Red Hot Magazine People Pages

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TIM HOGAN

RIVERVIEW MEDICAL CENTER

If you ask someone close to Tim Hogan what’s most important to him, they will probably tell you two things, his family and his work. The Hogan Family—Tim, wife Eileen, and four daughters (his oldest recently blessed him with a granddaughter)—have always loved the beach. When not at the beach, you might find Tim gardening or working on their house in Red Bank, which became home some 13 years ago, when a road of executive positions in places like St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Cincinnati led the Rochester native to the Jersey Shore. “It’s been really a privilege to live here in Red Bank,” Tim says, “and be a participant in everything that’s going on in the area, both personally and professionally.”

As the regional president of Riverview Medical Center and Bayshore Community Hospital, both part of Meridian Health, Tim has been the driving force behind a number of vital new programs and initiatives at Riverview since 2001. And now, since 2010, he brings that same passion and drive to Bayshore. “It is exciting to be able to work with a great and talented group of people,” he says, “including a whole cadre of new specialist physicians who are doing some very, very special work.”

Tim’s first 12 years at Riverview have seen the creation of the “New View” project which opened the hospital up to the Navesink River and introduced the Riverview Rehabilitation Center, the K. Hovnanian Pavilion, which includes the Alton A. Hovnanian Emergency Care Center and Critical Care Center, and the Booker Cancer Center, home to the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System, a non-invasive cancer treatment. Completed in 2012, in the Blaisdell Pavilion, was a 22,000 square foot Center for Surgical Excellence.

All these advances—and the efforts of skilled and caring personnel— have not gone unnoticed. J.D. Power and Associates has proclaimed Riverview “Distinguished” in a variety of patient-service areas, for eight years running. “The awards reflect our commitment to making sure that every patient who comes through our doors has a very positive experience,” says Tim. “I believe that less than one percent of all hospitals nationwide have ever been recognized by J.D. Power for service excellence.”

Part of Tim’s hospital work is his involvement with community organizations that include the Count Basie Theatre, The Community YMCA, and Boy Scouts of America/Monmouth Council Boy Scouts.

On November 9th, Tim will be honored by the Scouts with the 40th Annual Joshua Huddy Distinguished Citizen Award.

“We spend a lot of time cultivating relationships in the community, getting to know people and understanding what their interests are regarding our hospital care,” he explains. “We want to provide the best experience possible. We want to treat you and your loved ones and get you better and get you back out.”

RIVERVIEW MEDICAL CENTER riverviewmedicalcenter.com

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RHONDA ANDERSON In 1874, poet Robert Frost was born, the nation’s first zoo opened in Philadelphia, and a group of local pastors and

THE COMMUNITY YMCA

businessmen launched a YMCA branch in modest quarters in Red Bank (the Young Men’s Christian Association was started in London in 1844). “It’s been 140 years of improving lives in the greater Red Bank community,” says Rhonda Anderson, president and CEO of what today is called The Community YMCA. “We’ve always been a place for people to gather for socialization and I think it’s still a really important part of our heritage and will continue to be, but there is so much more we have to offer—more than many people imagine.”

Much has changed as the Y has expanded its scope from fostering Christian principles of a healthy “body, mind and spirit” to becoming, as Rhonda explains, a multi-faceted, cause-driven organization with a focus on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. It is a mandate far removed from any notion of the Y as a simple local swim-and-gym.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job of evolving and looking at what are some of the critical issues facing our communities and what can we do as a charitable organization to successfully address them,” says Rhonda, a 20-year veteran of both non-profit and Fortune 500 companies who joined the Y in 2012. For example, in recent years the Y has adopted a holistic approach towards wellness with an eye towards prevention, becoming a resource to help families make healthy lifestyle choices at a time when childhood obesity and diabetes run rampant throughout the state.

Another significant growth area is childcare. The Y has expanded its after-school programs; they are now conducted at 30 separate school locations.

The Y’s counseling and social programs and services, an array of initiatives that are not typically associated with the YMCAs nationwide, have also evolved. Here, the Y works closely with the New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families to offer stabilization and support to families. The state thinks so highly of the Y’s ability to get things done that it asked the volunteer-powered organization to partner with them in creating and running the Family Success Center, which opened last June in Union Beach to provide services to residents there and throughout the Bayshore—currently some 1,000 families—still recovering from Hurricane Sandy.

“Today’s Y has the ability, resources, and commitment to better the overall health and well being of all of our constituents, from children to senior citizens, regardless of anyone’s financial situation,” adds Rhonda. “Going forward, I think you’ll see us take even more of a leadership role in affecting positive change.”

THE COMMUNITY YMCA 170 Patterson Avenue, Shrewsbury administration office TheCommunityYMCA.org

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BOB SICKLES

SICKLES MARKET

“I have customers who remember shopping here before I was born,” says Bob Sickles. “And they remind me of it,” he jokes. As the third-generation owner of Sickles Market, in Little Silver, Bob often runs into others who patronized the market when his parents ran it, and his grandparents before them, dating back to 1908 when the market was a farm selling fruits and vegetables to local stores. Today, Sickles Market sells to the public: produce, plants, gourmet foods, garden accessories, gifts…you name it. There’s a burgeoning online enterprise, even a touring operation.

“I’m fortunate enough to have been passed along a great business from my parents, and so I had raw material to work with,” he says. “I’m looking forward to my daughter, and maybe my other kids, doing the same thing alongside what is a very solid group of employees, many of whom have been here a long time.” Bob’s daughter, Tori, is gainfully employed at Sickles. Make that generation number four.

Bob was 12 when he started working in his family’s business part time. He joined full time in 1978, armed with a degree in ornamental horticulture from the University of Vermont. Then, the family had a partner, three full-time employees, and a crew of seasonal workers. They were open from the end of March to the end of October. Ironically, a fire in 1983, which destroyed the original building, sent the business on a rapid growth track. “We consolidated after the fire and built a bigger building, and two years later we expanded it again,” says Bob. In 1998, everything changed. It was a milestone precipitated by the hiring, in 1995, of a garden center consultant who recommended creating a year-round garden center.

“He thought I’d go out of the food business, but I liked them both and stayed with it,” says Bob. By that time “you had to be open all year in order to not kill yourself.” So they expanded further and winterized the market, adding new departments (“A bit of cheese, a bit of bakery,” Bob says).

They built a new state-of-the-art greenhouse.

These measures attracted customers, and better employees, the latter, Bob maintains, being “the key to good, solid growth.”

Since then, all areas of the operation have broadened yet again. (They’ve added a butcher and a new Mozzarella Maker, “Junior” Mazzarella, who is making handmade fresh mozzarella daily). But what Bob would really like Sickles Market to become is a full service specialty store. “In which case we’d also have seafood,” he explains. “That’s a twinkle in our eye for the future,” he adds, with a twinkle in his eye.

SICKLES MARKET 1 Harrison Avenue, Little Silver Sicklesmarket.com

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JAMES AND KEVIN BARRY To say that Kevin Barry has a long history in hotel work is putting it mildly. He practically

OYSTER POINT HOTEL | MOLLY PITCHER INN

grew up in one. “It was kind of like Eloise at the Plaza,” says Jim Barry, Kevin’s father and president of J.P Barry Hospitality, Inc, which operates the Molly Pitcher Inn and The Oyster Point Hotel, both in Red Bank on the Navesink River. Jim recalls Kevin playing with toy cars in his office soon after the family purchased the Molly Pitcher in 1992. Kevin, then about seven, was witness to major renovations that would turn the Molly from a dowdy Colonial to a classy landmark with a decidedly European flair.

Today, Kevin is the operations manager for both hotels.

“I grew up in the business, observing my father, his work ethic and philosophy regarding hospitality, and seeing how things were run,” Kevin says. “It was always such a high energy, positive place to be.” He helped with various tasks, and served as a dock attendant as soon as he got his working papers. By high school his career path was clear.

College brought him to Boston, where he studied hotel administration. A job taught him everything from guest services to food and beverage management and housekeeping. And then one day, in 2008, he got a phone call from home.

“We told Kevin we were totally renovating the Oyster Point, which we’d recently purchased,” Jim recalls, “and asked for his input.” Kevin moved back to Red Bank. Upon the project’s completion—with floor-to-ceiling glass the Oyster Point has a more modern, contemporary feel than the traditionally classic Molly Pitcher, notes Jim, giving prospective guests a unique “best of both worlds” choice while enjoying the same high standards either way— Kevin delved further into the operations end of things. He teamed up with his father to brainstorm fresh ideas while adhering to the “morals and vision” shared by both hotels and exemplified by a “friendly, comfortable atmosphere” with superlative restaurants, accommodations, unparalleled wedding and banquet facilities, and ideal venues for corporate events.

“Kevin’s input—a guy coming in with different approaches to increasing business and becoming more contemporary in the market place—has worked wonders,” says Jim. A new promenade at the Molly, for example, facilitates outdoor tented affairs for upwards of 300 people.

The Barrys, always community minded, have become increasingly involved with various organizations and endeavors, and continue to support local vendors whenever possible. They love the area, its amenities—and Red Bank. “Our hotels’ best amenity is Red Bank,” says Kevin, though Red Bank might, in no small measure, see it the other way around.

MOLLY PITCHER INN 88 Riverside Ave., Red Bank

OYSTER POINT HOTEL 146 Bodman Pl., Red Bank mollypitcher-oysterpoint.com

James and Kevin Barry

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TARA AMELCHENKO DETOUR GALLERY

If you’ve been to Red Bank, you know the art scene there is flourishing, taking off in all directions and luring art lovers from throughout the area and beyond. We spoke recently with artist Tara Amelchenko, a Point Pleasant native and resident of Asbury Park, who manages Detour Gallery on 24 Clay Street. Detour is currently under renovation, with an expected opening sometime between the Holiday Season and the Spring.

RED HOT: First, the art. What can we expect to see on your walls?

TARA: The kind of honest work that has something to say. Everything from folk art to street art.

RED HOT: What in your background makes you a natural for the job?

TARA: I studied at Pratt Institute, worked for years throughout Italy on fine art, decorative, and restoration projects. I then moved back to Manhattan to work with movie ad muralists and to exhibit as a fine artist. My mom is a very talented painter, and my father is an amazingly creative architect; he did work for gallery owner Kenny Schwartz, which is how I met Kenny and got involved.

RED HOT: I understand Mr. Schwartz owns local car dealerships. Why the interest in art?

TARA: Kenny is a self-described “art freak;" he's an avid collector with a great eye.

He's a wonderful guy to work with, and is like the patron saint of artists.

We have a lot of fun. Kenny has always wanted to provide a contemporary art center for the Jersey Shore, one that would offer its residents a place other than NYC to enjoy modern art on a large scale.

RED HOT: And the name?

TARA: The original name, Wunderlust, was jettisoned in favor of Detour, which Kenny came up with. He travels a lot and often takes the road less traveled in search of the undiscovered artists who try to make a living where it's affordable, often on the outskirts of major cities. Artists are always the first ones to be kicked out of a great neighborhood after they've created a cultural scene or simply enhanced that location's character. When taking these "detours,” Kenny finds them, these hidden gems, these purists, and wants to offer that enjoyment to others by way of Detour Gallery.

RED HOT: You’re renovating a 9,000-square-foot space in an old vacant warehouse. What’s the plan?

TARA: Well, the exterior walls of the gallery will function as a canvas itself, while housing imagery and murals from the exhibiting artists and celebrated street artists of today. Its roof will feature master artisan Sergio Furnari’s life-sized sculpture. Local architects Paul Amelchenko and Steven Raciti are working together to preserve the integrity of the building's history and its “beautiful industrial bones,” in addition to enhancements that will allow it to stand alone as an architectural statement for Red Bank.

RED HOT: Is there anything else that makes your gallery different from the others?

TARA: Yeah…EVERYTHING!

DETOUR GALLERY 24 Clay St., Red Bank S P E C I A L

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JOE WAJDA World Subaru, on Shrewsbury Avenue in Tinton Falls, ranks in the top 15% of Subaru dealers nationwide.

WORLD FAMILY OF DEALERSHIPS

But it’s not all about sales figures, says the man who, in no small measure, was an integral part in their achievement. Joe Wajda, general manager of World Subaru and World Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram, which is located across the street, is celebrating his tenth year with the company.

He’s especially proud of World’s charitable involvement with the community, and its approach to running a business.

“We take great care of our employees—there is very little turnover—and we take great care of our customers. We like what we do. It’s not just about selling cars; it’s about building relationships with local families.”

It’s an operational philosophy that Joe learned from his mentor Kenny Schwartz, a Red Bank entrepreneur who entered the auto business in 1973 and, today, owns the World dealerships, including World Volkswagon in Neptune. In 2005, a then 24 year old Joe Wajda had the good fortune to be hired by Kenny and taken under his wing. “Kenny helped me grow in the dealership,” he explains, over the years giving him more and more responsibility, allowing Joe to take the initiative with the firm understanding that the customer be his number one priority.

A former finance manager for the DCH Auto Group, Joe was also a New York musical director and piano player. He’ll be back at the keyboards in March to accompany singer and actress Patti LuPone in a number she’s scheduled to perform at the Count Basie Theatre, and will be directing a choir as well. “I will play a small role,” he says.

The Count Basie Theatre, like music, is close to Joe’s heart—and to World’s. “As an ardent and proud sponsor, we’re very involved with the Theatre,” he notes, “and supportive of the arts in general. They’re an integral part of education for youth and a focal point of our local community.” World is also a big supporter of the Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation, Inc. in Marlboro. “By the end of this year our goal is to help them raise close to $100,000 for children with cancer throughout Monmouth County,” says Joe. Life at the World Family of Dealerships is anything but static. To meet the growing demands of its business, they’ve started renovations on World Jeep that, in a year or so, will result in a major overhaul. And next year World Subaru will likely undergo a significant service facility expansion.

“It’s a family here at World, and we all get along with each other,” says Joe. “It’s a great place to work.”

WORLD JEEP CHRYSLER DODGE RAM 681 Shrewsbury Ave., Shrewsbury | 732.440.1100 worldjeep.com WORLD SUBARU 688 Shrewsbury Ave., Tinton Falls | 732.741.6200 worldsubaru.com S P E C I A L

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JIM & ROBIN FITZMAURICE Ying and yang, sweet and sour. Complementary opposites do stand out. Take Robin and Jim Fitzmaurice of Rumson. They’re of the left-and-right-brained variety, which, in a marriage pushing 35 years, has worked out nicely in a two-halves-make-a-no-holds-barred manner where the sum is greater than the parts. Truly. Ask them.

“It’s like we’re a team, but we’re playing different sports,” says Jim, the creative one.

“I don’t have a creative bone in me,” says Robin. “But I think Jim has some respect for the way I think and try to analyze things.” Robin, of course, handles household logistics. They’ve lived in Rumson for nearly 30 years and have two grown children. Robin, by the way, is vice president of Two River Community Bank; treasurer of the downtown business alliance, Red Bank RiverCenter; and serves on seven non-profit boards. “I don’t know how the hell she does it, to be honest,” allows Jim. At one time Robin was on as many as twelve.

Robin: “I kind of play the devil’s advocate on everything while Jim thinks of the wonderful creative sides of things.”

Jim: “I wouldn’t be able to really do what I do if it wasn’t for my honey. I’m a very lucky man.”

What Jim does—and Robin prefers the focus be on him—encompasses an array of artistic pursuits that includes sculpting, stone carving, jewelry design, drawing, painting murals (his work can be found throughout the area), you name it. “I’m compulsively creative, I suppose,” he says, noting that even as a kid growing up in Matawan where he met Robin, a Springfield native who relocated there during high school, he was always “painting and drawing, designing and building stuff.” A former design build contractor, he transitioned into a decorative artist in 1992.

Jim’s a founding member of Cre8tive Sculpture, a sculpture co-op studio in Long Branch, and over the past fifteen years has designed and installed numerous interactive exhibits, along with related murals, at the Monmouth Museum on the Brookdale Community College campus in Lincroft, where he sits on the building and grounds committee. He’s also on the Historic Preservation Commission in Rumson.

Robin’s the beach person, Jim the home lawn-guy tinkerer, though he’s an avid runner, in-line skater, and loves the woods. And they are both, while independent, very social. At the moment, Jim has a commission to do a bronze sculpture for a church, and is working on a project to provide funding for the creation of public art. As for Robin, she’s got a bank to help run—and a meeting or three.

JIM FITZMAURICE therightsideofmybrain.com

ROBIN FITZMAURICE tworiverbank.com

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ADAM PHILIPSON

COUNT BASIE THEATRE

An anniversary needs a starting date, which in this case was November 1, 2012—right in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. That’s when Adam Philipson took over as the new CEO of the Count Basie Theatre, having relocated from sunny Santa Clarita, California, just days before the super storm hit. He’s liking the weather here now, despite a cold winter spent in Little Silver where he lives with his wife, Alma, and two young children. “I have sort of fallen in love with this place,” he says of his new surroundings.

But Adam he is no stranger to the East. An Englewood, New Jersey, native who grew up in New York City, he moved in 1989 out to LA with his agent—Adam’s impressive 16-year-long professional acting background included Broadway, TV, and feature films—and stayed.

By 1995, his career had moved more into producing, theater management, development, and education work with the arts. Before his recent five-year stint as the managing director for the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center in Valencia, California, he helped launch the $45 million Broad Stage in Santa Monica, where he was the assistant director.

Now, with nearly a year under his belt at the helm of the Basie, he has had time, he says, “to get engaged in a community that’s really appreciative of the arts and what the theatre is able to do.” And will do, under his direction.

“Rather than feeling that we’re only a roadhouse where great artists are coming to play, I really want to transform the Basie into a major regional center for the arts and education,” he explains, “and move it to the next level.” This effort includes producing more curated series, whether with jazz or film; and the expansion of education and outreach programs, the visual arts, and even the culinary arts like the recent four-day Appetite: A Gastronomic Experience held in September.

He wants the community to consider the theater as “the place to go for stimulating conversation, and for a lecture on, say, an issue that’s controversial, or a film where you’re going to get to interact with the director.”

Previously a separate function, Adam also serves as the CEO of the Count Basie Theatre Foundation, the Basie’s fundraising arm. The two functions benefit from “programmatic vision,” notes Adam, which is precisely what he brings to the table. “At the end of the day, you’re going to come to the theater as a patron because of what’s here, and you’re going to support it from a philanthropic standpoint because you love the vision of where it’s going and how it’s becoming an engine of change and an economic engine in this community.”

COUNT BASIE THEATRE 99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank countbasietheatre.org

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AMANDA LYNN It’s a nine-to-five job, except when it isn’t. But that’s okay with Amanda Lynn, program manager for Red

RED BANK RIVERCENTER

Bank RiverCenter, an organization tasked with the management and revitalization of the borough’s downtown business district and whose successes are due, in part, to the special events that Amanda helps orchestrate. From a logistical standpoint, they are big, demanding, and time-consuming—Red Bank Wedding Walk…Girls Night Out—but very effective, putting Red Bank on the regional map and luring thousands of visitors into town.

“I absolutely love this job,” says Amanda, a Red Bank native and Red Bank Regional High School graduate. “Every day is different, and my kind of job never stops.”

Last night she worked late on an upcoming concert. Today she dropped off signs, checked e-mails, and made phone calls on the fly. She delivered “new banners to the horses” (RiverCenter provides horse and carriage rides during the holidays), returned to the office for a meeting, dealt with several business-owner concerns, checked with a printer, worked on social media, and priced out some Porta-Johns.

The life of a professional point person—myriad minutia seem to land upon her desk—isn’t always glamorous, but it’s vital. And it takes a certain outgoing personality (patience and empathy help), joined to a person of multi-talents, to make it work. In Amanda’s case, she brings a background to the task that includes production work at The Two River Times newspaper and Red Hot Magazine, both based in Red Bank, as well as advertising experience and, through it, a relationship with RiverCenter that afforded her an insider’s look at the organization before she joined full time.

She’s run small print shops. She knows the local business scene inside and out.

Then there’s volunteerism. A Rumson resident—Amanda moved there recently with her son, Connor, a freshman at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School—she for many years lived in Fair Haven. As a trustee for the Foundation of Fair Haven, she worked on the town’s Centennial and Knollwood School Teen Canteen events, to which she brought her marketing skills. She’s an EMT with the First Aid Squad. And in 2012 received Fair Haven’s Volunteer of the Year award. “She’s a single mom with a tremendous amount of energy and community spirit,” said Mayor Ben Lucarelli at the time.

With the holiday programs behind her, Amanda is gearing up for the March 30 Red Bank Wedding Walk, and studying logistics for a new summer festival. “It’s going to be big,” she says happily, “really big,” which couldn’t suit her more.

RED BANK RIVERCENTER 46 English Plaza, Ste. 6, Red Bank acoollittletown.com

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MARGARET MASS In April of 2010, ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland halted air traffic over Europe, stranding a family from Ireland in Manhattan, where the mother was celebrating her 50th birthday. The visitors couldn’t afford to stay in the city, couldn’t fly home, and had nowhere to go.

Someone suggested they come to Red Bank…that it was a friendly town…that they could afford a hotel here.

They arrived on the doorstep of the Red Bank Visitors Center, and met Margaret Mass, the Center’s director.

Everything changed for the better.

RED BANK VISITORS CENTER

Margaret got the distraught family situated at the Molly Pitcher Inn. The family stayed in Red Bank for a week, using computers at the Visitors Center to stay in touch with family members at home. The Center assisted with train information and a flight out of Boston, not to mention ways to enjoy their temporary town. When the family checked out of the “Molly,” someone else, knowing of their ordeal, had already picked up their tab.

“This was a highlight for me,” says Margaret, “because I felt, like, wow! We are really helping these people!”

Helping people, though not always in such dramatic fashion, has been the mandate of the Visitors Center since its formation in 2002—it celebrated its 10th anniversary last October—as a spinoff from Red Bank RiverCenter, which was established in 1991 to manage and revitalize the downtown business district. The Visitors Center shares event information and location with RiverCenter while pursuing its own role as borough navigator, “making people feel at home” and assisting them in arranging their plans to stay a day, a week, or forever, according to the Web site, which receives 100,000-plus visits each year. As a destination town, Red Bank plays host to visitors from all over the world—and queries from locals who want to know what’s going on in their own back yard.

The non-profit, funded primarily through RiverCenter and a handful of local businesses, is a hands-on operation run by Margaret, a thirty-year borough resident, and backed by volunteers. The Center disseminates plenty of guides and literature relating to local shops, restaurants, and galleries, as well as to the general shore area and county. It also maintains an inventory of useful printed information at the Red Bank Train Station, its first home.

RED BANK VISITORS CENTER 46 English Plaza, Suite 6, Red Bank visit.redbank.com

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AMY MANOR People often ask Amy Manor what kind of interior designer she is. “So what do you do? Traditional? Contemporary?

What’s your style?” explains the owner of the studio that bears her name at 12 West Front Street. “And I always say, ‘I have no style. I’m a blank canvass. My style evolves with the client.’” It’s not, really, the usual way of doing business in an industry full of designers all-too quick to offer their own style as inspired solution to a client’s needs, as though even those needs were their own.

INTERIOR DESIGNER

Amy is different; she gets involved, asks questions—“How do you want the room to function? What’s your budget?

What do you like?” She listens, and comes to know the client and family; the other day she was busy texting with some of one’s kids. She draws upon her deep professional experience for guidance to assure that all decisions make sense, throughout a process that is as rewarding as it can be demanding. “I can’t start unless I have all this information. I get inspired by my clients and their challenges, and that’s how I go to work.”

Amy’s work—her passion—began in the fashion industry in the late 1980s under iconic fashion designer Georges Marciano (co-founder of Guess), serving as regional manager of visual merchandizing for over 500 of his showrooms. This was a time that saw high-end designers begin their move into the home-store, interior furnishings market. With Ralph Lauren, she notes, think a mix of casual mid-century modern; or Calvin Kline: a paucity of color and simple clean lines. Amy, a pioneering, keen-eyed risk taker—“I love the journey of finding new product and what the next trend is”—was right there with them.

“I could see the connection, the influence of how people live and dress, how it all trickles into interior design,” she says, “and where I could take it.”

After working for different firms in the Red Bank area, she opened Amy Manor Interior Design in 2008. While most designers have an office, Amy maintains, as a client resource, an exquisitely outfitted showroom.

She carries what’s trending and best: the Christopher Guy, Arbol Flooring, Shine by S.H.O, and the luxe Dorya handcrafted furniture line.

“I’m always looking for what’s most intriguing,” she notes, which has her globe hopping in search of new brands, artisans, and vendors.

She considers her longtime vendors as part of the team.

“I just love what I do, the space planning, the creative design and implementation, all of it,” she says. “I don’t feel like I’m working.”

AMY MANOR INTERIOR DESIGN 12 West Front St., Red Bank 732.530.1314 amymanor.com

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CAROLYNN DIAKON As Carolynn Diakon jokingly tells her agents: “We’re not in the lawn decoration business. Go buy a gnome if you want to decorate people’s lawns.”

RESOURCES REAL ESTATE

But she’s serious about the lawn signs coming off as quickly as possible. It means a successful sale for a client by Resources Real Estate, a firm she started in 2000 that today has offices in Rumson, Red Bank, Monmouth Beach and Atlantic Highlands. “We give honest, good sound advice in terms of pricing—we’re not taking a listing at any cost—so our job is to get the property sold, rather than just getting the next listing,” she explains. “I’m very results based, obviously, because that’s what my clients are hiring me for.” It is a way of doing business that has earned the firm a consistent ranking in the top 5% of realtors throughout Monmouth County.

Her way is fundamentally different. For starters, agents work in a very collaborative manner. There’s no cutthroat competition, no drama, Carolynn explains, having experienced both since entering the industry in 1986. If agents happen to be talking to the same prospect, a meeting is held to discuss what’s best for the client and how best to proceed. Unlike most firms, a paid receptionist sits at the front desk, to direct calls to the right person. “I believe that the listing agent is the person who should be handling all inquiries into their listing. And that’s really what I think the client would expect, though that’s not always what they get at other companies, and they may not even be aware.”

Born and educated in England—and presently living on a farm in Middletown—Carolynn worked at several high profile firms before going out on her own. “In traditional agencies the bottom line is very, very important, and it is—it’s a business, I get it—but I feel that the client experience should be at the top of the list and not somewhere halfway down,” she maintains. Taking the philosophy a step further, her firm offers clients a concierge service. Airport pickups, limo arrangements. There’s even a company boat—a 36-foot cruiser docked at the Shrewsbury River Yacht Club in Fair Haven. “Pretty unusual,” she allows.

In early August, a local newspaper dubbed Carolynn “the most powerful woman in Rumson,” referring to a section of her firm’s web site called “Monmouth Social Calendar,” created to promote causes she deems worthy.

Highly regarded as both broker and philanthropist, Carolynn sits on three boards and is involved with numerous committees.

“We’re really community based, and get involved with a variety of social events and fundraisers,” she says.

RESOURCES REAL ESTATE 112 East River Rd., Rumson 4A West Front St., Red Bank 36 Beach Rd., Suite 3, Monmouth Beach 65 First Ave., Atlantic Highlands resourcesrealestate.com

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PAULINE POYNER Pauline Poyner sets the performance bar high for herself when it comes to reaching goals. A nationally ranked realtor at Heritage House Sotheby’s International Realty in Rumson, her determination to be tops has taken her to the coveted Platinum level of achievement in the winners circle for the NJAR Circle of Excellence Sales Awards…since 1995. So, when Pauline’s doctor told her in May that she had breast cancer, she was shocked by the news (that came in while she was training for a 10K road race), but set and ready to win again.

HERITAGE HOUSE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Business as usual. Let’s do it!

Medical advances and early diagnosis gave her a running start, as they have for millions of women today who have faced and met the same challenge. For Pauline, the right team is essential for success. Scott, her husband and partner in life and real estate, is a licensed realtor and designated quarterback on “Team Pauline” as they called the group of key players in the new challenge. Dr. Debra Camal and Dr. Gregory Greco at Riverview Medical Center were on the medical front line with a wonderfully positive outlook that matched Pauline’s own natural optimism. It’s a quality she counts on, in herself and others. “You have to believe that you’re okay, and be strong,” she advises, and she has the track record to prove it.

In the highly competitive world of real estate, Pauline’s rise to the top has been lifted by her own inherent confidence, matched with a strong work ethic that doesn’t let her drop the ball for a second when it comes to her clients and prospects.

Her in-house “Team Pauline” runs with precision, no matter what. Thanks to her crackerjack assistants, Judy Cancalosi and Christine Carunchio, and Scott’s hand on the helm, Pauline and her clients didn’t miss a beat.

Business as usual. Let’s do it!

This year has been a milestone one for Pauline in many ways. Her decision two years ago for her and Scott to join forces with Heritage House has proven to be the absolutely right one. Her client portfolio for listings and sales is solid Platinum, her medal of choice. She’s tested her own strengths in a health crisis that confirmed her faith and trust in the strength of others. And, she’s been given what she considers an even greater chance to open her heart and give back to community in thanks for her own good fortune. The March of Dimes is just one of the charitable organizations she has actively supported. For two years, she has chaired their fund-raising gala, helping to raise more than a $100,000. She has worked with the Kortney Rose Foundation— dedicated to raising funds for the treatment and cure of pediatric cancer—for more than ten years. Mary’s Place by the Sea in Ocean Grove, a retreat with a mission to support women during and after cancer treatment, is a new discovery on her personal journey that she plans to thank.

“Team Pauline.” Business as usual.

Better than ever!

HERITAGE HOUSE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY 23 West River Road, Rumson 732.766.3330 732.842.8100 General Rumson office

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DICK PALAZZO, BETSY PALAZZO-DUDICK and KOREN PALAZZO-SPADAVECCHIA Private climate-controlled suites boast leather sofas, music, and skylights. There are natural stone areas with fresh water waterfalls and pools for splashing and swimming. Special programs include everything from Reiki and geriatric care to weight loss and socialization. Sound like your kind of exclusive all-inclusive luxury resort? There is a catch: it’s not for everyone; it’s for dogs and cats, though their owners are welcome to visit.

PURR’N POOCH PET RESORTS

Purr’n Pooch Pet Resorts is the insightful creation of Dick Palazzo who, armed with a pre-veterinary degree and a love of animals, set about, in 1969, to change the pet care business model in a way that, 40 years later, remains unique to this area, if not much of the world. “He had a vision that revolutionized the kennel industry, and was the first to provide pets with a fully controlled environment in an enclosed facility,” says Dick’s daughter Betsy Palazzo-Dudick, who, along with her sister Koren Palazzo-Spadavecchia and their mother, Dick’s wife Mary, run the family-owned business, taking it from one inspired level to the next. “Think of it,” says Betsy, “as The Atlantic Club and Molly Pitcher Inn for your pet.”

Here, cats are top dog, with their own tranquil digs and specially built glassed-in funhouse replete with climbing walls, and so are animal rescue groups. The latter receive educational resources from the Purr’n Pooch Foundation for Animals, established by the daughters as a present to their parents in honor of their 40th year in business.

As Dick explains, his vision for Purr’n Pooch stemmed from “looking at things from a dog or cat’s point of view.” The end result is a place that says no to boredom and yes to self-expression and fun.

PURR’N POOCH PET RESORTS 86 Gilbert St. West, Tinton Falls, 732.842.4949 | 2424 Hwy 35, Wall Township, 732.528.8100 | purrnpooch.com

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MARY LOUISE van der WILDEN In 2005, Joanne Gordon published her book, “Be Happy at Work: 100 Women Who Love Their Jobs, and Why.” Joining the likes of actress Stockard Channing and broadcast journalist Lesley Stahl, was local retailer extraordinaire, Mary Louise van der Wilden. As proprietor of Le Papillon, the landmark store on River Road in Rumson that features “accessories and separates with savvy,” Mary Louise has certainly earned her bragging rights. The boutique has been around, in various locations, since 1971—who doesn’t recognize the bright yellow butterflies? But she’s too modest to brag and keeps a low profile, one that belies her propensity for non-stop forward motion.

LE PAPILLON

When asked why she likes retailing, Mary Louise didn’t hesitate. “It keeps me moving. I tried piano lessons and can’t stand to sit, but I love dancing. I could never be stuck behind a desk; I’d be a disaster. Retailing changes every day, from unpacking merchandise to shopping for it, to displaying it.”

What excites her, too, is when a customer announces she’s going to a function but has no idea what to wear, or how to accessorize. “That always makes me feel good, when they walk out looking great,” says Mary Louise, whose product line—shoes, clothing, home furnishings, accessories—is as worthy as her advice. “One of the girls who works here says ‘pearls of wisdom,’” she laughs. Loyal part-time employees include Kathy Cashes, Lucy Ruggiero, and Dee Dee Despo, who have been with Mary Louise approximately 28, 20, and 15 years respectively.

A Princeton native, Mary Louise, after college, lived and worked in New York as a cosmetic and accessories buyer for Bendel’s and Bergdorf Goodman. When she and her husband, Willem, moved to Red Bank around 1969, she stopped commuting and opened a shop in Fair Haven at 771 River Road. She thought Le Papillon (butterflies in French) was a “pretty name and didn’t mean anything specific,” meaning she could sell anything.

In 1981, the shop was moved to 774 River Road, across the street from her original location.

A job transfer for Willem to Holland (they both relocated, the store run by managers) was followed by his quitting corporate work upon their return to purchase, in 1985, The Brass Horn shop. In 1997 both stores moved to 7 West River Road in Rumson; upon Willem’s passing in 2002, The Brass Horn was integrated into Le Papillon.

A friend asked Mary Louise, who’s lived in Fair Haven since 1985, when she was going to retire. “Someone said you’ll know when you find what you’re going to retire to,” she says.

Which, she would readily admit, is pleasingly open-ended.

LE PAPILLON 7 West River Road, Rumson lepapilloninc.com

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HANK SIEGEL

HAMILTON JEWELERS

A hundred year old company, one that has achieved recognition beyond its own local markets to garner national and international acclaim, does not get that old by doing all the wrong things.

“The success we have earned is due to the support of the communities we serve, the outstanding team members we employ, the level of expertise and the service excellence we provide, along with a commitment to our core values and vision, which drive each and every decision we make,” explains Hank Siegel. In 1992, he became president and CEO of Hamilton Jewelers, a company established in 1912 in Trenton, New Jersey, by his grandfather Irving Siegel. When Hank speaks of elements of success—three generations in the making—he could not be more knowledgeable or sincere.

Part of the secret is the family-run aspect of the business whose collective client base numbers well into six figures.

“The most important distinction for a family business is that it’s personal,” Hank maintains. “There is somebody who cares and is personally vested in the success of the business, in this case our store and our brand.” Everyone at Hamilton leaves the nine-to-five mentality at the door, he says. “We’re ‘on’ all the time,” the we being management and 115 employees in four locations: Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Princeton, and Red Bank.

The store at 19 Broad Street celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

The company chose Red Bank because they felt the market was underserved in terms of many of the collections Hamilton produces in-house and represents—and, because the expanding client base in Monmouth County, that frequented the Hamilton shops in Princeton and Palm Beach, kept asking them to open one.

“What we especially enjoy about being in Red Bank are the geographically diverse clients, and the diversity in terms of their varied tastes—from tailored and classic, a Hamilton specialty, to fashion forward,” says Hank.

Twenty years ago, Hank created Hamilton University, something unique and well regarded in the industry. Offered to employees each year, the on-site program covers everything from company history and philosophy to client communication, service techniques, understanding client lifestyles, and being part of the community. “We believe these things make Hamilton different,” says Hank.

“My grandfather taught me at the outset of my career that we can always be more successful by re-investing in our existing communities and markets rather than expanding the number of stores,” he says, noting Hamilton receives attractive offers to open in various locations. “We typically decline.

Taking my grandfather’s advice has always proven to be the best.”

HAMILTON JEWELERS 19 Broad Street, Red Bank hamiltonjewelers.com

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KELLI O’BRIEN Some impressions are indelible, engendered in this case, by a root beer float. Back in the late 1990s, while

RIVERVIEW MEDICAL CENTER

studying to become a registered dietitian, Kelli O’Brien was at a hospital visiting her terminally ill father. He wanted nothing more than the frothy elixir, and rather than lecture about health implications, the staff RD immediately went out and bought him one. “We knew he wasn’t going to be with us much longer and all we wanted was for him to be happy,” explains Kelli. The dietitian understood this, and acted from the heart. A small gesture, perhaps, but one that Kelli will never forget.

“I keep that with me always, because everything I do is really about the patient experience,” says Kelli, who today is the chief operating officer at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank. “If I can impact that patient experience one little bit, then I’m doing my job.”

The role of a COO is generally highly situational, which describes Kelli’s job to a T. Her day starts at seven to handle myriad responsibilities that often are in flux. The early start allows her to spend time with doctors, patients, “team members” (staff), and be out in the community in which Riverview—having grown from a local hospital to a leading, technologically advanced medical center—plays such a vital role.

Riverview has been Kelli’s home for virtually her entire professional career—testament to its commitment to the nurturing of its employees and Kelli’s love of the facility and surrounding area. The East Brunswick native lives, today, in Little Silver with her husband and two young twin boys, and is a graduate of Rutgers University, where she studied nutritional science. Although Kelli completed her internship at Montclair State, she served most of it at Riverview.

She was hired, in 1997, to run the food and nutrition program, and the dietetic program at Riverview’s former nursing home in Red Bank; less than two years later, she was in charge of the hospital cafeteria.

In 2001 Kelli was asked to head the guest relations program, and in 2005, the same year she received her MBA from Farleigh Dickenson, became senior director of surgical services. As chief operating officer, she joined the Riverview Medical Center Executive Team reporting directly to the president. “I’ve always been interested in leadership. I love the responsibility, working with teams,” she notes—ensuring Riverview’s profitability, fine-tuning the patient experience, exploring new programs and services.

“It’s exciting to work with an organization that’s always looking to move forward,” says Kelli. “It’s very fastpaced and energetic, and I’ve been challenged every day. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

RIVERVIEW MEDICAL CENTER 1 Riverview Plaza, Red Bank riverviewmedicalcenter.com

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DR. DAVID DUPREE Patients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care, maintains David Dupree, who, as a surgeon, is profoundly aware

SURGEON

why this reality is vital to his career and sense of self. He points to a group photo on his office desk. The inscription reads: “Thank you for saving Jenny’s life. You are, without a doubt, the best of the best.” David is rocking back and forth in his chair, keeping time with another 100-hour work week, explaining that when he studied for the general surgery boards in 2011,his notebook entries were color-coded, straight-lined perfection and that one mistake meant a re-do of the entire page. In the photo, Jenny’s dad is far right; he is retiring as the oldest, highest ranking Navy SEAL in commission. The others are bin Laden’s nemesis, Navy SEAL Team Six. Jenny had fallen in a boat. Unresponsive in the ER, a call went out over the hospital PA system for a surgeon. Fate had it that David was in the building. Jenny was bleeding to death: he had 20 seconds. In a state of calm clarity, eyes closed, he reached inside and found the torn vessel and clamped it. Then he got to work. Three hours later, Jenny was in the ICU watching a Mets game. “That probably was the biggest save of my career,” he says. Thus far.

If that was the biggest save, then the case of the woman with the 51-pound tumor he operated on at Riverview Medical Center brought him the most notoriety. He was Googled some three million times and featured in media around the world.

David didn’t earn a cent. With a nickname like Dr. Dofree, he’s clearly not in it for the money. “It’s a privilege,” he explains. “I awaken each day and thank God I’m a surgeon.” He inherited this passion for serving others from his father, a diesel mechanic, who routinely did “heroic things” for people in Ogdensburg, New York, where David grew up.

His journey to get through medical school, after ten years as a respiratory therapist, was circuitous and challenging. He commuted to classes in the Caribbean on a donkey, and put in another two years in the South Bronx, sleeping in his car before moving to matchbook quarters near a boiler room. He trained at Monmouth Medical Center for six years of residency and was accepted for a speciality train position at the prestigious Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, turning it down to spend more time at home in Fair Haven with his wife, Kelly, and their young children. Today, he is affiliated with both Riverview Medical Center and Monmouth Medical Center.

“As a solo general surgeon, I’m a dinosaur,” he says at the ripe age of 41, with no intentions of becoming extinct. Still rocking in his chair, he points to a neat stack of patient charts. “These are people who have been operated on nine and ten times, who have lost all hope—and are coming to me.”

DAVID J. DUPREE, M.D. General, Advanced Laparoscopic, Robotic, Colon & Breast Surgery 766 Shrewsbury Avenue, Suite 405 Tinton Falls 732.450.1200

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IKE BURSTEIN

BLUE STOVE ANTIQUES

The decades Ike Burstein has spent as proprietor of Blue Stove Antiques have done little to diminish the enthusiasm he feels upon opening the Fair Haven shop each day for business. “I can’t think of anything I’d like to do better,” he says.

Ike is very good at what he does and is recognized as one of the leading dealers in New Jersey. Blue Stove’s focus, today, is on vintage and antique watches and estate jewelry, though the shop has and continues to deal in all manner of authentic antiques—from the United States and all over the world—and offers jewelry restoration services as well.

That Ike enjoys a well-established state and local clientele, the result of customer referrals and much repeat business, should come as no surprise. He’s earned it. Though trained in horology (the science of time, timekeeping, and timekeepers), Ike’s first career, starting in the late 1940s, was in the manufacturing end of the fashion and apparel industry. Fine jewelry, classic timepieces, period furniture, and eclectic heirloom pieces, however, always caught his eye.

He and his wife, Myra, were inveterate antiques collectors from the get-go—“seekers,” as Ike puts it, a passion they shared in their early travels. Later on, time and circumstance drew Myra into the antique business, a logical segue that saw the couple launch Blue Stove Antiques on River Road. The year was 1973. Myra ran the shop with help from Ike, who remained in the corporate world until the mid 1980s, when he left to join her full time. They purchased and renovated the building. With their eggs in one basket, they got serious about making the business a success.

“We made a very good team, and built it up to what it is today,” says Ike. “Modesty aside, we just know what we are doing and we’re experienced at it, we have good resources in every facet of the business, and the results testify to that.”

Myra retired in 2002, leaving Ike at the helm, where he intends to stay. “I have no other plans at the moment, though there may be some in the offing that I’m not aware of,” he jokes.

BLUE STOVE ANTIQUES/ WATCHES INTERNATIONAL 769 River Road, Fair Haven 732.747.6777

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MELISSA CLIFTON “Who could possibly be passionate about doing eyebrows? But once I started, I seriously loved it, and I loved the results that my

ARCH BROW BAR

clients were getting,” says Melissa Clifton. “They were thrilled.” And still are, judging by the explosive growth her specialty boutique, Arch Brow Bar, has experienced since she opened in 2008.

Imagine observing a beautiful painting—with a frame that is much too thick. This will detract from your enjoyment of the art. A frame too thin will have an equally disturbing effect. If the frame is chipped or cracked, your eye will go right to the flaw. But if the frame is optimal, your eye will focus on the painting. Obvious, right? While Melissa Clifton is an artist, she uses the picture frame metaphor for something else entirely. Eyebrows. Their role in perfectly framing the human face, apparently, was not so obvious at all, at least in this area, until brow art became Melissa’s passion.

This wasn’t her original career path, however. Melissa, an Oceanport resident, studied art at Brookdale Community College, and was headed to design school in New York when her family suffered a horrific tragedy. She put her education on hold and—“always a bit of a makeup artist”—took a job at a spa in Little Silver. While there, she became a licensed skin care specialist, and gravitated towards eyebrow styling under the umbrella of services offered. “I started developing my own techniques,” she explains. “Because I was an artist, I would draw a lot of faces, and say, ‘Okay, if this were only a little thicker here, a bit longer there, that would balance the face much better.’ ”No one was working harder to become the consummate master browista.

Melissa’s month-long client waiting list for facials became even longer for eyebrows. This necessitated the hiring of several browistas-in-training and additional space. She went out on her own, eventually landing at 782 Broad Street in Shrewsbury where she is today with a staff of six. She looks forward to growing her business (brows plus tinting, facial/body waxing, eyelashes, makeup, facials) as much as working with her trainees, “helping young women to have a fantastic career that they love.” She also uses her business as a platform to give back in whatever ways she can “to a community that has given much support to me.”

Melissa has a message she likes to share with others, and one that she lives by: “Following your passion, no matter how silly you may think it is, will lead you to other wonderful things in life; and while you may experience great tragedy, you can still find beauty as well.”

ARCH BROW BAR 782 Broad Street, Shrewsbury archbrowbar.com

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KATHY KARLEN DONNELLY Why Beauregard? Kathy Karlen Donnelly explains that she fell in love with art on a 1978 high school trip to Paris. In homage to this experience she gave her fine art gallery, now celebrating it’s 12th anniversary, a French name that symbolizes what she feels is one of the most important attributes of art—beauregard—beautiful to look at. With a focus primarily on contemporary American art, ranging from established names to emerging artists, the works at Rumson’s Beauregard Gallery embody this sensibility.

BEAUREGARD FINE ART

After receiving her MBA from Northeastern, Kathy launched her career as a financial consultant basing herself in London. She explains that while she worked in finance, her heart belonged to art. “Something I always took solace in was that every lunch hour I’d go to various museums. So even though I was making my living in finance, I remained passionate about art”.

In 2000, Kathy moved to Rumson and, while raising two young children, started hosting shows at home, initially selling her sister artist Megan Karlen’s work and soon, the works of other artists. She recalls “Everybody kept saying, you ought to open a gallery!” On October 27, 2001 that’s just what she did. Her first show featured artists from Wellfleet—an art mecca on Cape Cod—where Kathy has visited every summer for the past five decades.

Among the painters who’ve been shown on Beauregard’s walls include students of Hans Hofman, the German-born American painter who brought Abstract Expressionism to the United States in the 1950’s, and Tobi Kahn, renowned New York-based painter and sculptor of abstract, biomorphic forms.

Unlike the typical traditional gallery owner, Kathy enjoys meeting clients at their homes. She explains “We find that it can be daunting to look at the art in a traditional gallery setting, so at Beauregard, we bring the art to you.

We hang it in your home on a trial basis, and we install it when the work works. Our goal is to marry beautiful pieces of art with a client’s lifestyle and tastes.”

When describing her passion for pairing clients with suitable art she says that her searches take her even beyond Beauregard Gallery’s inventory, “I’ve even sold the paintings of artists that I have never shown in the gallery”.

This having been said, Kathy is always on the lookout for emerging artists and maintains a wide-ranging inventory including paintings by artists working in different styles and in different phases of their careers.

And as Beauregard Gallery’s offerings expand, the client list has been expanding to not only include the local community, but also collectors nationwide.

BEAUREGARD FINE ART 109 East River Road, Rumson beauregardfineart.com

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AVRA KARAK

MONMOUTH ST. TILE

It all starts with a first impression. “It’s that friendly smile when someone walks through the door…I believe that’s key to any business,” says Avra Karak. As owner of Monmouth St. Tile, whose 15th anniversary is in November, she clearly has made good—and lasting—impressions. And then there is her ability to produce consistently good results.

Avra and her staff truly care about each and every client. “We work very closely with our clients in hopes of bringing out their own personal style,” she says. “Our excitement when we find the perfect tile trickles down to the client.”

Monmouth St. Tile offers a unique selection of exquisite stones, glass, porcelain, along with beautiful handmade artisan tiles. “We pride ourselves,” says Avra, “in that we’re able to bring these exclusive lines to Red Bank.”

Avra worked in the fashion industry for many ears. When an opportunity came up to open a tile showroom in Red Bank, she decided to combine her background in fashion and her love for home decorating. Monmouth St. Tile opened in 1997 and by 2005, she had opened a second location in Sea Girt.

Over the years, as the business grew, so did the need to expand to her expectations of bringing in a refine selection of tiles which led to a premier line called Country Floors. “We realize that trends shift every 5 to 15 years,” she explains. Right now clients seem to gravitate to a cleaner look. Honed stones and large scale porcelains, along with glass mosaics, seem to be a popular trend.

When you come into one of Monmouth St. Tiles’ two locations, you’re immediately taken by the vast selection, from traditional old world tiles to a more sleek contemporary look. More than that, you will find Avra and her sales staff to be very welcoming and dedicated to helping their clients needs, from start to finish.

MONMOUTH ST. TILE 44 Monmouth Street, Red Bank 2175 Highway 35, Sea Girt monmouthsttile.com

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CHRISTINE SHEA

SOLARI CREATIVE

They share an affinity for the Jersey Shore. Christine Shea, a Middletown native, now in Little Silver; Jeanine Swierkocki, from and still in Manasquan; and Michael Burke, who lives in Ocean.

They share a friendship. And a business. The three have worked together since 1997, but did not make it their day job until they incorporated in 2003.

“It’s because we all have different strengths that the company has worked so well,” explains Christine, who serves as president of Red Bank-based Solari Creative, where Jeanine and Michael are VPs. “We all bring something different to the table.”

A full service design studio, Solari Creative offers to its diverse client roster everything from identity and print design, interactive and web solutions, to animation and video. Today, the company—there are upwards of 26 designers— is split, with Mike leading the effort in Maryland, where Solari’s earliest and biggest client, Fort Monmouth, relocated to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds after closing its gates in Eatontown in 2011. Christine and Jeanine handle commercial clients that include local favorites like Spark Marketing, Femme by Ashley and Pier Village, as well as several corporate accounts in the pharmaceutical, technology and medical industries.

Christine met Jeanine and Mike a year after graduating from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), in 1995, with a degree in fine arts and a concentration in communication art. The three worked for two companies under contract with the Fort. It wasn’t long before they joined forces to work at night on their own commercial projects (the Keansburg Amusement Park was one of their first clients).

Meanwhile, Fort Monmouth came to depend upon the trio to the degree that they helped them form their own company—“So they could work directly with a firm specializing in design with knowledge in the army community,” Christine explains. They launched officially in 2003, and in 2011 moved from offices near Fort Monmouth to their present home on Front Street in Red Bank.

One of Christine’s passions is working with small businesses, especially those who assume they can’t afford a professional to help them, as well as women owned and run businesses. “We created these small-business packages for start-up companies, and offer discounted rates,” she notes. “I got such a boost when we started our company, when we had benefactors, people who believed in and helped us. I feel beholden to pay it forward.”

In naming the company, they wanted something “that wasn’t literal about design, or our initials, and that meant something to all of us,” says Christine.

“What pulls us together? The shore, growing up here, being at the beach, the sun.” She had this Italian-English dictionary on her desk one day…Solari. Of the sun, by the sun, the three of them together.

SOLARI CREATIVE 210 West Front Street Solaricreative.com

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LARRY MELUSO Choreography and catering share much in common, each requiring an intense passion and focused attention to detail.

Brooklyn native and Red Bank resident Larry Meluso brings decades of experience in each discipline, the former enhancing the latter, to his position as director of catering sales and marketing at Windows on the Water, a 7,000-square-foot wedding and special event venue located at Surfrider Beach Club in Sea Bright. Under Larry’s direction, Windows for three years running has been named a five-star property, winning top awards from New Jersey Bride magazine and The Knot.

WINDOWS ON THE WATER

“They really let me take the ball and run with it,” says Larry of Surfrider owner Jim Lobiondo and his children, who run the multi-faceted business. “We have a wonderful working relationship.” Larry, who loves the shore and had curbed his global wanderlust, wanted to commit his talents to a single property closer to home. He joined the Lobiondos in 2012.

“I feel they’re probably the best family I’ve ever worked for in my career,” he says.

Larry began learning the ropes at age 11, with an uncle who owned a catering service in Brooklyn. The skills he learned there were a useful fall-back during his exploration of other areas of interest, which came to include choreography.

He put together large events around the world, served as artistic director of the Hong Kong Arts Center, choreographed TV commercials. He also worked in sales and marketing in various countries within the hotel industry, and found himself leaning towards the catering end of it. Throughout his travels he was exposed to many different cultures and languages— experiences that serve him well today.

“We’re constantly presented with different challenges in terms of coordinating various types of weddings,” he explains. “We do multicultural and interfaith weddings, and we support marriage equality for all.” Larry’s outgoing personality, knowledge, and hands-on attention to detail led one customer to write: “This loving note can barely express how you have added to the depth of our happiness and for being a part of the most amazing day of our life!”

Windows on the Water handles a minimum of 85 weddings each year, during a season that runs from March 15 to December 15. What makes it different from many wedding venues, and more successful, according to Larry, is that the service is uniquely personalized—one wedding at a time, at a “spectacular” private beach club on the ocean; the facility even features a heatable outdoor deck, with dropdown glass rendering it suitable for use year ’round. Much of the food, prepared under the masterful direction of Executive Chef Elpidio Cruz, is locally sourced. The core staff of 20 is carefully vetted and receives rigorous training by Larry, his Maitre’D, and Banquet Captains. Larry continues to take courses and attend seminars to keep abreast of current industry developments and trends.

What Windows doesn’t do is lose sight of what Larry believes helps make weddings so magical: the traditions of pomp, circumstance, and etiquette. “A lot of it, including traditional, table side sophisticated service, is going out the window these days,” he says.

“But not here.”

WINDOWS ON THE WATER 931 Ocean Avenue, Sea Bright 732.842.8463 njwindowsonthewater.com

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CHRISTOPHER H. RUBY When you’re a contractor driven by commitment, like Chris Ruby, you basically work seven days a week. “My phone’s always on, no matter where I am,” says the president of Red Bank-based Hilliard Construction. “And I always answer it.” The hours are long at Hilliard, spent juggling myriad aspects of various projects that, for Chris, include everything from home renovations (exterior, interior, bathrooms, kitchens, you name it) to the ground-up construction of a brand new home. The rewards for a job well done generally are repeat work, a solid referral—though, for Chris, one time, it was something unexpected and initially alarming.

HILLIARD CONSTRUCTION

“I’m doing a big job and walk into the place and the owner is crying,” he explains. “I thought I did something terribly wrong. But she says, ‘This is so beautiful, I can’t believe how it all turned out!’ That, right there, just makes your day. It was so gratifying. Things like that make all the hard work, the time, the frustrations, worth everything.”

It’s not so surprising, really. If you ask Chris what he enjoys most about being a custom home builder and home improvement contractor, he’ll tell you, “Changing people’s lives for the better.”

A 1993 graduate of Middletown High School North, Chris grew up in the township, and in the family’s construction business. “I always loved building stuff,” he allows. Twelve years ago, Chris launched Hilliard Construction (Hilliard being his middle name), which today has a core team of four, along with select subcontractors. Together, they have completed hundreds of projects throughout Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex Counties.

According to Consumer Reports, top homeowner complaints about general contractors include not taking the time needed to do the job right, and not understanding requests. Chris is aware of this.

“There’s no sugarcoating of anything in the way I do business,” he explains. “You let your clients know exactly what’s going on, every step of the way. And you do the right thing, always; you never cut corners.”

Chris also lives in Red Bank, and when he’s not on the job— answering his cell phone notwithstanding—he loves spending time with his young nieces and nephews, courtesy of two brothers and a sister. He enjoys outings on his boat, working out, and is an avid snowboarder.

Chris sees Hilliard Construction growing, but for the moment the size is just right.

“I have no complaints. When I get up in the morning, I’m excited to get at it.

I love what I’m doing,” he says.

HILLIARD CONSTRUCTION 68 Linden Place, Red Bank 732.558.1928 cell 732.842.0924 office hilliardconstructionnj.com

BILL LASHOVITZ Bill Lashovitz has thought about retirement, but only briefly.

“What would I do with myself? I love this business,” he says.

RBA HOMES

“I can’t picture sitting on the beach.” He’d rather, say, duck out of his office in Red Bank, where he is president of RBA Homes, a modular house construction company, and get his hands dirty with the crew on a new house installation. He hasn’t missed many for the hundreds of high-end modular homes that RBA has built over the past 27 years. Not a bad track record for a guy who initially eschewed his family’s building heritage for a career as a CPA. “The experience that I had working in public accounting, and the different industries that I was involved in before I started this company, gave me an education and understanding of how to run a business successfully,” he says succinctly, adding: “I always knew building was in my blood.” It just took him a while to get there.

A Newark native, Bill’s family moved to Bradley Beach around 1955. Asbury Park High School led to Miami University of Ohio. He used his accounting degree to land a job at one of the Big 8 firms—which sent him immediately to New York.

He spent the next 25 years at different controller jobs in areas including the mutual fund and diamond industries.

Throughout much of this time, Bill commuted to New York from his home in Middletown, where he’s lived since 1970.

In 1984 he made several commercial real estate investments in Monmouth County that included two in Red Bank where he launched his own accounting practice—relegated to the back burner following the subsequent purchase of vacant lots in Neptune upon which Bill proceeded to build. They weren’t the traditional stick-built homes that his father and grandfather favored.

“That whole environment was not something I felt comfortable in,” he says. So Bill embraced factory-made modulars. He had absorbed the literature and was intrigued. Wave of the future…better built, quicker to erect, less expensive…what was not to like? While customization options initially were nonexistent, advancing modular construction technologies made them increasingly available—a critical development to someone whose niche became that of serving property-owning individuals, long a mainstay of RBA Homes. Today, custom designs are created right in Bill’s office.

“Actually helping people design and construct a top-quality home that they fall in love with and will live in for many years, you get a real feeling of accomplishment,” he says. “We all do.”

RBA HOMES 252 Broad Street, Red Bank RBAHomes.com

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RED HOT

PEOPLE and

Pets PHOTOGRAPHERS | Danny Sanchez Marisa Sottos WRITER | Cort Smith ART DIRECTOR | Amanda Ansorge

MEGAN PRENDERVILLE, CHOPPER and YOSHI

FRAME TO PLEASE

Megan Prenderville is at the counter of Frame to Please in The Galleria Red Bank, which she runs with her husband Mike Harper, when a customer enters the shop. The first thing the customer says has nothing to do with picture framing, rather, she wants to know about Chopper. “Hey, I just saw your post on Facebook that Chop wasn’t feeling good, how’s he doing today?” Chopper has cancer, and gets around fine considering a prognosis more than two years back that gave him four to six weeks to live. And today he’s good.

Chopper has a following and so does “brother” Yoshi, both Galleria regulars who know and are known by retailers and customers alike. “They aren’t our dogs anymore, they belong to the community, which has totally embraced them,” Megan says.

“We actually have a few people who have cancer that come and regularly visit Chopper.”

Chopper and Yoshi are rescue dogs, the former a Border collie terrier mix, the latter a blend of shiba inu and husky. As for Megan, she’s a Middletown native and lifelong picture framer; Mike is a former illustrator turned picture framer. They stopped working separate jobs, launched a framing business out of the basement of their home in Red Bank, outgrew the space in the middle of the recent recession, and moved to the Galleria.

Megan and Mike did have a dog, a keeshond named Keesley who died before “The Boys” came along (Yoshi fast on Chopper’s heels). Mike, for one, hadn’t planned on getting another dog, let alone two.

Oh well. Chopper’s path to Megan was especially circuitous, with the puppy landing on her lap for safekeeping during a snowstorm.

As Megan says, the snow went away, Chopper didn’t. He’s pushing twelve now. And Mike—“All the things I do wouldn’t be possible without my man!” Megan allows—couldn’t be happier.

Chopper’s fight against cancer led her to become involved with Shrewsbury-based Save U.S. Pets Foundation, which grants money to people who can’t afford emergency health care for their pets. The non-profit—“Volunteers are needed!” Megan implores—works with 11 participating New Jersey veterinary hospitals, including Red Bank Veterinary Hospital (whose employees, in 2003, started the foundation that in 2007 became a separate entity under its present name). Megan expanded her animal-oriented efforts, taking over three empty kiosks in the hallway outside her frame shop, converting one to Paws for a Cause! in order to sell pet products made by local residents.

Today Megan sits on the Save U.S. Pets board and “The Boys” serve as ambassadors and sit in on meetings. They’re quite opinionated, but very well behaved.

FRAME TO PLEASE and PAWS FOR A CAUSE! The Galleria, 2 Bridge Ave, Red Bank 732.741.8062 frametoplease.com

SAVE U.S. PETS FOUNDATION saveuspets.org

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MEGAN & MIKE

YOSHI & MAGGIE Being an entrepreneur is enough to keep anyone busy.

Not Megan Prenderville. The co-owner, with husband Mike Harper, of Frame to Please, a custom pictureframing/art gallery in Red Bank, has another fulltime mission: animal advocate.

FRAME TO PLEASE & PAWS FOR A CAUSE

Several years ago, the energetic and upbeat animal lover launched a secondary business, “Paws for a Cause,” in a kiosk just outside the store’s entrance. She donates all profits on the pet-themed tees, hats and other merchandise to the Associated Humane Society in Tinton Falls. (In what she calls a “double dip of good,” Megan tries to use only vendors that give back to animal causes.)

Megan also established a community collection site at the store for dog food, treats and supplies for the Humane Society.

And, in between, she has volunteered for, or otherwise supported, countless animal-welfare causes, from fostering and adoption, to therapy dogs, to assistance with emergency veterinary expenses.

The inspiration behind it all was Megan and Mike’s rescue dog Chopper, who, with his fur-brother Yoshi, were the frame shop’s longtime official greeters and pups-in-residence. After Chopper passed of cancer last fall, he came to the couple in separate dreams, encouraging them to rescue another dog to fill the hole left in their and Yoshi’s hearts. Enter new love Maggie.

The nearly nine-year-old border-collie-hound mix, who Megan says was “the most broken and scared little girl” in the shelter, is now happily adjusting and enjoying her new life. “What a wonderful way to honor Chopper,” Megan says. And, another part of her long legacy of helping animals.

FRAME TO PLEASE and PAWS FOR A CAUSE The Galleria | 2 Bridge Ave, Red Bank 732.741.8062 frametoplease.com

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MIMI WITH HER FAMILY REBECCA, CHIARA, SANG & EMILY YI Mimi has a pretty good handle on life in her Holmdel neighborhood. A township native, she’s lived there all her life. Nowadays, though, she’s pushing her boundaries of experience in a whole new world, in Eatontown, where she travels most days with her mom, Chiara Yi. Chiara is a co-owner of The Studio on 35, a newly opened atelier, where Mimi also works (with great enthusiasm, albeit somewhat haphazardly). Chiara drives.

THE STUDIO ON 35

The performing artists studio, which debuted on June 4, has been well received, and with good reason. “Parents of some of the students,” Chiara explains, “they’re like, thank god you opened this place, because now I can come here and get the same quality training that I would in New York without all of that mess.” The mess being expensive travel, expensive parking, expensive classes.

“Everybody that we’ve come in contact with, the students, the parents, they’re all grateful we’re here, and very supportive of us and each other,” she says.

Chiara used to schlep her two avid singing-and-acting daughters, Rebecca, now 13, and Emily, now 10 (Mimi, who joined the Yi family just three years ago, has other interests) into the city for professional training. It’s fun but serious stuff. Emily got several audition call-backs for the Broadway musical Annie. This, it turns out, was to start the ball rolling for The Studio on 35. Emily had to learn two songs in a short time, and her regular coach wasn’t available. Chaira’s husband Sang, a local, independent financial advisor, happened to be at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, and was advised to enlist the aid of one Theresa Fowler Pittius.

Theresa teaches voice and has an extensive entertainment repertoire that includes off-Broadway, national touring productions, and film credits; she has also created and run various Monmouth County-based performing arts programs and touring productions.

It was a match made in New Jersey.

During this time Chiara and Sang—who both grew up in Matawan—continued to rent out the building they owned in Eatontown at 21 Main Street. That is, until their tenant left. Sang thought they might open some sort of business there for themselves. Chiara and Sang spoke to Theresa, who was excited by the notion of a local “unique and creative” venue, and became the nascent studio’s co-owner and creative director. Renovations were soon underway. A motto was informally adopted: “We’re bringing New York City-style training to the Jersey Shore—at an affordable cost.”

Mimi enjoys her new home-away-from-home, and the students, ranging from ages four to 50-plus, enjoy her. The rambunctious Chihuahua, whom Chiara says serves as a kind of studio mascot, greets everyone as they enter the building (especially Rebecca and Emily), and after making sure all is copacetic, calms down and lies down.

Until someone else walks in. “Everyone knows and loves Mimi and calls her by name,” Chiara says.

The studio, which offers private voice/acting classes, Broadway Master Classes, resume building, audition coaching, and more, has grown from a handful of aspiring performers to around 40. They come from as far south as Manahawkin and as far nor th as Sayer ville.

“Every day we get phone calls, people signing up for various classes, inquiring,” she says.

“It’s really amazing.”

THE STUDIO ON 35 21 Main St. (Rt. 35), Eatontown 732.544.3500 TheStudioOn35.com S P E C I A L

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DANNY SANCHEZ and AVA DANNY SANCHEZ PHOTOGRAPHER

Ava is a dog. Part Chihuahua, part who-knows-what, she was rescued from a puppy mill in South Carolina by an organization called Mutts-N-More, which, presently, consists of a network of foster homes throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Some five years ago, Maureen, a friend of Mary’s who volunteers for the non-profit, called to say she had this little dog that would be “great for you and Danny.” Mary told Danny. Danny said, “No way we’re getting a dog.”

Ava had spent the first ten months of her life in a small cage about two feet by two feet, surrounded by other dogs, some dead or starving, Danny explains. “A real crazy situation she was in.”

Mary said to Danny, “It’s just a little dog.” Danny said, “Definitely not.” Mary put on her coat. “I’m going to go look at it.”

So Danny went with her, mainly to make sure she didn’t come home with a dog.

“So we’re there with Ava’s foster parent,” Danny recalls. “The dog’s ears are back, her ribs are showing, scales on top of her head, a very scared-looking little thing.” Well, that did it. He was sold. “And we’ve been inseparable since,” he says.

Ava has watched Danny’s softball games from her VIP seat inside Danny’s equipment bag, and can often be found lounging about the photography studio on Bridge Avenue. “I’ve taken tons of pictures of Ava. She’s very photogenic and could probably be a model if she wanted to be,” he allows. Danny tried bringing Ava along for a ride on his Harley-Davidson Sportster, but logistics didn’t seem safe and the big 1,300 cc engine was scary music to a Chihuahua ear. If Ava can’t come, Danny often won’t go—he hasn’t ridden the bike in five years.

When they’re apart, Danny often thinks of her. Mary feels the same way, and has been equally guilty of spoiling Ava silly from day one. “I don’t know where I’d be right now without her, let’s put it that way,” Danny admits. “Supposedly we rescued her, but, as Mary puts it, she rescued us.”

DANNY SANCHEZ PHOTOGRAPHER 25 Bridge Ave, Suite 200 Red Bank 732.530.4120 dannysanchez.com

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Photo by MARISA SOTTOS

Many people know Danny Sanchez as a preeminent photographer who, in 1986, left a 20-year New York career (US magazine, Spin, Star) for a studio in Red Bank, whose portraits—sometimes startling, always insightful—grace home and office walls throughout the area.

Others know him through the shared enjoyment of various pursuits that, for Danny, include softball, boxing, slot car racing, and motorcycles. Then there’s Ava. She knows him as the guy who, along with Danny’s wife Mary, is responsible for, probably, saving her life.