J.H. Cohn’s Executive Women’s Forum will feature a program by Caryl Felicetta, COO of Single Throw Inc., at 3 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel, Route 35. The program will discuss how the Internet has affected the way customers find and interact with business. There is no fee to attend, but reservations are required. New members are welcome; membership is open to women who are either senior business executives or business owners in the counties of Monmouth, Ocean or Middlesex. For more information, visit www.JHCohn.com. or call Mike at (732) 380-8649.
The Home Depot opened its newest store Jan. 20 at 280 Route 9 north in Marlboro. The new store will bring more than 138 new jobs to the community.
In celebration of its grand opening, The Home Depot hosted Neighborhood Night Jan. 19, at which the store presented a $3,000 donation to the Marlboro Board of Education and welcomed Marlboro Mayor Robert Kleinberg to help dedicate the store. The grand opening also featured refreshments, door prizes and giveaways, a raffle and children’s activities.
The new store, which is The Home Depot’s 61st location in New Jersey, measures 105,000 square feet with a 16,925-square-foot garden center, newly designed departments, a tool rental center, a special home decor section and an expanded appliance department.
Millstone Township School District announced that Doreen Coticelli has been hired as the new supervisor of special education. In her new position, Coticelli will be directly responsible for the instruction provided by the staff of the Special Services Department. She will work closely with the teachers of the handicapped to ensure that all classified students are receiving the education modification and services that are outlined in each student’s IEP (individual education plan). Coticelli has experience as a teacher of the handicapped learning disability teacher consultant (LDT-C). Her most recent position was as an LDT-C at Monmouth Regional High School, Tinton Falls.
The Kiddie Academy Child Care Learning Center of Freehold is partnering with UNICEF and other Kiddie Academy centers across the country in an effort to bring relief to children in South Asia affected by the tsunami.
The centers will participate in “Coins for Kids,” an internal program devoted to the collection of money to purchase UNICEF-developed School in a Box kits. The kits will be used to bring educational supplies back into the lives of the affected children while the area starts to rebuild. The drive at the centers will run through Feb. 14. At the conclusion of the drive, the funds will be used to purchase as many kits as possible.
For more information on Kiddie Academy, visit the Web site www.kiddieacademy.com.
The Institute of Management Accountants will meet at Tommy’s Inn, Route 537, Millstone. Feb. 9 for an update on Excel skills. Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the guest speaker.
The group’s March 9 meeting will discuss hand-held computer technology. For more information, call Peggy or Joe, (732) 683-2382.
ERA Brokers of New Jersey recently elected board members to serve on the ERA Brokers of New Jersey Board of Trustees for 2005. The board serves the 45 ERA offices in Bergen, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Union counties.
Named president of the board was Scott Lauri, president, broker/owner of ERA Absolute Realty, North Brunswick. Lauri also served as vice president and technology chairman of the board.
Other area members elected to the board are John Sharp, broker/owner of ERA Designs for Living, Old Bridge, elected treasurer; and Carol Ann Stevenson, broker/owner of ERA Advantage Realty, Freehold (Advantage also has offices in Manalapan, Keyport, Cream Ridge and Morganville), was elected secretary.
Sharp has served as the board’s treasurer the past seven years, and has 18 years’ real estate experience. Stevenson has worked in real estate 15 years, and served on the education committee.
Stop & Shop in Howell presented a check in the amount of $26,643 to The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties on Jan. 20. The donation represents a portion of Stop & Shop’s Food for Friends campaign, a month-long effort by Stop & Shop and its shoppers to raise funds to fight hunger. The store and its customers exceeded last year’s fund-raiser by almost 40 percent. Food for Friends began in 1989 when Stop & Shop initiated a partnership with its shoppers that would support area food banks in their efforts to eliminate hunger.
Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association (JSPRAA) will hold its Professional Development and Networking Luncheon and meeting Feb. 4 at 11:30 a.m. at Palumbo’s Restaurant, Tinton Falls. Dick Martin, former head of public relations for AT&T will discuss his new book, “Tough Calls: AT&T and the Hard Lessons Learned from the Telecom Wars.”
Martin was executive vice president of public relations, employee communications and brand management for AT&T from 1997 to 2002, capping a 323-year career with the company. He was an active participant in the controversial executive decisions made during those years, and he offers a firsthand account of the company’s recent past of ambitious mergers, contentious breakups and costly mistakes.
The cost to attend is $25 for members, and $30 for nonmembers if reserved by Feb. 1; thereafter, the cost will be $35. Online registration can be completed at ww.jspraa.com or by calling (732) 842-3311.
Shalu Thaman of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has been named the exclusive real estate professional to represent the communities of Cranbury and Upper Freehold Township.
Thaman and Homes101.net are offering a free New Home Hotlist and a Home Seller Evaluation Kit, which includes a market analysis, selling tips and the “Moving Book.” For more information, visit the Web sites Homes101.net or http://shaluthaman.homes101.net.
The Entrepreneurial Training Institute, sponsored by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the New Jersey Development Authority for Small Businesses, Minorities’ and Women’s Enterprises, announced the spring 2005 session.
ETI is a practical business training program that has graduate more than 1,000 New Jersey entrepreneurs since 1992. It helps new and existing entrepreneurs to prepare a business plan, learn how to manage the day-to-day operations of a business, and understand the ins and outs of obtaining financing.
The not-for-profit organization offers the eight-week course in weekly sessions from 6-9 p.m. at various sites. In the local area, a the course will be held at Lakewood High School, 855 Somerset Drive, Tuesdays beginning March 1. The fee is $295 and includes text materials. To register, visit the Web site www.njeda.com/eti; call (609) 292-9279; or e-mail eti@njeda.com. A free information workshop will be held Feb. 3 from 6-8 p.m. at the Mercer County Library, Lawrence Branch, Route 1 and Darrah Lane; call (609) 292-9279 to reserve a seat.
Superdollar$, a dollar store, will hold its grand opening in Freehold Township Jan. 29. The store is in the Mounts Corner Shopping Center on Route 537 at Wemrock Road.
Superdollar$ will be open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Superdollar$ can be reached at (732) 409-3002.
Professional and Business Singles Network will sponsor an “8 Date Rotate” speed dating event Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. at Downey’s in Philadelphia. There will be two rotation clusters: for ages 30s and 40s, and mid-40s and older.
The cost is $55, and prepaid reservations are required. A light buffet will be provided, and a cash bar. Membership is not required. For reservations or further details, call Ralph, (888) 348-5544, or visit www.PBSNinfo.com.