15 years, Pulomena spearheads the management of overall operations at the county government. Prior to becoming the county administrator, he served for 10 years as a member of the Middlesex County board of county commissioners. Additionally, he was the council president for the borough of South Plainfield for nine years, as well as the chair of the Middlesex County planning board for five years.
- NAI DiLeo-Bram & Co. and the DiLeo Family Foundation: The groups are committed to seeing arts and education programming designed to inform and build future audiences. This is achieved through meaningful annual contributions to the general and capital campaign funds and more specifically, STNJ’s sensory-friendly programming. The DiLeo Family Foundation is a nonprofit, grant-making organization whose mission is to support charitable causes with a special focus in central New Jersey. The foundation operates as a multigenerational family organization that recognizes the critical role of community, supporting those charities that provide shelter, food and assistance to individuals and families in need, education and assistance to children with special needs and education access and programming for the arts.
