Verona student wins Branch Brook Park essay contest

Photo Courtesy of Glen Frieson

NEWARK, NJ — Emmalene Holland, front, of Verona, is celebrated for winning the fourth-grade essay contest “Why Essex County Branch Brook Park is Special to Me” by, from left, Essex County Parks Director Dan Salvante, Deputy Parks Director Kate Hartwyk, Commissioner Patricia Sebold, Sheriff Armando Fontoura, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. and Japanese Consulate cultural attache Masanari Taniai. Emmalene read her essay at the 2022 Essex County Bloomfest, the culminating event of this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park, on Sunday, April 10.