Hi, I'm Jon Hendl
Dad • Husband • Volunteer • Coach • Strategic Communicator • Advocate
I’ve been a proud Glen Rock resident since 2000. My five kids were all born and raised here in Glen Rock and while three of my children have already completed the school system, I still have a son at Coleman and a daughter at the high school. During that time, my wife and I have remained actively involved in the Coleman HSA for nearly 20 years.
Glen Rock has always been about helping our friends and neighbors. Whether coaching softball and soccer for nearly two decades or serving as the President of Shooting Stars and a board member for 10 years, it’s always been about creating a better community for everyone.
Community engagement also means tackling challenges head-on. My mother did that as a kindergarten teacher in the district for 20+ years and I've done through many initiatives, most notably helping to transform Faber Field into what it is today. After a referendum to fix the field failed, I worked with other parents to lead the 3-year campaign against heavy opposition to make sure it didn't become became the field it is today. After discussion and compromises, we now have a safe field that can be used year-round, that also preserves grass fields from overuse.
More recently, I worked with the Coleman School community to turn off the Air Horn Fire Siren during school hours. This siren had disrupted classes for years and caused physical, mental, and emotional harm to students, including those in special needs classrooms.
Volunteering means rolling up your sleeves and getting involved. It means working with other parents to remove water from softball fields after it rains. It means lined soccer fields at the crack of dawn to make sure they're ready for gameday. It means clearing falling trees with neighbors so PSEG can navigate the roads and so kids can have a Halloween after a superstorm. It means raising money and convincing the town to let you put up portable lights so kids can practice soccer past 5:30 pm in the fall. It means finding unused space at the high school to create Panther field so Glen Rock can have a competitive 4v4 league for 6 and 7-year olds. And it means hopping in the car with your 10 year old son after a snow storm to shovel out fire hydrants because he wants to make sure the Glen Rock Volunteer Fire Department can access water if there's a fire.
Volunteering has shaped who I am as a Glen Rocker. Whether through softball, the Newcomers Club, Citizens Fire Academy, HSA, soccer, baseball, scouts, Jaycees, Odyssey of the Mind, Grad Ball, or the Rec Advisory Board, these experiences have helped me understand the fabric of our community, meet incredible people and solve challenges together.
In my professional life, I've been a strategic communications counselor for nearly 30 years working with CEOs and leading grassroots policy initiatives like making all New Jersey restaurants smoke-free. I understand the importance of two-way communication, understanding different perspectives and working with everyone to find the best possible solution.
Why I'm Running
I’m running for council because I’m tired of the divisiveness in our town. A divisiveness that makes residents feel like their voices don’t matter when it comes to building a better community for their families, friends, and neighbors. I’ve experienced this first-hand while advocating for our community, and now, I see it dampening the creative spirit of others in Glen Rock. That must change and it's precisely why I felt it was time to get off the sidelines and step into the game.
We all share the common goal of making Glen Rock the best it can be. And while I firmly believe we're all Glen Rockers first, our local government chooses to use a party-based system. I'm a registered Democrat, so I chose to run as a Democrat with the stipulation that I will run a campaign, independent from the Glen Rock Democratic Leadership and its Chairperson. Why? Because I don't agree with the leadership direction of that organization or its chairperson, and believe candidates should be working directly with ALL residents to develop ideas and solutions that will benefit the ENTIRE community.
My position has not changed. I’m so happy that Seth and Elizabeth share that vision and have made the same commitment to run independent from the Glen Rock Democratic Leadership Committee and its Chairperson. That is one of many reasons why we’ve decided to unify the Democratic ticket, so we now come Together for Glen Rock.
Our town is capable of so much more. I’ve seen us thrive in the face of adversity, and I've witnessed the character, charisma, and compassion of the people here first-hand. Glen Rock is full of business leaders, parents, and seniors who rise to the occasion in times of crisis, who have creative solutions to improve our town and who are extremely accomplished in their fields.
More importantly, they're motivated to get involved in the community and find new opportunities for Glen Rock. As a leader, I will welcome that excitement, and want to channel it to create opportunities for people to get involved so we can reinvigorate our town and lift he community, together.
I don’t claim to have all the answers, but firmly believe our community does. As someone with more than 30 years in strategic communications, I understand that real leadership means listening and learning from people, embracing new ideas and having the courage to find creative solutions that benefit the whole community, even if those ideas are different from your own.
A better Glen Rock is one we build together. That starts by approaching challenges with creativity and a “can do” mindset, making fiscally responsible decisions, and fostering open, two-way communication with every member of our community. Because at the end of the day, we’re all Glen Rockers and we all have a personal interest in creating the best possible community for our families and neighbors.