Marc J. Siegel, president of the New Jersey Shore Builders Association, and Jason Kaplan, president of the Central Jersey Builders Association, signed an agreement on May 23 officially forming the new Shore Builders Association of Central New Jersey (SBACNJ).
The merger, which received the approval of the National Association of Home Builders, became effective May 31. The goal of the merger is to create a stronger, more unified building community by combining the Monmouth-Ocean and Mercer-Middlesex county regions.
According to Siegel, the merger will create new business opportunities for everyone. Shore Builders Association of Central New Jersey builder and associate members will also benefit from the larger networking base created by this agreement.
The main office will remain in Lake-wood at the former home of the NJSBA. The general membership meetings will be held throughout the new region, and new members are welcome.
To oversee the operations, the SBACNJ has hired a new executive officer, Christo-pher D. Kniesler of Cream Ridge.
Kniesler was previously the director of governmental relations for the New Jersey School Boards Association. He has held several appointed positions in state and county government, including his appointment as the deputy director of the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles from 1994 to 2002. He holds a master’s degree in politics from the Catholic University of America and a bachelor’s degree in Amer-ican government from the University of Virginia.
The officers of the SBACNJ will include the current officers from the NJSBA and three officers from the CJBA. The past presidents and life directors from both groups will retain their status under the SBACNJ. The board of directors for the two organizations will be combined through Dec. 31. Beginning in 2007, the board of directors will be appointed through the formal nominating committee process.
Alert Ambulance is selling tickets to the July 30 Lakewood BlueClaws game at FirstEnergy Park, Lakewood. The game will start at 5:05 p.m. Tickets are being sold at a cost of $9 each, and $3 from each ticket sold by Alert Ambulance will be donated to the Tom Giannattasio Jr. Memorial Fund. For details and tickets, call (732) 477-8959 or (732) 364-2856, ext. 164, log on to the Internet Web site www.Tomgjrmemorialfund.com, or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].
The OceanFirst Foundation has been a major sponsor of the Ocean County College Foundation summer gala for the past several years. This year, OceanFirst is supporting the OCC Foundation’s Happy Days ’50s Gala slated for Sept. 9, with a donation of $55,000. At the OCC Board of Trustees meeting on June 26, Michael O’Brien and Kathy Durante of OceanFirst Bank and OceanFirst Foun-dation, respectively, presented the $55,000 check to members of the college’s board of trustees and to the Ocean County College Foundation board.