Monmouth County Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone had nothing but praise for the ‘Made in Monmouth’ Expo that was recently held at Monmouth University.
Arnone also thanked local officials and municipalities for the preparation that was done for the road resurfacing project underway on Ocean Avenue in several Jersey Shore towns.
His report is as follows:
You would not believe some of the items that are made right here in Monmouth County. From coffee to wine, from dry aged beef snacks to handcrafted wooden pens, homemade natural soaps to cosmetics…and much more! A record number of vendors and visitors participated in Monmouth County’s fifth ‘Made in Monmouth’ (MIM) expo recently, approximately 240 county-based companies displayed their goods or services with more than 5,000 people sampling and purchasing!
Thank you to all the vendors who displayed the quality products and services they offer based in Monmouth County. After five events, the MIM program is a fast-growing huge success. This year, the number of merchants increased more than 50 percent since last year. Everyone enjoyed the day whether they were buying or selling. Companies had a unique opportunity to market what they provide and I am glad they see the value in our ‘Made in Monmouth’ expo. This event is a chance to promote our local economy which gives businesses the incentive to keep expanding and creating jobs. MIM is a perfect setting that builds awareness of the excellent products offered by companies in this County.
If you are interested in shopping locally, be sure to download the MIM directory, as all of the vendors are listed along with product descriptions, photos and contact information. The link to the directory is https://co.monmouth.nj.us/page.aspx?ID=3979.
Made in Monmouth is organized by the Grow Monmouth team within the County’s Division of Economic Development. Grow Monmouth officials meet regularly with business, civic and government leaders to provide state-of-the-art information services. It has become a major public-private project to create and preserve jobs in Monmouth County.
While I am very proud of many projects and events we’ve done throughout Monmouth County, most recently I am extremely pleased with the Ocean Avenue milling and repaving project taking place in the coastal communities of Bradley Beach, Avon, Belmar, Spring Lake and Sea Girt.
The project to resurface the 5.8 mile stretch of Ocean Avenue, from Bradley Beach to Sea Girt, began April 18th. Improving Ocean Avenue is critical to these coastal towns and I am pleased the way the municipalities and the County worked together to prepare for this project, keeping it on track to be completed before Memorial Weekend, weather permitting. Each municipality did a great job completing the infrastructure improvements needed to reach the point where the County’s contractor can resurface the road. The County will do everything within its power to minimize the temporary inconvenience due to the repaving, and this $2.28 million resurfacing project will be completed in time for the start of the County’s summer tourism season.