Business Briefs

The Inner Circle Alliance, a new business-to-business networking group in Monmouth and Ocean counties, is seeking members with a minimum of five years of experience in their industry or business. The next meeting will be held Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Perkins Family Restaurant, Route 34, Colts Neck. Meetings will be held the first and third Tuesday of every month. To register, call Guy Paredes at (732) 578-1900, ext. 14.

The Solomon Schechter Academy of Ocean and Monmouth counties will open the doors to a new preschool division Jan. 3. The expansion of the academy’s program to include a preschool brings a new dimension to Solomon Schechter, which has been in existence for 35 years.

The preschool will be housed on Kent Road in Howell and staffed by certified teachers. The school will provide a low teacher/student ratio; learning centers for math, phonics, science, art and computers; and creative play areas both indoors and outdoors. Music and movement in addition to holiday activities will enhance the curriculum, which centers on Jewish values.

For information on the new program and a tour of the facility, contact (732) 370-1767.

New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners, Monmouth/Ocean Chapter, hosted its seventh annual holiday auction Nov. 18 at the Sheraton Eatontown. More than 100 people attended the event, which raises money for the chapter’s scholarship fund, outreach programs, and education and legislative activities.

NJAWBO is a statewide organization whose mission is to encourage and support business ownership by women, to enable women business owners to network, to provide a legislative voice for the interests of women-owned businesses, and to provide entrepreneurial training and assistance.

Sue Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Printing Solutions is in the midst of serving a one-year term as state president of the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners. The association has more than 1,000 members and 13 chapters. Fitzpatrick attributes the success of her own business to her association with NJAWBO.

She said that as president, her goal is to increase membership by 20 percent. Fitzpatrick Printing Solutions Inc. is a full-service print brokerage. The company was founded in 1998 and specializes in high-quality printed materials and graphic design. Fitzpatrick lives in Colts Neck.

Barbara Berg, branch manager of Weichert, Realtors’ Marlboro office, announced that the office was recognized with three regional awards for October. The region is comprised of 20 offices throughout Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties. The Marlboro office led the region in new-home dollar volume and resale marketed listings.

Melissa Damatta, a dental hygienist at the Marlboro office of Dr. Wayne Graber and Dr. Brian M. Peters, has been elected vice president of the Central New Jersey Dental Hygiene Association. The doctors, who also maintain a practice in Edison, are attending a mini-residency in implant prosthetics given by the Mid Atlantic Dental Implant Center.

The A.K. Bhattacharya Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Freehold Township, awarded its annual scholarship of $2,000 to medical student Kapil Rajwani. The presentation took place at the annual New Jersey Medical School Alumni Association dinner of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. The Bhattacharya Foundation, founded in 2000 by Dr. A.K. Bhattacharya of Freehold Township to honor the work of his grandfather, Professor A.K. Bhattacharya of India, awards the scholarship annually. Rajwani, a fourth-year medical student, is a student director of the Student Family Health Care Center, a free, student-run clinic for the community. Bhattacharya, of Plastic Surgery Plus of Freehold, is a double board-certified plastic surgeon. He is also director of the Wound Treatment Center as well as section chief of plastic surgery at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, and teaches plastic surgery at UMDNJ and at the State University of New York.

For more information, call Rhonda Uretzky at RSM Marketing, (732) 431-4488, or [email protected].

PEP (People Empowering People) meets in the western Monmouth County area on the second Monday of every month. The organization gives business owners an opportunity to meet other business owners and professionals in the area. For more information, call Sandy Franco, (732) 863-9955. There is no cost to be a member, and refreshments are served at the meetings.