by Bradley Koltz
From the shameless self promotion department:
On Sunday March 11th, Packet Media Group held its second annual Winter JazzFest. The event drew over 1,000 attendees from communities throughout central New Jersey to enjoy jazz and sample free food from area restaurants, including The Revere Grill Room at Hamilton Manor, Villa Romanza, Robinson’s Fine Chocolate, Jesters, Villa Mannino and Great American Cheesecake. Live jazz was performed by Meg Hanson Trio with Benny on Sax, Shikantaza. The event was coordinated with Stone-Campbell Marketing. They can be reached at 609-865-9200. While the event was a lot of fun, attendees also donated close to $500 for the Mercer Street Friends, a local human care organization providing compassionate and practical solutions to the problems of poverty and health. They serve more than 20,000 people a year at seven locations. For more information, visit their website at www.mercerstreetfriends.org.
The 2nd Annual Homes Solutions and Real Estate Open House Event will be held on Sunday, April 15th, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jamesburg. Some of the area’s top real estate and home improvement professionals, who know the ins and outs of everything that has to do with your home, will be there to discuss buying it, selling it or Improving it. The event is free and open to the public. And don’t forget to bring the kids. Home Depot will sponsor a build- it- yourself hands-on workshop for the first 200 children who register with an adult. For more information, visit www.centraljersey.com/events or contact a Packet Media Group representative at 609-924-3244.
Twice a year, Packet Media Group highlights local businesses by letting them tell their story in their own words. Readers should watch for this special supplement in the last issue of this month. Businesses interested in telling their story to our 165,000 newspaper readers should contact a Packet Media Group representative at 609-924-3244.
Business Spotlight
Congratulations
This year marks the 10 year anniversary of Thomasville Home Furnishings of New Jersey retail stores which have provided consumers with custom home furnishings, upholstery, home accents, rugs, window treatments, bedding, mirrors and more. Their design consultants will even visit customers’ homes to see the room they will be designing. Thomasville Home Furnishings of New Jersey has five premier locations throughout the state: 98 Route 10 West in East Hanover, Route 35 & 36 at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, 275 Route 4 in Paramus, Route 1 at Meadow Road in Princeton and 453 Green Street in Woodbridge. For more information visit thomasvillenj.com.
Michael S. Simon, Titusville – Hopewell Township resident and shareholder in the Construction Law Practice Group at Flaster/Greenberg PC, has been named in the 2012 Who’s Who Legal, the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, in the category of construction law. This is the seventh consecutive year Simon has been recognized and is one of only 12 attorneys in New Jersey to have been listed.
NALS, the association for legal professionals today announced the election of Linda Hanley as Region 2 Director for the fiscal year 2012-2013. Ms. Hanley was installed on March 2, 2012, at the annual NALS Professional Development and Education Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Region 2 covers the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Ms. Hanley, a 17-year veteran of the legal field, is employed as a Practice Assistant at the law firm of Saul Ewing, LLP in Princeton, New Jersey.
Jo Ann Lacina, a long-time veteran in Central Jersey real estate, is one of only 37 Silver Level recipients in Middlesex County awarded the 2011 NJAR® Circle of Excellence Sales Award®. Lacina enjoyed a robust year, qualifying her for the 2011 Silver level of the NJAR® Circle of Excellence Sales Award ranking her in the top 1 percent of Realtors in Middlesex County . Lacina is a former real estate appraiser. The NJAR® Circle of Excellence Sales Award® is the real estate industry’s way of saluting excellence in real estate sales. Lacina finished the year with a total production topping $7,900,000. Open seven days a week, the agency is located on the Route 130 corridor in the Lake Farrington Plaza of North Brunswick. For more information, call 732-297-0600 or visit their website at www.zastko.com.
Donna Sullivan, branch manager of Weichert, Realtors® Hillsborough Office, announced that several sales associates have received the New Jersey Association of REALTORS® 2011 Circle of Excellence Sales Award. The 2011 NJAR® Circle of Excellence Award recognizes the members that have demonstrated excellence in the field of salesmanship. There are four levels of achievement within the award. The criteria for bronze level is a minimum of $3 million in sales and 15 units, or 30 units; silver level, $7.5 million and 20 units, or 70 units; gold level, $15 million and 25 units, or 90 units; and platinum level, $25 million and 30 units, or 125 units. The following sales associates rewarded for their accomplishments in 2011 include: Kelly Compher—Silver Circle of Excellence Award; Rana Bernhard, Adam Chu, Nina Jordan, and Lindsay Murray—Bronze Circle of Excellence Award. They can be reached at Weichert’s Hillsborough office located at 421 Route 206 South or by phone at (908) 874-8100.
Harry and Jan Williams, of williams-BUILDER, were honored recently at the 9th Annual FAME (Fabulous Achievements in Marketing Excellence) Awards Gala hosted by the Shore Builders Association of Central NJ (SBACNJ). Winning in the category of Best Historical Renovation, these awards honored the best in design, construction, sales and marketing for the Jersey Shore area home building industry. Visit their website at www.williamsBUILDER.com or cal them at 609-587-8500 for more information.
Chesterfield is having a Spring Open House on March 24th and 25th. They are located at 61 White Pine Road in Chesterfield. Visit their website at www.windyfarmalpacas.com or give them a call at 609-324-0080 for more information.
Santino’s, Robbinsville, NJ is having their popular corned beef and cabbage special starting this Thursday. Reservations are suggested. Call them at 609-443-5600, visit them at 1240 Route 130, Robbinsville, or go online at www.santinosristorante.com for more information.
Hop on over to Robinson’s Chocolate to meet the Easter Bunny – and take free pictures – on Saturday, March 24th from 1 to 4 p.m. Robinson’s is located in the Montgomery Shopping Center, 1325 Route 206. The store has been in Montgomery since 1978, and features a wide variety of chocolate products, including seasonal specialties, and a candy making machine with a conveyor belt.
The Third New Hope & Lambertville Restaurant week is Sunday, March 18th through Friday, March 23rd. The week-long promotion includes $29.95 Prix Fixe Fine Dining or $19.95 Prix Fixe Casual Dining at 28 participating restaurants. Go to www.visitnewhope.com for complete restaurant information including menus!
Doing Good
Crawford House, a halfway house for women in early recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a $500,000 Challenge Gift, designated for the agency’s endowment fund, from the Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust. The gift of the Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust will be distributed over a four-year period in $125,000 increments at a matching ratio of 4:1 provided Crawford House raises a minimum of $31,250 in gifts for each year. Linda M. Leyhane, Executive Director, expressed her gratitude to the Trust for their stewardship and partnership in highlighting the needs of homeless and indigent women in early recovery from substance abuse. Ms. Leyhane added, “this kind of funding and commitment from both the Trust and the community will be instrumental in securing Crawford House’s future and providing services for the many homeless and indigent women that we help each year.” She added, “Through this generous support women will gain the tools and knowledge to remain sober, become and stay employed, reunite with their families and become contributing members of their communities.” Leyhane concluded, “The need for women to receive addiction treatment is greater now than it has ever been, along with the need for funding and support.” To be a part of this challenge gift and insure Crawford House’s future call 908-874-5153, contact [email protected] or visit, www.crawfordhouse.org.
If you’re a local business or institution doing something new, interesting, good for the community, or just want to let our readers know about a new product or service, please contact General Manager Brad Koltz at [email protected].