26th GoldenOsprey Awards Recognize Excellence
The Southern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce (SMCC) will be honoring its most outstanding citizens and businesses at the 26th Annual Golden Osprey Awards gala, Thursday, October 20, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., the Spring Lake Manor, 415 State Highway 71, Spring Lake, N.J.
Tickets cost $75.00 each and include a two-hour open bar, hors d’oeuvres and a dinner buffet. To register or for questions, call 732-280-8800. Ad journal and sponsorship
opportunities are still available.
The Golden Osprey Awards recognize business excellence, community service, chamber service and an aspiring youth. Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, Spring Lake, owner Maria Cermatori, will receive the Business Excellence Award for outstanding business practices and contributions to the community.
Denise Wegeman, MSW, LCSW, Sea Girt; and the Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Wall with manager Ekaterina Bronshteyna and previous manager Brittany Matthews, Manasquan, exemplify models of Outstanding Community Service. Wegeman, a counselor, has been consistently instrumental in helping high school students cope with suicides in the community. The Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Wall donated thousands of dollars of dance lessons and participated in events to benefit the Chamber’s charitable
events.
Arnie Kurmin, Kurmin Architects, Wall; and Patricia Brown, director of admissions and marketing at Waterford Glen Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing Care, Wall, will
receive the Outstanding Chamber Service Award for their continuing contributions.
Kurmin, a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for more than 40 years, has logged in countless hours of community service for the Chamber. Among his many
contributions, each December Kurmin volunteers his time, dressed as Santa, at hospitals, nursing homes, schools and fundraisers, bringing teddy bears, and smiles to children and adults. He is a founding charter member of SMCC (1979) and served as its president in 1985.
Brown, a licensed social worker and certified New Jersey assisted living administrator, joined the SMCC in 2005 and has linked the Chamber and Waterford Glen ever since by hosting and sponsoring Chamber events.
Grace Farren, Manasquan, a graduate of Ranney School of Tinton Falls has earned the Aspiring Youth award as a student who excelled academically and helps others in the community. Farren founded and raised more than $17 thousand for Grace’s Gift, a charitable organization that donates 100 percent of its proceeds to Amanda’s Easel Creative Arts Therapy Program, Hazlet. Amanda’s Easel, a division of 180 Turning Lives Around, is a Monmouth County organization that assists victims of domestic abuse.
Recently Farren was recognized as a Distinguished Finalist for New Jersey for the 2011 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program that honors young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. She has also earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award.
Evelyn Mars, executive director of the SMCC, said, “We are so honored to have people in our community and our chamber who give wholeheartedly without any hesitation or thought of personal gain. They deserve to be recognized for their excellence in business and their dedication to others.”
The sponsors to date of the 26th Annual Golden Osprey Awards are investors (sic) Bank (Gold Sponsor); TD Bank and ServPro of Freehold (Silver Sponsors); OceanFirst Bank, Waterford Glen Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing Care, and Dorothy A. Wilson CPA/PFS (Cocktail Sponsors); and The UPS Store (Printing Sponsor).
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