The Arnone Report: Shop Local, Tourism Grant, Fleet Shared Services prepping County and Towns for winter

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

With the holidays upon us, please keep in mind The Made in Monmouth Holiday Shopping Guide is ready. It is available on the county’s website by going to www.visitmonmouth.com. The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders encourages people to shop local for their holiday gifts. Additionally, as liaison to the Department of Economic Development, I am very proud to announce that Made in Monmouth is expanding. There will be two mini-Made in Monmouth events for the holiday season. The first one is scheduled for December 13^th at the Manalapan Community Center on Route 33. This event is being hosted by the Board of Chosen Freeholders, Manalapan Township mayor and committee and the Manalapan Economic Development Committee. The second mini-Made in Monmouth is being hosted by the Freeholders and Cream Ridge Winery. It will be held December 20^th at the winery in Cream Ridge. Both of these events give our small businesses the opportunity to expand their customer base and give more shoppers the opportunity to support local business.

Click on logo to reach the Made in Monmouth Shopping Guide

Other noteworthy county news is the Monmouth County Department of Tourism recently received notification that we were awarded a 2015 Cooperative Marketing Grant from the New Jersey State Division of Travel and Tourism. The county received a grant award in the amount of $20,250.00. These grant monies will be used for a comprehensive radio, internet and print advertising campaign in 2015. Additionally it will be utilized for a mobile advertising vehicle wrap.

In anticipation of the dropping temperatures and possibility of snow in the upcoming months, the Division of Fleet Services has been extremely busy servicing and preparing snow and ice control equipment, not only for the County departments, but also for numerous municipalities under our shared services program. Our incredibly successful shared services program does a great deal in the way of considerable savings to our taxpayers.