Ocean Man Honored for Service to Boys, Girls Club
 Coaster Photo: Ocean Township resident Bevin Irvin (right) was honored recently by the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County for his service to the club and the community, He is pictured with (from left) Kathleen Ellis, representing N.J. Natural Gas Company; Joseph Marmora, Interfaith Neighbors and Dorothy Smith of Asbury Park. |
BY DON STINE
Bevin Irvin, a retired Ocean Township-based contractor, was presented with the Thomas S. Smith Service to Youth Award from the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County on May 20.
Also recognized were Interfaith Neighbors and the New Jersey Natural Gas Company.
Taylor Robert, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club, said Irvin was selected to receive the award because of his dedication to the club and for making major facility renovations that were much needed.
He is awesome. Through his ability to get things done and with his knowledge we completed thousands of dollars worth of work without spending much money, he said
Bevin has fixed the roof, replaced doors, and done a number of other major improvements. He has spent almost every single day for the past six months at the club. He has been a huge help, and I dont know if they are out there, but I would like to see more people like him, Taylor said.
Irvin, 65, said he was a member of the Boys Club decades ago and recently took his grandson there to learn to play basketball.
I saw the need for repairs after visiting the building and, with the help of the gas company and Interfaith Neighbors, I was able to do some repairs, he said.
Irvin renovated the boys and girls bathrooms, put a new faade on sections of the building, and installed a new heating system in the locker rooms.
There has been no heating in there for the past 20 years, he said.
Volunteers have also chipped-in with help painting the building, and more volunteers will continue the painting this month.
I was bored after retiring and the club did a lot for me in the past. I also did well in the construction business and wanted to give something back. It gives me a lot of satisfaction and the place really started to look like a nice club, he said.
In addition to his work at the Boys and Girls Club, Irvin has helped build about 19 houses for Interfaith Neighbors in Asbury Park, Neptune and Long Branch over the past eight years.
Joseph Marmora, the executive director for Interfaith Neighbors, said Irvin has been the general contractor on all of the affordable housing the organization has built over the past eight years.
And he does it free gratis, every one of them. He is a one-of-a-kind individual. He likes to build affordable housing and see first-time buyers obtain them. Hes not interested in money and without him volunteering his time I cant tell you how much money these houses would cost, he said.
He did a yeomans work at the Boys and Girls Club. He truly volunteers and he really knows construction, Marmora said.
Harry Egan, who lives in Neptune City, has known Irvin for about 25 years and said nobody is more deserving of the award than his friend.
Bevin is a great guy. Hes always looking out for everybody else and doesnt want credit for it. He doesnt want to be a hero but he really is, he said.
Egan said the bathrooms and locker rooms at the Boys and Girls Club were in such bad shape before Irvin came onto the scene.
They were deplorable. You wouldnt even want to walk into them. They were just in shambles and the place looks a thousand times better, he said.
He deserves more than that award. He deserves a lot and hes been doing this for years. The kids at the club are just amazed at what has happened there. Its so much different than what it was and this is just one of many things hes done, he said.
And what are Irvins plans for the future?
Ill continue to work- God willing or if they dont fire me, he said.
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