- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by The New Jersey Education Association.

Hackensack Meridian Health.

Keep getting better.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

Johnson & Johnson.

PSE&G.

Powering progress.

Citizens Philanthropic Foundation.

NJM Insurance Group.

Serving New Jersey’s drivers, homeowners and business owners for more than 100 years.

The North Ward Center.

And by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Making a difference.

Promotional support provided by NJ.Com.

Keeping communities informed and connected.

And by New Jersey Globe.

- This is One-On-One.

- I'm an equal American just like you are.

- The way we change Presidents in this country is by voting.

- A quartet is already a jawn, it’s just The New Jawn.

- January 6th was not some sort of violent, crazy outlier.

- I don't care how good you are or how good you think you are, there is always something to learn.

- I mean what other country sends comedians over to embedded military to make them feel better.

- People call me 'cause they feel nobody's paying attention.

_ It’s not all about memorizing and getting information, it’s what you do with that information.

- (slowly) Start talking right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - Hi everyone, Steve Adubato.

We kick off the program with our partner and friend, Steve Edwards, President of the great New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Steve, where are you right now?

- Right now I'm in our Late Night Jersey Television Studio.

You got your studio, we got our studio here at the Hall of Fame, and I'm at New Jersey Hall of Fame at American Dream.

This is our new 10,000 square foot state-of-the-art entertainment learning center that we just opened last June.

And so many of your, I think, audience viewers probably don't even know about it, let alone at been here.

So it's great that I'm on today and promoting it because they've gotta see this place.

Anyone who's got half a tank of Jersey Pride needs to see this place.

- Yeah, the website's gonna be up throughout the segment, Steve, so people can go there and check it out.

I will admit, as of this date, I have not been there and I will be there because I look forward to being in the studio there and interacting with some of, actually, there's real interactivity between the honorees and people who come there and it's fascinating.

I've seen it done by other people.

PS, the Hall of Fame, New Jersey Hall of Fame is our partner on our series "Remember Them" co-anchored by our executive producer Jacqui Tricarico and without the Hall of Fame, "Remember Them" would not exist.

Lemme just put that out there.

Hey Steve, let's do this.

Let's honor and feature just some of the 2024 Hall of Fame inductees.

One of them, by the way, check out the interview that Jacqui Tricarico did about Leslie Gore with Leslie Gore's brother.

Check that out.

But Steve, can I throw some names out at you and you tell us why they matter?

- Absolutely.

- One of my favorite writers of all time, Gay Talese.

Go ahead.

- Gay Talese, well, I don't think most of your viewers have read that article, "Sinatra has a Cold".

I think if they read that, that is one of the best magazine articles written of all time.

But Gay, of course, is a literary genius.

And the thing about the Hall of Fame is we're not just about sports and entertainment.

It's all walks of life.

And Gay Talese is an example from the literary world of greatness that we've exported here in the state.

- Speaking of greatness, Meryl Streep from Basking Ridge in Bernardsville, inducted, I believe, by Cher.

It was, the great interactivity was great between the two of them.

Meryl Streep, extraordinary, iconic.

Please, Steve.

- And she, listen, I've been watching Meryl Streep on movies since the seventies, like so many others.

She reached the pinnacle of the acting profession.

I think she did that probably by the late seventies, certainly by the early eighties.

And she continues to do what she loves.

She jumps from project to project, just very passionate about the acting profession, portraying so many amazing characters.

And she's also somebody that is proud to be from New Jersey.

She really is.

She grew up in Bernards Township.

Her brother, I believe, still lives here in Jersey and she has never forgotten her roots.

- Lemme give you another one who was so emotional about his induction.

Kevin Smith, director, producer, writer, actor, filmmaker.

"Clerks", check out "Clerks", a classic.

Kevin Smith, gimme a minute on Kevin Smith.

- Well, Kevin, of course, started out making these independent films.

He's grown since then.

He is somebody that is very Jersey centric and was so moved by the fact that we inducted him with the likes of Edison and Einstein.

He literally, he gave his induction speech right behind me by the Model T that we have on display here, Edison's Model T. And he literally, I don't think he'd mind me saying, he's a sensitive guy.

He literally started to cry during his induction because New Jersey means so much to Kevin Smith.

- All right, those of us who are Giants fans, right across from you, Giants Stadium, a couple of Giants were inducted.

Ron Johnson, a great running back, but also one of my favorite of all times, Phil Simms.

A class act, a Jersey guy.

Not originally from Jersey, but as he said in his acceptance speech, he accepted and embraced New Jersey as his home.

Talk about that, please, Steve.

- Yeah, I actually talked to Phil about that when we inducted him, again, right behind me by our Wall of Fame.

And Phil moved here, I guess late seventies, early eighties.

His wife is from New Jersey, but he said, he's from Kentucky.

He said, there's no way I am ever going back to Kentucky, not just because my wife's not gonna let me, but because I just love New Jersey so much.

So he is a transplant.

But we love those stories of people that come from other states and anchor here, and then they're here to stay.

- I'll tell you another interesting one.

So those of us who love Danny DeVito, and I was honored to be part of last year's ceremony at New Jersey Performing Arts Center when my dad was inducted, Steve and the team allowed me to induct my dad.

And the host of that event, the MC, who's been there for years, is Danny DeVito.

Danny DeVito and Peter Cancro, The founder of Jersey Mikes, doing really interesting, entertaining commercials together.

But DeVito inducted Cancro.

Why is Peter Cancro so important, Steve?

- Well, I think Peter is one of the ultimate Jersey guy stories.

He started back in the, I think 1960s was the first Jersey Mike's that he bought, and then he started to expand it.

I used to eat those Jersey Mike's, by the way, when I went to Rutgers college in the early eighties.

I remember the business was on the move that this is a guy that got started with very humble beginnings down in the Point Pleasant area.

And he's now grown to be one of the most successful entrepreneurs, not only in the country, but in the world.

So that's just, I think, a tremendous Jersey story to tell other people and hopefully inspire the future Jersey Mike's.

- By the way, I'm not a big skating fan, but I was fascinated by Dick Button, a two time Olympic gold medalist skating figure and a great broadcaster that made skating relevant to so many because of his work as a broadcaster.

So many other, Geraldine Thompson from Red Bank, social reform pioneer.

First Lady of New Jersey was her nickname.

Warren Littlefield, Montclair, hey, Must See TV.

- Warren made his acceptance speech right at this table where I am.

He came here and he loved the Hall of Fame, but Warren is behind so many incredible TV series from "Seinfeld", "Mad About You", "The Cosby Show".

The list just goes on and on and on of television that he originated.

And I mean literally, "ER", "Homicide", and the list just goes on and on.

He is just a legend in the television industry.

- And speaking of legends, these people would not be known to us in this way if not for Steve Edwards, who's really becoming a legend of recognizing people with the team at the Hall of Fame.

So to Steve and our partners at the New Jersey Hall of Fame, check out their website, go to American Dream, experience it yourself.

I will be there very soon because Steve will embarrass me if I do not, and plus I want to experience it.

Hey, thank you my friend.

- Steve, thank you.

We can't wait to give you the tour.

Your dad, the legendary Steve Adubato Sr. is in here.

He's the predecessor to another Steve Adubato I'm sure that's coming in here in the future as well.

Look forward to giving you the tour.

- Well, I don't know about that, but I'll say this.

I would be honored if that ever happened, but I do not wanna engage with my father and have him yell at me virtually over at the American Dream.

Thanks, Steve.

Stay with us, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- We're honored to be joined by Terry Loftis, President and CEO of a terrific organization, the New Jersey Symphony.

Terry, good to see you again.

- Good to see you, Steve.

Thanks for having me.

- You got it.

Full disclosure, you are in Dallas.

- Yeah.

- You're leading the effort there, but as we do this program toward the back end of January, in March 2025, you are coming to New Jersey from Dallas to lead the symphony.

Why?

- Well, first and foremost, I was recruited by a colleague at a search firm and was presented with this opportunity, and after reading the overview of the position and then based on what knowledge I had of the New Jersey Symphony, it was just a very appealing opportunity, and one that I definitely wanted to throw my hat into the ring for.

It's such a great diverse organization and a great music director artistically, and a great opportunity to kind of take what the artistic excellence from the staff and from the orchestra itself that's there, and take that in a new direction, so.

- Now you have said, it's a great quote from you, that running an orchestra is, quote, "A contact sport."

What?

What does that mean?

- Well, I spent the first half of my career, Steven, in marketing, communications, business development, and I've run and owned a few agencies over the course of my career that were all hectic environments.

One would not anticipate going to work for a performing arts organization a contact sport, but it is.

There are so many moving parts day to day, to managing fundraising, marketing, ticket sales, orchestra, - I'm sorry, fundraising, did you say, while we're in public broadcasting?

Did you- - Yeah.

(laughing) - I may know something about that.

Go ahead, pick it up.

- Yeah.

I used to joke with my colleagues here in Dallas that, you know, we would end our fundraising goals with success if I could hire a camera guy, lighting guy, and a sound guy to follow us around on a daily basis to see what it takes to run a symphony orchestra, because it's a, someone should make the documentary because there's so much involved behind the scenes before you see a music director and an orchestra take the stage.

- That music is the art.

That's, I'm not even gonna say the fun part, but that is the part that everyone enjoys.

But getting, and I'm not comparing what we do to the symphony, but this is the easy, fun part.

The other part, as Terry's talking about, it is definitely a contact sport I'll tell you, in public broadcasting, as well.

Hey, try this for us.

- Sure.

- In the post-COVID environment, as we're doing this five years from the original COVID crisis kicking, happening in the United States, how has COVID impacted, by the way, this is part of our Arts Connection series, you'll see the graphic up, how has COVID impacted the work of the symphony, and frankly, the work in the arts?

- Tremendously.

When COVID, the outbreak happened, I was running a arts grant organization called TACA, which funds, through grant applications, cultural arts organizations in North Texas.

And the impact was immediate.

You saw, across the country, you know, you know this, everything shut down.

If you were a performing arts organization, that impact was felt greatly.

It was, you know, dance companies couldn't perform, theater companies couldn't perform, symphony orchestras couldn't perform.

And we are still reeling with the impact from a attendance perspective, as the DSO and the New Jersey Symphony.

From a fundraising perspective, we had older donors in our core audience groups who either sadly are no longer with us or in that older generation, or have just selected purposely not to return to an environment to where they will be sitting, you know, next to a few thousand people in a concert hall.

So, moving out of that and defining what the approach will be moving forward, because there is no going back to how we were doing things pre-COVID, is maintaining that core, but equally importantly is engaging with a younger demographic to not only immerse them in what we do, but give them a reason for doing so.

So that's critical to the success of any classical performing arts organization moving forward.

- I grew up in a household where Wagner, you know, Vivaldi, and the greats, that was what was played in our home, along with Sinatra, every Saturday.

- Absolutely.

- Every Saturday and Sunday.

So I grew up around that kind of music 'cause my mother and father were obsessed.

My mom still is.

That being said, how the heck do we engage younger people, in the arts overall, but in organizations like the New Jersey Symphony, and the great music that comes out of it, please?

- Yeah, first and foremost, because the New Jersey Symphony is a state orchestra., so it's our primary home, of course, at New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

The objective is what happened with COVID to that younger generation is culture by definition is different to a younger demographic than it might be for you and I.

So you just said growing up at home, you know, there was classical music in the home.

That's not the case in many instances today.

So what happened during COVID and what we call the Netflix era is that younger demographic was already accustomed to getting all of their information from here, or staring at their televisions at home.

That was- - Yeah, "Madame Butterfly" is not playing on the phone.

- Absolutely.

And it was greatly enhanced during the pandemic.

So that definition of culture for them was other forms of live music, recreation, film, food.

And so the challenge became, rather than moving forward out of COVID saying, "We are a great art form and you should give us all of your attention," the narrative needed to switch to, "We understand in your age group that culture is defined differently.

We wanna be a part of that ecosystem as opposed to telling you that we need to be the ecosystem."

And that is beginning to take root to where we're seeing in Dallas, for example, a younger demographic that are making purchasing decisions to see our shows very last minute, because that's how they do things.

So you and I might look at, oh, you know, the New Jersey Symphony's doing, you know, "Beethoven Five," and get tickets as soon as you can.

That younger demographic, what we're seeing now, will wait 'til day of or night before to buy tickets, and we're seeing a spike in ticket sales because of that.

So it's understanding where they are and giving them our product and services based on how they buy.

- Yeah, by the way, I know my mom watches "One On One" every night.

She'd be upset that I did not mention Giacomo Puccini.

(Terry laughing) I just, I needed.

Listen, that's a family issue.

I had to get that outta the way.

- Yeah, don't get in trouble with mom.

Yeah.

- No, not, and especially when it comes to Puccini.

Terry Loftis, President and CEO of New Jersey Symphony.

Their website has been out.

Check out what they are doing, where they're doing it, and they're doing important work.

And Terry's coming from Dallas to New Jersey for our beautiful weather.

Thank you, Terry, (chuckling) for joining us.

We appreciate it.

- Steve, thanks to you so much for having me.

- Yeah, we'll talk soon.

- I'm looking forward to it.

- I'm Steve Adubato, that's Terry Loftis.

He's coming to Jersey from Dallas.

Becoming a Giant fan.

(Terry laughing) Right after this.

We'll be back.

(laughing) - [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- Hi, I am Jacqui Tricarico, Senior Correspondent for "One-on-One," and I am so pleased to be joined now by Montgomery Upper Middle School teacher, Stefanie Lachenauer, who is the 2024-2025 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year.

Congratulations, Stefanie.

- Thank you so much, and thank you so much for having me here today.

- It's great to have you on.

So first, I wanna talk about that day you found out, because I know the NJEA, the New Jersey Education Association, who ultimately hands out this recognition to its teachers every year, loves to surprise the educators.

So, talk about the day that you found out that you were named the State Teacher of the Year.

- Oh, boy, that was quite a surprise.

So we were having an assembly, and fortunately my principal let me know that they were gonna ask me to speak.

So I had something ready, but I didn't know what it was about.

Like, it was just kind of vague.

It was a kickoff to the school year.

So I was like, okay, I have some rah-rah things to say.

And then they called me up to share.

But before they had me speak, they handed me a gift, and the gift was a plaque that said that I was a state teacher on it.

So, I got the surprise in front of everyone, which was such a beautiful thing because the work that I do is with the school.

So I was with all the people who have, you know, championed me and also worked alongside me the whole time.

So it was, this is really...

It belongs to all of us, so it was very exciting.

- That's awesome.

And being a State Teacher of the Year, I know, goes...

There's a lot of different elements to it.

And one of the things is you have this year long paid sabbatical to do a lot of different things in and around the state.

So talk about first, the last couple of weeks, some things that you've been working on and what you will continue to work on during this time that you're state teacher.

- Yeah, so I do have a paid sabbatical, which is great.

We have wonderful sponsors.

ETS actually sponsors my salary so I can have the sabbatical.

- And ETS is?

- ETS is Educational Testing Services.

- Okay.

- And they're actually located in Princeton, so they're nearby.

- Great.

- And NJEA also provides my car so that I'm able to get around, which is amazing.

And I work closely with the DOE, which is also one of our sponsors.

So right now, in the month of January, I am in the office almost all the time 'cause I'm doing lots of meet and greets.

So I'm learning a lot about how our education system works and learning a lot about the behind the scenes in NJDOE.

And it has been so eye-opening for me.

I was unaware that there were so many resources and so many things that are available to us.

So I've actually been sharing a lot of that out also on my social media.

So I've made that also part of my platform because I think of this as my year of service, but it really is my year of service not just to the DOE, but also my year of service to teachers.

So I'm trying to bridge that connection as much as possible.

And as I'm learning more about that, it can support the educators, and I'll be going in and out of classrooms throughout the state.

So my goal is to visit all the County Teacher of the Year schools first, and then as different school districts have interests, I'm doing assemblies, I'm doing professional development opportunities for teachers.

I'm also connecting with all of the universities and colleges in New Jersey, that teacher ed programs, so I'm really looking forward to that work.

And then also my cohort of State Teachers of the Year, we'll be going to conferences and having events together.

- That's great, a busy couple of months ahead for you.

And I know, getting a recognition like this really means that you're doing incredible things in your school, in your classroom.

So I wanna talk about some of those things.

One that really stood out to me is the Youth Action Board and things that you're doing to make sure that your students are supported when it comes to mental health.

Talk about that for us.

- So I'm so fortunate to work closely also with our Municipal Alliance, which is front and through our Montgomery Health Department.

So, I talk a lot about how things can't happen in silos.

So it is a community effort.

So working with them, we started the Youth Action Board, and it's made up of students from Montgomery High School and anyone who lives in Montgomery and a high school student can also participate.

And they champion mental health.

So they get to choose what their goals are.

So what are they looking for?

What are they noticing in school?

And not just, "Okay, this is a problem."

It's, "Well, what are we gonna do about it?"

So we're noticing that kids are having a hard time with social media.

Well, what's our action step?

So right now, one of the big projects is we are working on our social media campaign, funny enough, right?

But we're sharing out, as we're learning different things about mental health, we're sharing that out on our social media platform.

So that's the big thing.

And then we always have an event that we've been working with Municipal Alliance on, and we'll be hosting something in May.

- That's great, something that I know so many folks, especially educators, are making sure they're paying more close attention to.

Also, there's a program, Skills for Success, that you teach your seventh graders.

Talk to us about that.

- Yeah, I'm really fortunate that I get to teach this class.

It's for all seventh graders.

And what's really cool about it is the class is really about learning about themselves.

So I tell them like, "This is gonna be the most fun subject 'cause the subject is you."

So they learn their personality, we do personality assessments, we also learn about their learning styles, and then I teach them coping strategies.

So what is stress?

How does stress impact our body?

And then what do we do about it?

How do we cope with that?

And then later on, they start to learn more about different careers and how those careers might connect with them and their personality type, their strengths, their strengths finder, and also what might be some of the stressors in that job, and how might you handle that?

What are some coping skills that you could see yourself implementing?

- What do you see as those students that are taking this class with you?

Talk about the impact that it's having.

What are you seeing in the classroom?

- So it was really cool to see students utilizing those coping skills and sharing them with their friends.

Or sometimes, you'll overhear something in the hallway where someone's really worried or stressed about something and you can overhear students say, "Well, did you try that breathing technique?

You know, the one that the fingers, like..." So it's really cool to hear and see that happen.

Or parents reporting back that the parent was like, "Oh, I had this really intense meeting at work and my daughter asked me, you know, what I was doing to cope with it."

And they did a mindfulness practice together.

So I think when you watch the student also become the teacher, and to start sharing it not just for themselves, but with others, I think that's just so powerful.

- You've been an educator now for 18 years, and something that we hear so much about is teacher burnout.

And it's one of the reasons we're seeing a teacher shortage across the state and the nation.

How are you avoiding teacher burnout and how do you make sure that other colleagues of yours are avoiding it as well?

- That's a great question.

So, I have to practice what I teach, right?

I have to practice the things that I'm preaching.

So some of the big things that I do for myself is when stuff for me becomes more stressful, or I know that things are more intense, high stakes, that's when I know I have to double down on whatever my self-care practices are.

So for me, my big thing is sleep.

Like, I need nine hours of sleep.

If I can, 10.

Like, I'm a serious sleeper.

And for me, that's something that I know is super supportive.

I'm practicing my mindfulness practices.

The busier that I get, the more I know I have to schedule those things in.

Because if I don't, I don't show up as my best self, and then I'm useless to anyone else.

- That's great advice, too.

Just, you know, making sure we're taking care of ourselves is so important.

And I know the next couple of months and even beyond that are gonna be so transformative for you doing so many different unique things, being the New Jersey State Teacher of the Year.

So congratulations again, Stefanie, and thank you so much for joining us.

- Thank you to our Senior Correspondent, Jacqui Tricarico.

And for Jacqui and our entire team here at "One-on-One," we thank you so much for watching.

See you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by The New Jersey Education Association.

Hackensack Meridian Health.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

Johnson & Johnson.

PSE&G.

Citizens Philanthropic Foundation.

NJM Insurance Group.

The North Ward Center.

And by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Promotional support provided by NJ.Com.

And by New Jersey Globe.

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