Cary R. Banks of Ewing, N.J., formerly of Franklin, is among seven recipients of the 2004 Jefferson Award founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft Jr. and Sam Beard. It recognizes outstanding volunteers who make their local communities better places to live.

The award recipients were honored recently at a luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Princeton hosted by the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Mercer County Chamber of Commerce.

Banks, who received his award on April 15, is a model citizen who has honorably served his country and community while raising a family and holding a responsible and demanding position with a major corporation.

His volunteer activities include: the Delaware Valley United Way Allocation Committee; Granville Academy Charter School; Intergenerational School Breakfast Program; Homefront; and Meals on Wheels; Board of Directors for the New Jersey Council of Camp Fire Boys and Girls; Mercer County Child Placement Review Board; mentor for Ewing Day Men’s Club; and founder of the Edith R. Banks Memorial Scholarship Fund.

He has served as chairman of the Finance, Planning and Expansion Committee at St. John Baptist Church, where he is also a member of the Trustee Board.

A graduate of the former Hayden High School, Banks is the son of the late Rev. James Banks Sr. and the late Pearlie Banks Askew, who lived in Franklin.

This information was submitted by a friend of Banks, Delores Lawson of Decatur, Ga., formerly of Suffolk.