Howell Chamber of Commerce November/December 2014 Newsletter P.O. Box 196 Howell, NJ 07731 p. 732-363-4114 f. 732-363-8747 www.howellchamber.com info@howellchamber.com Welcome New Members! 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning Gabriel Matthews 732.256.9149 132 Easy Street Howell, NJ 07731 Super 50/50 Raffle SUPER 50/50 RAFFLE See inside for details. Membership Renewals Through New Website All memberships, both new and renewals, will now be handled through the new website. That means your renewal notice will be sent via email and you can renew your membership on-line. You will be receiving an email notice approximately 30 days in advance of your renewal. The first time you log in to the website, you will need a password. Click on Forgot Password on the left side. Enter your email address, and the system will send you an email asking you to create a new password. Once you complete the process of creating a new password, you can log in and check your listing for accuracy. You can also upload your photo or logo. The system accepts.jpg,.gif, or.png file types. If the system does not recognize your email, contact the chamber office and we will check the system. The system will send you a renewal email 30 days prior to your renewal date. It will then send reminder emails on a specified schedule. Members who do not pay their dues on a timely basis will be automatically removed from the database. All new members will renew on their anniversary date, so there will no longer be prorating of dues. They can also join on-line and pay for their membership. The new system will help save time, save money and will be more efficient for the chamber office to manage membership and event registration.
A Word From Our President George Krebs gkrebs@optonline.net Dear Chamber Members, The Chamber s Annual Dinner Dance was held on Friday, November 7th at Eagle Oaks Country Club. The hard work that went into the planning and preparation for this event by all involved has been incredible. We had a great slate of honorees as well as some really nice auction items. The committee worked hard to make this another memorable event and I hope everyone had a great time. Thank you to all our sponsors, committee and staff for another successful event! See photos on the last page of the newsletter. I would encourage everyone, if you haven t already, to attend a Breakfast Bonanza meeting. They are excellent! And if you know someone who might benefit from joining our Chamber, bring them along. Have a great month and we will see you soon! George A. Krebs Breakfast Bonanza Tuesdays 8:00am - 9:30am Great networking and open forum discussions on how we can increase clients, patients, customers, social media, referrals, marketing and more! November 25 "What's On Your Mind" December 2, 2014 Executive Board-How Are We Doing? December 9 Open-If You Are a Member and Interested in speaking contact the chamber office. December 16 Celebrating The Season, Calgo Style The 1st and 3rd Tuesday's will be held at the beautiful Calgo Gardens (462 Adelphia- Farmingdale Rd, Freehold). At Calgo, the fee will include coffee, bagel and fruit. The 2nd and 4th Tuesday's will be held at the new IHOP (next to Applebees on Rt 9) in a private room. The fee at IHOP will include coffee and pancakes. It will be optional to order off the menu for an additional fee. If there is a 5th Tuesday in the month there will be NO breakfast that day. The fee is $5.00 for members and $10.00 for not yet members. We would appreciate an RSVP You can register on our new website. Click on the Events page. Layout & design of the newsletter by Linda Coppolino, Little Hat Marketing & Design. If you have suggestions or would like to see specific issues addressed in the newsletter, please let us know. Remember, it s your newsletter!
Paid Sick Leave (Bill #A-2354) The Assembly Labor Committee held a hearing yesterday (Oct. 27) on legislation that would require all businesses to offer paid sick leave benefits to their employees. The committee passed the measure by a partisan vote (6 Democrats yea to 3 Republicans nay). Small businesses (those with fewer than 10 employees) would have to provide at least five paid sick days per year; larger companies, nine days per year. Employees would accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked (basically one hour per week), and would be able to carry forward their unused sick time from one year to the next. What it Means: All employers, regardless of size, would have to provide paid sick leave to all employees, both part-time and full-time. Businesses that currently do not provide paid time off would now have to incur the added expense of paying for an employee not working as well as his or her replacement. Businesses that already have paid sick time policies would also be impacted. They would have to keep records of any sick leave taken by every employee for five years. If the employer cannot provide those records at the state's request, the employer would be presumed to have not provided the leave and be subjected to fines and penalties. The bill also contains broad antiretaliation provisions that could make it difficult for employers to responsibly manage their workforce. Additionally, the bill would: prohibit employers from requiring workers to find their replacements; require employers to pay for any costs in providing documentation, like a doctor's note; allow an employee who claims to have been retaliated against to file a lawsuit; provide for employees who win lawsuits to get actual and liquidated damages and possibly be reinstated to their position; and force employers to pay other monetary penalties on top of lawsuit damages. What's Next: The measure moves on to the full Assembly. Super 50/50 Raffle SUPER 50/50 RAFFLE TICKETS ARE IN! AND SO IS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN BIG! The Howell Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation is once again sponsoring the Make College Dreams Come True Super 50/50 Raffle. It s a chance to make your own $ dreams come true while helping local students! Ticket sales are limited - Don t miss your chance! Drawing at our Holiday Mixer on December 10th. Tickets are available through the Howell Chamber of Commerce office at 732-363-4114 and at meetings. Calendar of Events Is On-line! www.howellchamber.com Howell Chamber Networking Events: $7 per person, $10 for 2 attendees Howell Chamber General Membership Meetings: Breakfast: $15 Lunch: $20 Dinner: $30 (unless otherwise noted) You can register and pay for many of our events on the Events page of our website. The new system also allows you to export an event to your calendar (depending of file format).
Chamber Committees/Chairs If you are interested in joining any of the committees, please call the appropriate chair person. Business Development Committee George Krebs, gkrebs@optonline.net Meets at The Cabin, Freehold, generally on a Wednesday. No entrance fee, but a lunch purchase is required. Check our on-line calendar for up to date schedule. Social Media Advisor Chad Schwarz, chadleeschwarz@gmail.com Dinner Dance Committee Leigh Wilkins, lwilkins@cjbcblood.org The Dinner Dance committee would like to extend a sincere thanks to all our sponsors, volunteers and chamber staff who worked hard to make this a successful evening. Education Foundation Committee (The Howell Chamber Education Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization; it is not underwritten by the Howell Chamber of Commerce.) Karen Leschak, karen@ebarterpays.com Buy your Dream Dollars 50/50 raffle tickets for your chance to win and support the Education Foundation! See article for details. Meetings & Programs Committee Jim Godfrey, pestmasternj@aol.com Tom Comer, tcomer@lomurrowlaw.com Membership Committee Lori Smith, lori.a.smith@pnc.com If anyone has any fresh ideas and would like to be a part of the committee to please join us. PBA Committee Chris Nagy After Hours Networking at Sam's Club Thursday, November 20, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Multi chamber after hours with the Jackson, Howell and Greater Monmouth chamber members. Sample great holiday foods while networking with other businesses. See next page for details. Pre registration is appreciated - you can register on our new website! Click on Events and scroll to the listing for this event. Annual Holiday Mixer - Free to Chamber Members Wednesday, December 10, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Investors Bank, 3265 Rt 9 N, Freehold Installation of the 2015 chamber board of directors. 50/50 Drawing for the education foundation Refreshments will be served. Please bring an unwrapped toy to donate to the Howell Holiday Giveaway Program. Thank you to Edith Legg of Investors Bank and her staff for hosting this event. Bring up to 5 employees from your business to this members only event. An RSVP is required - you can register on the Events page of our website. Breakfast With Assemblyman Rible Friday, December 5, 8:00am-9:00am IHOP, Route 9 North, Howell Discuss issues that concern your business with the Assemblyman. See inside for details. What's new in Howell? The Chamber would like to welcome the new businesses coming to town over the next few months. BJ's is coming in January; LA Fitness, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Carters and several others will be opening soon. Welcome to our town! Best of Luck! The Chamber would like to wish Dianne Neveras from Geese Police the best of luck as she plans her retirement to enjoy her soon to be 5 grandchildren.
2014 Dinner Dance November 7th Located at the beautiful Eagle Oaks Country Club in Farmingdale, New Jersey, our 34th Annual Dinner Dance took place on Friday, November 7, 2014. Inside the Cocktail Lounge, raffle prizes were displayed and hors d oeuvres were served by the Eagle Oaks staff. Entertainment was provided by Lou Coppolino, who set the mood for the night, as attendees were able to enjoy a few drinks and laughs, as well as support the Howell Chamber of Commerce by bidding on over forty prizes. As the bells rang for dinner at 7PM, guests made their way to the dining hall, as they enjoyed live entertainment. Singers from Howell Township High School s FPAC sang Love is an Open Door from the movie Frozen, followed by a dance routine to Let it Go, also performed by FPAC members. Special effects from the fog machine gave a wintry feel on the dance floor, as both beautiful performances opened a night of recognition for all of the Chamber s honorees. Sam Pearson, also from FPAC, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem, followed by President George Krebs who gave special thanks to the Dinner Dance Committee chairperson Leigh Wilkins and her committee. All members were asked to stand up and take recognition for the hard work and dedication they provide to the Chamber, as guests applauded them for all of the effort they have put in this past year. Assemblymen David Rible, Freeholder John Curley, Howell Township Mayor William Gotto, Deputy Mayor Rob Nicastro, and Councilman Bob Walsh were then introduced. Guests enjoyed food with fellow Chamber Members at their tables, as George Krebs thanked Chamber Sponsors Cores and Nachlinger Family Law; Lomurro, Davison, Eastman and Munoz; and Dr. Julie Stern, who represented CentraState Healthcare System as our Cocktail Sponsor. Honorees Paul Schneider, Citizen of the Year; Mark and Penny Estomin of Calgo Gardens, Business of the Year; Dr. Renay Friedman, who unfortunately was unable to attend, Volunteer of the Year; The Brennan Stands Alone Foundation, Service Organization of the Year; and Marilyn D. Kinelski, Years of Service. Honorees stood together as Assemblyman David Rible and Mayor Gotto each read one proclamation. Each honoree stood and informed the crowd of their service to the community, as well as a background of their personal lives. Among the honoree speeches, Lt. Brian Brennan s parents, of The Brennan Stands Alone Foundation, gave all attendees a glimpse of their life and the struggles they faced as they nearly lost their son in 2008 to an explosion in Afghanistan. Marilyn D. Kinelski informed the crowd of her efforts to prevent substance abuse within the township, as well as provide a safer community for the youth. Calgo Gardens and Paul Schneider also spoke, as all honorees thanked the Chamber for recognizing their efforts they put into the community. The night was then finished with dancing and announcing raffle winners, as all guests enjoyed each other s company and honored another year of success and hard work. It was a night to remember for all members, as it provided a wonderful atmosphere and helped support the Chamber that supports the local businesses within our community. See additional photos next page. Written by chamber intern John Silvestri.
2014 Dinner Dance November 7th