The Utility & Transportation Contractors Association of New Jersey (UTCA) held its annual convention at the Borgata Casino Resort Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, 2022, in Atlantic City, N.J.

At the convention's trade show exhibit, more than 100 exhibitors kept attendees busy touting their equipment offering and services.

This year's keynote address featured Jimmy Wayne, award-winning song writer and recording artist; author of the novel and made for TV movie Paper Angels; and author of the NY Times Bestseller, Walk to Beautiful.

Wayne opened his keynote by performing his song, "Kerosene Kid," and his Hall & Oates cover of "Sara Smile." He then spoke about the challenges he faced in his childhood. He grew up in Bessemer City. His biological father abandoned him, and he and his sister were raised in and out of foster homes or were left with other people when their mother would leave them or was in prison. She served four months in prison in 1985 when Wayne was 12.

After entering a group home, Wayne ran away and lived with his mother for a brief time before living on the streets and with his sister, Patricia, for a short while. He was invited to move in with an elderly couple, Russell and Bea Costner, (just down the road from where his mother was living), after being hired to mow their lawn. After finishing high school and earning a degree in Criminal Justice, he worked as a guard at the Gaston Correctional Facility, where he worked as a corrections officer for four years before moving to Nashville, Tenn., to pursue his musical interests.

On Jan. 1, 2010, Wayne set out on a 1,660-mi. walk from Nashville to Phoenix to raise awareness to the plight of the 30,000 children who age out of foster care every year in America, into homelessness homeless youth aging out foster system. Called the "Meet Me Halfway" campaign, he walked 25 mi. a day, only taking days off the walk for scheduled concerts and to go to the California State Capitol to speak in favor of a bill that would increase the age kids age out of the foster system from 18 to 21.

He successfully arrived in Phoenix on Aug. 1, 2010, after suffering a broken foot four days prior, having walked 1,700 mi. over seven months. Even after completing his walk, Wayne continues to advocate for foster children.

In 2012, he co-wrote the novel Paper Angels, a Christmas story about a child who receives help from the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program and the man who picked his name. He wrote Walk to Beautiful: The Power of Love and a Homeless Kid Who Found the Way with Ken Abraham. The autobiography, published in 2014, details his life story which inspired the "Meet Me Halfway" campaign.

During the keynote luncheon on Sept. 30, UTCA also inducted the late Joseph T. Walsh, who passed away on Aug. 2, 2021, into the UTCA of NJ Hall of Fame He worked for J. Fletcher Creamer and Son for 26 years, becoming the first non-Creamer family member to hold the position of president and was named COO in 2016, and then CEO in 2020. He also served as president of the UTCA in 2012-2013 and 2018-2019 and was an executive member on the association's board for many years. He started the NJ Chapter of the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) in 2020 and served as its board president. CEG

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