Linda Munson of Plainsboro is being honored at the National Junior Tennis & Learning of Trenton’s gala on Friday, May 6, at the Westin Hotel in Forrestal Village, Plainsboro. Munson is the poster child of NJTL’s theme, “Changing Lives.” As president of the Charles Evans Foundation, she is responsible for establishing the Charles Evans Scholarship, an endowment that provides college financial support to an NJTL participant. The event features a red carpet entrance, cocktails, dinner, silent and live auctions, and dancing to the sounds of the band, The Business. Tickets are $175.
Born and raised on Long Island, she is the oldest of three children. She received a bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University. Her career began with public relations with Ethiopian Airlines. As one of the first U.S. based employees she promoted tourism to Ethiopia, traveled there often, and was presented to Emperor Haile Selassie.
She met Charles Evans, founder of the fashion label Evan-Picone and executive producer of the 1982 film “Tootsie,” while working as a paralegal after she left the airlines company. While watching Munson facilitate a real estate closing he told her, “I need someone like you to help organize my life” and they forged a working relationship. As they worked together he saw a steward of his legacy and Evans named Munson and five others as trustees of his foundation. “He really listened to me and believed I would do what I said — help others,” she says.
Her husband of close to 35 years, Richard L. Munson, is a retired officer in the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret). The couple lived in Westchester County, New York; the majority of those years were in Ossining on the Hudson River. Her stepchildren live in Scarsdale, New York; Jacksonville, Florida; and Nashville, Tennessee. Munson’s brother and sister-in-law, Ralph and Mimi Conserva, have lived in Plainsboro for 12 years. Their son, Ralph, 19, attends Boston University, and their daughter, Marianna, is 14.
“After more than 1,000 parachute jumps, my husband had difficulty handling the steps in our Ossining home,” she says. “My brother called us and said Toll Brother was building one level houses in Plainsboro.” The couple moved to Plainsboro in July, 2007.
She continued to travel into New York to work for Charles Evans and planned to continue the commute after her move to New Jersey. “Charles was very concerned that I would find the commute too difficult, but I assured him that I would be with him for the rest of our lives,” she says. Plans do not always work out. Evans fell while in Europe in January, 2007, and died on June 2, 2007.
Munson continued to work for the Evans Partnership in New York through December, 2007. Evans had named six trustees prior to his death. They included his widow, his son, his sister, two friends, and Munson. “We distribute the residual assets from his estate to 501(c)(3) charities of our own choosing,” she says. “Basically, if we have $6,000 to distribute, we divide it evenly among the six trustees to choose a charity. The trustee chooses a charity, presents it to the other trustees to approve the distribution, and the funds are deducted from the individual trustee’s allocation.” When Munson became the president and executive director of the Charles Evans Foundation in January, 2008, she opened an office at the Forrestal Village in Plainsboro.
Munson’s gifts to Princeton HealthCare System’s new hospital will memorialize Evans with the Charles Evans Cardiac Rehabilitation Center and the Charles Evans Orthopedic Procedures Room. Her gift to the Wounded Warriors Project will enable a wounded veteran to attend a rehabilitation center for a year after release from a government facility.
Munson has also created funds to assist organizations that family members are involved with. Her sister, Eileen Gilmore, lives in Lilburn, Georgia (near Stone Mountain). Munson’s niece, Tara McDaniel, is a patient advocate for Skyland Trail, a mental rehabilitation and vocational facility in Georgia. Munson created the Charles Evans Computer Learning Center at the facility. Eileen’s daughter-in-law, Brooke Gilmore, has been involved with the Athens Homeless Shelter since she was in college at University of Georgia. She later served on their board and still does volunteer work for them. Munson created the Charles Evans Endowment at the Athens Homeless Shelter in Georgia.
Munson’s efforts at the D&R Greenway Land Trust resulted in the Charles Evans Overlook at St. Michael’s Farm Preserve in Hopewell, the Charles Evans Future Conservation Leaders Award, the Charles Evans Children’s Discovery Trail, and an art exhibit entitled, “Born of Wonder: Childhood and Nature.” D&R Greenway will assist the NJTL of Trenton in creating the Charles Evans Native Plant Garden surrounding the new tennis courts at Cadwalader Park in Trenton.
The NJTL’s mission is “Strengthening character and enhancing lives by providing opportunities and instruction in nutrition, education, and tennis.” The organization, founded in 1975, touches the lives of more than 2,500 children from the Trenton area each year through youth tennis, after-school nutrition and cooking classes, and academic enrichment. The gala features a special video message by tennis legend Billie Jean King. Last year’s event brought together more than 425 people who raised more than $250,000.
— Lynn Miller
Gala: Changing Lives, National Junior Tennis League of Trenton, Westin, Forrestal Village, Plainsboro. Friday, May 6, 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. Benefit to support free summer, academic, and nutritional programs for less privileged children. Red carpet entrance, cocktails, dinner, live and silent auctions, and music by the Business. Honoree is Linda J. Munson, president of the Charles Evans Foundation. Register. $175. 609-306-4027. www.njtloftrenton.com.
