Our Monmouth Blog

The Freehold Center Partnership has announced the continuation of Freehold Idol, a contest based on the runaway TV talent show spectacular “American Idol” as well as some changes.

In the endeavor to nurture potential pop icons of the future, every Wednesday evening, commencing at 7:00 p.m. in the gazebo on Main Street is the chance to hear budding pop stars perform in Freehold Idol. This contest is now open for aspiring singers aged 16 to 27, with the grand finale scheduled on August 21, 7:30 to 9:30 pm on stage in the Hall of Records parking lot, East Main Street.

Judges are Joe Orlando and Mick Walsh, both of the Monmouth Academy of Musical Arts, and local musician David Singer. MC is Spook Handy.

Prizes so far are as follows: First prize, $500.00 plus recording a demo at the Monmouth Academy of Musical Arts, second prize is $250.00 plus a free hair makeover at Chez Baliye in Marlboro, and third prize is $100.00.

Application forms are available at www.freeholdcenter.com and there is a $5.00 registration fee.

Upcoming Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce Events

Monday, July 21st - 5:30 -7:30 pm
Free Business Card Exchange sponsored by the Young Professionals Group:
Metropolitan Cafe, 8 East Main St., Freehold
The Metro offers a full Sushi bar and Grill, Martini’s and drink specials. The lounge has been reserved. Bring plenty of business cards to share with other professionals in the area!
Thursday, July 24th - 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Summer Fun & Hidden Talents event:
Monmouth Academy of Musical Arts, 1230 Campus Drive West, Morganville
$25/pp
We know that our Chamber members possess many talents that remain hidden during the normal course of business. This is an opportunity to hide them no longer. Whether you talent is singing, playing an instrument, or fine arts…come join in the fun! Collaborative efforts are welcome. If you don’t wish to be a performer, just come and enjoy the food and the entertainment. It is always a fun event!
Wednesday, July 30th 5:00 - 8:00 pm (free event)
ATHENA Garden Party hosted by HEALTHSOUTH Rehabilitation Hospitals of Tinton Falls and Toms River:
2 Centre Plaza, Tinton Falls
Wine-Carving Station-Hors d’oeuvres
We are celebrating 23 years of ATHENA Award Presentations by WMCC and opening the call for 2008 Nominations!
RSVP by July 25 - register online at www.wmchamber.com

Monmouth/Ocean Small Business Development Center at Brookdale Community College

Presents:
Expanding Horizons in Federal Government Contracting

Presented by:
Stephanine Burroughs, Director of Procurement Programs, NJSBDC

DATE:
May 9, 2008
TIME: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
LOCATION: Brookdale Community College
ROOM: SLC 107
PARKING LOT : #7

Admission is Free - Registration is required!

Only 10 seats left so register today.

To REGISTER call 732-842-8685 or email: mosbdc@brookdalecc.edu

Topics that will be covered:

- Information on how the government buys
- Where and how to find opportunities
- Learn to maximize relationships with buying entities and important contacts
- Learn about different preference programs and how they can help grow your business

You must be Registered To Attend …

MONMOUTH/OCEAN SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Brookdale Community College
765 Newman Springs Road
Lincroft, New Jersey 07738

This is an advisory from the Holmdel Police Department. Dwight Road and Red Hill Road East of Van Schoick Road will be closed to all traffic beginning Monday May 5, 2008 for approximately 6 weeks, 24 hours a day. Please follow detour.

During this same 6 week period, Middletown-Lincroft Road will be closed between Bamm Hollow and Castle Drive 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Please follow detour or use alternate route if possible.

Click the following link to view the detour map (PDF format).

American Recreational Military Services (A.R.M.S), a 501 (c)(3) Public Charity

I am really thankful to all that have helped promote this fund raising drive to get it started. There really is a lot more that we need to do so your continued help and support is appreciated. Find out more information about the ARMS Charity Fund Raiser in a previous post.

I would like to take a moment to thank for following businesses and organizations which were among the first to make donations:
Contempra Electric, Jackson - Homestead Run, Toms River - The Dance Connection, Toms River - Outreach of Greenbriar, Jackson - Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFW Post 8885, Toms River

And to the following supportive bloggers:
Surviving NJ
Exit 117A

Please continue to help promote this fund raising event and charity our troops deserve and appreciate it.

Best wishes!

American Recreational Military Services (A.R.M.S), a 501 (c)(3) Public Charity

In order to help the local charity ARMS on its important mission we have volunteered to actively help promote its latest fund raising efforts. Any business or organization making a suggested contribution of $250 dollars or more will receive a thank you on OurMonmouth.com.
A special section on the homepage has been created just to show support from the local business community. Our troops and their families really deserve community support for their sacrifices. Please help us show them that we appreciate their service to our county. You support a great cause and we support your business! Any support or help in promoting this cause is appreciated.

For more information go to the business and community directory of Monmouth County.

Best wishes and thank you!

Complete Press release:

ARMS reaches out to fellow New Jerseyans to help “our own” deployed troops.
This year NJ will experience the biggest troop activation of our National Guard and Reserves since WWII. We cannot continue doing what we have done so well for the past 5 years without everyone’s help. 3,200 troops will be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, they and their families will need comfort both abroad and at home and ARMS can supply this with help from all fellow New Jerseyans. Please help our campaign and donate a tax deductible donation to A.R.M.S.
Red Bank, NJ, April 14th, 2008: American Recreational Military Services (ARMS) an all volunteer 501c3 is asking for your help. This year NJ will experience the biggest troops surge since WWII. We cannot continue doing what we have done so well for the past 5 years without everyone’s help. 3,200 troops will be deployed, they and their families will need comfort both abroad and at home and ARMS can supply this with help from all fellow New Jerseyans.
Our biggest expense is packaging material and shipping cost. The average comfort package that we send to the troops cost about $10.00 in postage to ship. We do not get a shipping cost discount from the U.S. Post Office The content of the packages are all donated by the wonderful school children, parents, church groups, civic groups, veteran organizations and business owners, of NJ. Over the past 5 years we have shipped over 20,000 packages to the troops.
The impact your can make on these families lives with your support cannot be underestimated. Your donations either financial, goods, or time is critical to our success. To show our appreciation of your support OurMonmouth.com has committed to recognize any business, organization, or individual that contributes over $250 with a featured spot on the homepage. OurMonmouth.com is a local business and community directory of Monmouth County.
American Recreational Military Services (A.R.M.S), a 501 (c)(3) Public Charity was founded in 2003 by a group of grass roots volunteers who wanted to give something back to the military and their families. In a matter of months, this small organization had grown from just a handful to more than 325 volunteers throughout the tri-state area. A.R.M.S. continues to provide services to local armories throughout the region. A.R.M.S. supports the area unit Family Readiness Groups, as well as providing direct assistance to family members in need. In addition, A.R.M.S. has been working with the local military bases to address quality of life issues for soldiers and their families.
# # #
If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Ronnie Micciulla, please call (732) 890-4914 or e-mail ronnie@supportarms.org.

Today I removed the nofollow tag from comments on this blog and recently added the commentluv plugin as well. My goal of this blog has not only been to share information but to encourage interaction and community. I hope you take advantage of these features because your comments and feedback fuel this blog.

Some of you may be unfamiliar with nofollow (I hope this helps):

nofollow is a non-standard HTML attribute value used to instruct search engines that a hyperlink should not influence the link target’s ranking in the search engine’s index. It is intended to reduce the effectiveness of certain types of spamdexing, thereby improving the quality of search engine results and preventing spamdexing from occurring in the first place.
“nofollow.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2008. Answers.com 22 Apr. 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/nofollow

nofollow HTML example:
<a href="http://www.anofollowlink.com" rel="nofollow">A No Follow Link</a>

Comment spam will be deleted.

Best wishes

I was glad to see such passionate responses to my recent blog post “New Jersey State Park Closings“. In case you missed the story reported by APP “Nine NJ State Parks may close as part of cost-cutting measures forced by Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s austere budget. 80 park workers would also face lay-offs as part of the cost cutting measure“. It was amazing to see so many people feel strongly about the value of our local NJ State Parks. I will send all of the feedback posted in the comments of the blog post to the office of the Governor April 30th.

Please pass this message along; together we can make a difference in our community by letting our collective voices be heard.

This post is closed for comments and related feedback should be entered here.

I am very pleased to announce the launch of the ourmonmouthblog. This is a very exciting day for me. Over the past year I have worked night and day on establishing the ourmonmouth site. It is up and running and I now feel comfortable allocating time to working on this blog.

The blog will have a mixed set of topics but will be focused on business in Monmouth County New Jersey. Topics such as marketing, business ideas, news, technology, local issues, and many others will be discussed here. I really look forward to these discussions and getting to know all of you better.