During its annual “Land Down Under” fundraiser at Keenan’s in North Wildwood on Aug. 12, IBEW Local 98 made a $30,000 contribution to the FOP Lodge 5 Survivors Fund in the names of two deceased Philadelphia police officers, Frank King and Henry Gonski. Local 98 also contributed $1,000 to the North Wildwood Police Department during the event.
Frank King, a retired police officer at the time of his death in 1998, was shot and killed when he foiled an attempted armed robbery of Regan’s on the Boulevard just a few days before Christmas. King’s son, Tommy, a Local 98 member, was on hand to accept the award on his father’s behalf. Officer Henry Gonski was off-duty in June 2022 when he was the victim of vehicular homicide. A driver allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed blew a red light in Somerton and slammed into Gonski’s car, killing him instantly. He was just a few blocks from home when the tragedy struck.
IBEW Local 98, now under the leadership of Business Manager Mark Lynch Jr., has supported the FOP Lodge 5 Survivors Fund for many years. ••