Commerce Bank has been named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) top lender in New Jersey during the agency’s fiscal year 2004. This marks the second consecutive year that Commerce Bank has received this honor. The Cherry Hill-based bank was cited for approving 479 SBA loans for $137.3 million to New Jersey small business owners in 2004.
For its efforts, Commerce Bank received SBA’s Diamond Award at the SBA’s Annual Lenders’ Awards Ceremony held at the Newark Club in downtown Newark. This year’s ceremony was sponsored by Coastal Securities.
In addition to receiving SBA’s Diamond Award, Commerce Bank received District Director Awards for the Number One Participating Lender in the SBA’s 504 Loan Program, Number One Lender in International Trade Loans, and Number One Lender in Veteran-Owned Business Loans.
United Way of Monmouth County recently held its annual Day of Caring involving several local corporations, volunteers and agencies. The annual event is one day out of the year when local companies offer their employees the opportunity to volunteer at a human services agency funded by the Untied Way of Monmouth County. This year, 11 agencies around the county requested volunteers to assist in completing tasks such as painting, gardening, construction, organizing items at the food pantry, serving food, reading and playing at day-care centers, and other activities.
The team from Wegmans, which has locations in Manalapan and Ocean Township, was especially singled out for its volunteers, who were asked to clean and paint two apartments, repair windows and replace all the switch plates in the five rooms.
Other groups included employees from UPS, who went to the Handicapped High Riders facility in Allentown to repair and replace parts of a fence around the horse farm. The farm conducts therapeutic horseback riding lessons for the disabled.
Employees from NovaDebt and Target spent their day at a construction site for Habitat for Humanity, building a home for low-income families.
Other employees from the Marriott, Investors Savings Bank, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, FedEx, J.C. Penney, Boscov’s, and Hutchins, Ferrell, Meyer and Allison also volunteered during the event. In total, 55 volunteers visited 11 agencies.
Anyone who would like to become involved in the Day of Caring project can call United Way, (732) 938-5988.
Applebee’s in Manalapan announced that it is now offering “Carside to Go” service. The new option allows customers to call ahead to Applebee’s to order anything off the menu, then pull into one of the dedicated parking places at the restaurant, and a “To-Go” associate will bring the food to the car. Using new technology, restaurant employees are able to see the marked “Carside” parking slots from inside the restaurant. Applebee’s expects to offer the new service at more than half of its restaurants nationwide by the end of this year.
Jeff Callahan, president of Sandler Sales Institute in Freehold, and Joe Pipitone, of Coaching for Life, also of Freehold, have jointly announced the launch of the Freehold after-hours Network Plus event for business professionals. The event will be held Dec. 6 at the Metropolitan Café, 8 Main St., Freehold, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The fee is $10, which includes food.
Network Plus will be held once a month at the Metropolitan Café.
Network Plus, a statewide organization founded by Ted Fattaross, allows professionals to attend any breakfast, lunch or after-hours meetings held throughout New Jersey. The events are unstructured and relaxed, and feature guest lecturers about subjects such as how to make a “cold call” or how to market a business.
For more information, log on to www.joinnetworkplus.com or register by e-mail to rsvp@joinnetworkplus.com. For further details, call Jeff Callahan, (732) 409-1294 or (800) 814-5333, e-mail jcallahan@sandler.com; or Joe Pipitone at (732) 308-3813, e-mail joe@lifecoachingbyjoe.com. For directions to the Metropolitan Café, call (732) 780-9400.
Starbucks is sponsoring its fifth annual Holiday Angels Joy Drive to benefit the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation.
Through Dec. 25, customers can donate gifts for seriously ill children served by the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation at all Starbucks retail locations in the tri-state area. Customers are invited to drop off new, unwrapped books and toys at local Starbucks stores. Recommended gifts include books, board games, puzzles, hand-hold games (including batteries), craft its, building toys, DVDs, compact discs, dolls and infant items. Customers who wish to make a financial donation can visit Starbucks.com or slsb.org. Donated toys will be distributed to local hospitals or to hospitals that are a part of Starlight Starbright’s network of medical facilities in North America.
The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants has launched a number of educational programs to help state residents gain a better understanding of financial issues.
In January, NJSCPA members will host a series of “town hall” meetings throughout the state, focusing on the importance of financial planning. The meetings, which are free and open to the public, will also provide participants with an opportunity to ask questions and learn from such financial experts as certified public accountants (CPAs) and certified financial planners. Town hall meeting locations and dates can be found on the Money Matters Web site at www.njscpa.org/moneymatters. The site also contains financial tips and resources.
A special workshop for women will take place Jan. 4 covering financial issues that affect women of all ages. The “Women’s Financial Literacy Workshop” will be held at the NJSCPA offices, 425 Eagle Road Ave., Roseland, from 6-8 p.m. V. Peter Traphagen Sr., CPA, will lead the session, which will consist of a panel discussion. The panel will include a social worker, divorce attorney, insurance consultant, certified financial planner, forensic accountant and a consultant on government-funded programs. A question-and-answer session will follow.
The New Jersey CPA Help Center, initially formed to assist individuals affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is now an ongoing program, designed to help those in crisis and financial need. The center provides free financial and tax advice to individuals and families in New Jersey who have been affected by a sudden event, tragic circumstance or other crisis. The center’s goal is to provide those in need with a financial action plan, to introduce them to the range of services provided by CPAs, and to provide necessary referrals.
“Show Me the Money … Don’t Blow It!” is a financial literacy presentation for New Jersey high school students. The presentation focuses on nine principles that young people should know about money, from mapping their financial failure to establishing and protecting their credit. Residents interested in bringing the presentation to their school should call Janice Amatucci, (973) 226-4494, ext. 208, or e-mail jamatucci@njscpa.org.
National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Central Jersey Chapter will hold a multi-chapter network meeting Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Forsgate Country Club, 375 Forsgate Drive, Monroe Township. The three chapters — South, Central and North Central — will hold their first tri-chapter networking event to ring in the holiday season.
The Central Jersey Chapter will be collecting donations of canned and nonperishable food items or gift cards to benefit the Monmouth Food Bank. Gift cards to Monmouth County-area supermarkets are preferred. The networking event will also feature door prizes, a buffet dinner and some surprises.
The Central Jersey Chapter serves members in Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties and part of Mercer County. NAWBO is a national organization representing the interests of all women entrepreneurs in all types of businesses.
The cost to attend the dinner-meeting is $40 for members and $45 for nonmembers; there will be a late fee of $5 for reservations made after Nov. 26. For reservations, call Jackie Rutberg, (73) 291-4613.
The Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts, Farmingdale, has announced effective Sept. 30 it has raised $88,000 through its “Help Us Grow Stronger!” (HUGS) annual giving campaign. The campaign ran April 19 to Sept. 30. According to Susan H., McClure, council CEO, 84 cents of each dollar donated will directly benefit local Scouts in Monmouth and northern Ocean counties.
PEP — People Empowering People, meets on the second Monday of the month in the western Monmouth County area. The organization is designed for business owners and professionals in the Monmouth County area to meet and exchange ideas. There is no cost to be a member. Refreshments are served. For more information, call Sandy Franco, (732) 863-9955.
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.