OceanFirst Foundation of Toms River recently announced the recipients of $267,000 in grants to organizations serving patrons on the Jersey Shore. Twenty-three organizations will receive awards ranging from $1,500 to $15,000 for 2011 and 2012. These grants will provide general operating support at a time when many arts and cultural organizations face economic challenges and struggle to maintain programs and services.
Local recipients of the 2011-12 arts and cultural grant are Algonquin Arts Theatre, Manasquan; Axelrod Performing Arts Center Inc., Deal Park; Belmar Arts Council, Belmar; Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank; The Historic Village at Allaire, Wall Township; Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation, Red Bank; Monmouth County Arts Council, Red Bank; Monmouth Museum and Cultural Center, Lincroft; Monroe Township Patrons of the Arts, Monroe Township; New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch; Spring Lake Shakespeare in the Park, Spring Lake; Strand Ventures, Lakewood; and Two River Theater Company, Red Bank.
OceanFirst Foundation has awarded nearly $22 million to more than 600 local charities in Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties since its inception in 1996.
Charlie Brown’s restaurant has recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy under new ownership with new ideas and an eye on expansion. The changes include a menu overhaul with new dishes and an array of choices under 500 calories.
According to Craig Godfrey, Charlie Brown’s executive vice president of operations, the restaurant’s signature steak and prime rib entrées will continue to be part of the offering, but the managers wanted to flex their strong culinary background to add choices that get people excited.
The new owners are investing more than $10 million in the venture. The most immediate impact is that they have saved more than 1,100 jobs. After taking ownership in late summer, they have reopened and completely renovated the Staten Island, N.Y., location, plan to reopen a new location in East Windsor this spring, and are renovating various locations to bring the total restaurants in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania to 21 locations. Locally, Charlie Brown’s can be found in Lakewood, Edison and Brielle. While the menu and bar offering are consistent, each restaurant has a look and feel all its own. All locations have been upgraded with HD TVs and “NFL Ticket” programming. Locations can be found at www.charliebrowns.com.
Michelle A. Riklan, managing director of Riklan Resources, Marlboro, was recognized as the second-place winner of the Best Creative Résumé Award conveyed in the annual Toast of the Résumé Industry (TORI) awards hosted by Career Directors International (CDI), a global association of résumé writers and career coaches.
CDI holds the TORI competition each year, conveying 27 awards from first to third place for nine categories including international résumés, technical résumés, creative résumés, executive résumés, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, sales and marketing résumés, new graduate résumés, and military résumés. Categories are changed to reflect current employment and industry trends. Riklan is the co-author of “101 Great Ways to Enhance Your Career” and has been published in several résumé writing and career compilation books.
Dr. KristieY. Kim, who joined the medical team of orthopedic surgeons at Advanced Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute, Freehold Township, in March as a physiatrist, has become a Diplomate of the American Board of Pain Medicine, making her a board-certified physician in pain medicine. To earn this designation, the doctor completed the credentialing process and successfully passed an examination.
Kim focuses her practice on restoring function to people who have a wide-range of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions, such as sore shoulders, strokes, injuries, acute and chronic pain, arthritis, tendonitis, and back and neck pain, among others. She will offer non-surgical approaches to pain, including acupuncture, physical therapy, and injections of muscles, bursae, and nerves.
Kim will see outpatients at the Freehold Township and Monroe Township offices of AOSMI and provide consultations in physical medicine and rehabilitation at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, and CareOne at Jackson.
CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, has been recognized by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) as one of 26 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals in the United States that have achieved exemplary outcomes for surgical patient care. ACS NSQIP, which is used in 412 hospitals, is the only nationally validated quality improvement program that measures and enhances the care of surgical patients.
As a participant in ACS NSQIP, CentraState is required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and collect data that directs patient safety and the quality of surgical care improvements.
The ACS NSQIP recognition program commended CentraState Medical Center for achieving exemplary outcome performances related to patient management in two or more of the five clinical areas involved in the national Surgical Care Improvement Program; including DVT (deep vein thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, and pulmonary embolism); cardiac incidents (cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction); respiratory (post-operative pneumonia); surgical site infections; or urinary tract infection.
A Business After Hours event will be hosted by the Greater Monmouth Chamber of Commerce at Investors Savings Bank, 21 W. Main St., Freehold, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 29. Details: 732-462-3030.
The Goddard School, 50 Route 520, Morganville, will be a collection site for Toys for Tots. All donations of new, unwrapped toys are welcome. Donations will delivered to the U.S. Marines at their Red Bank base. Details: 732-617-8181.