The provisional class of the Junior League of Monmouth County will present “Twilight Enchantment: A Dessert and Wine Fantasy” April 16 from 8:30-11 p.m. at the league’s headquarters, 55 Center St., Rumson. Tickets are $50, with proceeds benefiting the Asbury Park Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County. The event will feature a silent auction, and unlimited desserts from Grieco’s Bake Shoppe, Red Bank; coffee drinks donated by Starbuck’s, Old Bridge; open bar sponsored by Egan’s Liquor Store, Spring Lake; and freshly rolled cigars from Senor Juan Cigar Collection, Belmar. For tickets, call (732) 842-2039, ext. 2.
Riverview Medical Center, 1 Riverview Plaza, Red Bank, will host “Obesity in Youth: Prevalence, Health and Personal Issues” April 20 at 9 a.m. The program will given by pediatrician Maria T. Gulli, M.D., and nutritionist Deb Dobies, R.D. Reservations are required, and a light lunch will be served. For fee information or reservations, call (800) 569-9990.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Conference will be held April 22 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 2 Albany St., New Brunswick. The SBA will meet with New Jersey lenders from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. to discuss the availability of SBA-backed loans. The conference will follow, from 10:45 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will feature workshops on topics such as financing a business, marketing on a small budget, and obtaining and keeping clients. There is a $69 fee to attend the conference. For a summary form, call (609) 989-5232 or e-mail sbdc@tcnj.edu. To register for the small business conference, call (609) 989-7888.
The Monmouth County Workforce Investment Board will hold its 14th annual Partnership Awards dinner-dance April 22 from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at the Garden Manor, Route 35, Aberdeen. Tickets are $55, with proceeds benefiting scholarships for students attending Brookdale Community College, Lincroft section of Middletown. Award recipients and their categories represented will be Gary Rygiel of Liberty Insurance Associates, Millstone, business; M. Claire French, Monmouth County clerk, government; Michael Maloney, Local 9, United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, organized labor; Mary Ann Christopher of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, Red Bank, community organizations, and Clement V. Sommers of Monmouth County Vocational School District’s Board of Education, education. For tickets, call Lucy at (732) 747-2282, ext. 21.
Cathay Knipscher, Locust section of Middletown, breastfeeding manager at Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Central Jersey, Red Bank, has received the Apprentice Award from the New Jersey chapter of the March of Dimes. She is responsible for all breastfeeding promotion and support services offered to VNA of Central Jersey WIC participants. Knipscher has been an internationally certified lactation consultant for 20 years. She was instrumental in the formation of the Monmouth/Ocean breastfeeding consortium, which seeks to encourage, support, protect, and promote breastfeeding, beginning in pregnancy and continuing through the first year of life. She also co-authored “Breastfeeding Spanish” for health professionals, and helped prepare the “Breastfeeding Resource Guide” provided to area hospitals and maternal/child health care providers. Knipscher received her degree in nursing at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft section of Middletown, and is both a registered nurse and lactation specialist. She was nominated for the award by Kathleen O’Keefe, manager of professional education for the Regional Perinatal Consortium of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.
Mathnasium Math-Only Learning Center, 1676 Route 35 south, Middletown, will host an open house May 2 and 3 from 7:30-9 p.m. The event for parents and children will present the Mathnasium method of learning and the center’s summer program. Refreshments will be served. Reservations are required and may be made by calling (732) 671-5465.
The Business Marketing Association of New Jersey (BMA-NJ) will host its annual Impact Awards April 19 at Basking Ridge Country Club. The awards honor the best in advertising, direct marketing, public relations, collateral, electronic media and trade show design in the greater New Jersey/New York metropolitan area. As part of the 10th anniversary celebration, BMA-NJ will also honor the Impact Awards All-Stars, organizations that have consistently produced outstanding work during the course of the awards program history. For more information, visit www.bma-nj.org or call (845) 246-1444.
Mortgage NOW Inc. has scheduled free local seminars for first-time and prospective home buyers. The seminars will be taught by local real estate and mortgage professionals Shelia Rowe and Paulina Sierra, April 20 from 7-8 p.m. at the Hazlet Library, 251 Middle Road, and on May 25 from 7-8 p.m. at Matawan Library, 165 Main St. Sierra is fluent in both English and Spanish, and will be available to answer questions in either language immediately afterward. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call Paulina Sierra at (732) 264-1774.
The March of Dimes New Jersey Chapter 15th annual Spring Ball Committee, chaired by Carol Scaduto Tarpey, will host the 2005 Spring Ball Jersey Shore Celebration at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel April 16. Honoree receiving the “Grace Azzolina Scaduto Award” is Eleanor Horne of ETS in Princeton and the corporate honoree is Foodtown Food Circus Supermarkets Inc. Those interested in attending may R.S.V.P. to the March of Dimes at (609) 655-7400, ext. 1205.
The Monmouth/Ocean chapter of the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO) will host a luncheon meeting on April 22 at noon at The Atlantic Hotel, 305 Second Ave., Spring Lake. State Sen. Ellen Karcher of the 12th District (Monmouth/Mercer), will be the guest speaker at the luncheon. Karcher will discuss women in politics and, specifically, the role women business owners play in shaping and passing legislation that impacts business owners across the state. Prospective NJAWBO members are invited to attend. The cost is $30 for members and $35 for nonmembers. Reservations are required and should be made on or before April 15. For reservations, call Marianne Gepp at (732) 775-8900.