Milestones

Issue of Nov. 29, 2005

By: Sara Carpenter
GOOD DEEDS
   Community Options Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb kicked off Community Options’ inaugural program, The Days of Caring. Volunteers from the two companies spent the day working on the interior and exterior of a COI group home in Ewing.
   The Bristol-Myers Squibb volunteer team consisted of information-technology managers from around the United States, as well as Brazil, Panama and Canada. They worked quickly and efficiently and were able to get more done than was expected — scraping wallpaper and repainting walls; cleaning carpets, floors and windows; raking the yard — giving the place a general face lift.
   Community Options is a national nonprofit headquartered in Princeton that supports people with developmental disabilities through residential and employment services. The renovations for the Ewing group home were made possible because of a generous donation from Bristol-Myers Squibb. COI is accepting donations for the next day of caring. Donations can be sent to: Community Options, 16 Farber Road, Princeton, NJ 08540, Attn: Morgan Castagna. For more information or to volunteer your time, contact Morgan Castagna at (609) 951-9900, ext. 165, or [email protected].
HUMAN RESOURCES
   The New Jersey Chapter of the Institute of Management Consultants honored Richard C. Harvey as a fellow of the Institute. Mr. Harvey had a distinguished career in marketing consumer products for several Fortune 100 companies, including The Coca-Cola Co. IMC has recognized about 40 individuals nationally since the initiation of the award in 1987, Mr. Harvey is the first member of the New Jersey chapter to become a fellow.
   The Institute of Management Consultants is an international professional association established to promote excellence and ethics in management consulting through certification, education and professional resources.
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   Holly Jerome, based in West Windsor, recently was awarded an Action International Business Coaching franchise and is now a certified business coach after completing an intensive training program.
   Action is the fastest-growing business coaching franchise in the world, with more than 700 coaches operating in 19 countries. Ms. Jerome is a local business coach that will help executives become better leaders, achieve manageable goals, increase sales, and get a kick-start to running their businesses.
LAW
   Stark & Stark has announced the following attorneys have joined the firm’s Lawrence office:
   Michael Pidgeon as associate practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and employment litigation. Admitted to the New Jersey Bar, he is also a trustee of the Princeton Bar Association. Mr. Pidgeon resides in Princeton.
   Deborah S. Dunn, as associate in the community associations group. Her practice concentrates on advising community association boards and property managers. Ms. Dunn resides in Bordentown.
   Melissa A. Volet, who practices in the community associations law group. A member of the New Jersey and New York Bar, as well as the Mercer County Bar Association and Monmouth County Women Lawyers, Ms. Volet resides in Manalapan.
   Joseph C. Cascarelli as a member of the securities compliance and arbitration group. He focuses his practice on broker/dealer issues including registration, licensing, supervision, inspection and market-conduct issues. Mr. Cascarelli has written extensively on the subject of securities compliance and regulation. He resides in Oxford, Pa.
   Stark & Stark has offices in Lawrence, Cherry Hill, Philadelphia and New York.
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   The law firm of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP has made J. Warren Wood III of Princeton counsel to the firm. Mr. Wood concentrates his practice in international and domestic-alternative-dispute resolution, general corporate and securities matters, and healthcare law.
EDUCATION
   Hamilton resident Nancy C. Thomson, the executive director of Child Care Connection, was this year’s recipient of the Aletha Wright Award for Excellence in Early Care and Education.
   Awarded by the Child Care Advisory Council, Ms. Thomson was chosen for her characteristics of leadership, dedication, and excellence. Her many contributions to the field of early care and education are evident through her work on a large number of boards and committees that advocate for higher standards in child care, better wages and educational opportunities for child care providers, and an increase in the state reimbursement rate for child care programs serving subsidy-eligible families.
   More information on Child Care Connection, a child-care resource and referral agency serving Mercer County, is available at www.childcareconnection-nj.org.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
   NJ Gateway Federal Credit Union has announced the reappointment of John F. Harris of Milltown and Peter Manfredo of Hamilton to three-year terms on the board of directors.
   Mr. Harris was also appointed board secretary. Active in his community, he is a volunteer for Race for the Cure, an organization raising money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and a volunteer with Woodbridge Township’s ‘Christmas in April’ program to rehabilitate homes for low income homeowners.
   Mr. Manfredo has served the credit union industry for more than two decades in various management positions and is well known in the credit union movement, having served in a volunteer capacity at the local, state, national, and international levels.
   NJ Gateway Federal Credit Union was formed in 1969 to serve employees of IBM in Dayton. Recently, its field of membership has been expanded to people who live, work, attend school or worship in Middlesex County.
   NJ Gateway FCU is headquartered at 100 Culver Road, South Brunswick.
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   Rina Pantano, president and chief executive officer of NJ Gateway Federal Credit Union, was recently elected chairman of the board of directors of the New Jersey Credit Union League.
   At age 36, Ms. Pantano is the youngest person to be elected chairman and only the second female to head the NJCUL’s board. Founded in 1934, the NJCUL is the official trade association for credit unions in New Jersey.
   Ms. Pantano, a Dayton resident, is active in the greater Middlesex County area, serving on the South Brunswick Public Library Board of Trustees.