Newark, NJ – The Seton Hall University School of Law Peter R. Rodino, Jr. Law Society will hold its annual banquet, Wednesday, October 26, at the Newark Club with a reception at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. The banquet will honor the 2005 recipients of the Outstanding Achievement Award, Professional Excellence Award, and Gerald A. Garafloa Alumni Award.  

The Honorable Carmen Messano will be presented with the Outstanding Achievement Award. Judge Messano graduated magna cum laude from Lafayette College with a B.A in Government and Law in 1974. In 1977, he graduated from Boston College Law School. He served as an Assistant Prosecutor in the office of the Hudson County Prosecutor from 1977 to 1982 leaving the office as Chief of Special Investigations. He was a partner in the Jersey City firm of Shaljian, Cammarata, O’Connor, & Messano from 1982 to 1991. In October, 1991, he was appointed Hudson County Prosecutor and served in that position until July 1997. In August of 1997, he was appointed as a Superior Court Judge and has served in that capacity until the present and currently serves as the presiding judge of the Civil Division for the Hudson Vicinage. He resides in Jersey City with is wife of 20 years, Maria, who serves as Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the City of Jersey City. 

The Honorable Sallyanne Floria will be presented with the Professional Excellence Award. Judge Floria graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Seton Hall Law School in 1978. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Floria joined the Office of the Essex County Prosecutor as an Assistant Prosecutor. In 1981, Judge Floria and her husband, Anthoney E. Callori, formed the partnership of Floria & Callori in Verona. During the period from 1981 until her appointment as a Superior Court Judge, Judge Floria handled numerous civil cases but her primary focus was as a defense attorney in state and federal matters. Since her appointment to the bench in 1998, she has been assigned to the Superior Court Essex Vicinage where she currently serves in the Family Division. She is the Children in Court lead Judge and the chair of the Model Children’s Court Advisory Committee. 

Kathy Duva, Esq., will be presented with the Gerald A. Garfloa Alumni Achievement Award. Duva attended Montclair State University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She then attended Seton Hall University School of Law where she graduated Cum Laude. She began her professional career as a reporter and editor for the Wayne Today newspaper in 1975, and then became a sports reporter for the New York Daily News “Jersey Edition” in 1977 and was the Assistant Director of College Relations for William Paterson University until 1981. In 1978, she formed Main Events with her future husband, Dan Duva. In 1995, she stopped working daily to be home with her husband, Dan, who developed brain cancer. After her husband’s passing in 1996, Kathy became the CEO of Main Events. Internationally recognized as one of the three largest boxing promotional firms in the world, Main Events has contracted some of the most talented boxers as well as several U.S Olympians. Duva resides in Bloomfield New Jersey with her three children, Nicole, Lisa, and Brian.