How a Monmouth County man is revolutionizing the music industry, one vinyl at a time

ENGLISHTOWN — Late one evening in 2013, Dan Marter boarded a flight to Munich with $15,000 in his coat pocket, sealed in nothing more than a Ziploc bag. The cash was a mandatory requirement of a trip that would take the New Jersey entrepreneur deep into the German countryside. Marter, of Englishtown, spoke no German. Kandice,… Read the rest of this entry »

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The Arnone Report: Made in Monmouth Success! More Shared Services Coming

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

I am proud to announce the sixth annual Made in Monmouth event on April 8th was an absolute success!

More people than ever came out to support our small business owners thanks in large part to the local community and fantastic staff and volunteers who helped coordinate this day-long shopping event at Monmouth University.

This year, more than 5,000 shoppers supported the event, which showcased more than 260 vendors who displayed and sold their locally-made products. From furniture and jewelry to pet products and gourmet specialty foods, there were truly a wide variety of items for attendees to choose from.

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The Arnone Report: Mark Your Calendar For April 8—Made In Monmouth

By Freeholder Tom Arnone

Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

I’m sure I join everyone in welcoming the spring season with open arms. It’s always a wonderful time of year to get outside and enjoy the nice weather. It’s also a great opportunity to shop local, which is exactly what everyone can do during the sixth Annual Made in Monmouth event on Saturday, April 8, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the OceanFirst Bank Center at Monmouth University.

I encourage all residents and visitors to take advantage of this free event that features hundreds of consumer products made right here in Monmouth County.

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Junction Boutique: A Made in Monmouth Success Story in Middletown

Jeanine Riegler, left, and Chris Slater of Junction Boutique

Junction Boutique opened their doors in a small retail space in Belford’s Campbell’s Junction less than two years ago.  The cooperative effort of local artisans selling their homemade jewelry, heirlooms, clothes, candles and bath products and other art started with eight local crafters.

Two months later Chris Slater, the organizer and inspiration of the group, attended a Made in Monmouth trade show at Monmouth University, where she met other Monmouth County based small business owners/artist. They weren’t competitors, they were collaborators.  The number of businesses selling their products at the tiny store quickly grew and by the end of 2016 the 28 participants had outgrown their space.  Slater said that all but a handful of the Junction Boutique artisans were connected through Made in Monmouth and all are New Jersey based.

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The Arnone Report: Shop Monmouth this holiday season

By Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

Believe it or not, the holidays are upon us. We’ve been extremely fortunate as the weather has been mild thus far, allowing many of us to continue to enjoy the outdoor activities we love to do throughout our beautiful county – from the beaches and parks, to local tree and menorah lightings, to shopping in our beautiful downtowns and local shopping centers.

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The Arnone Report: Made in Monmouth Success! Ocean Ave Resurfacing

By Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

You would not believe some of the items that are made right here in Monmouth County.  From coffee to wine, from dry aged beef snacks to handcrafted wooden pens, from homemade natural soaps to cosmetics…and much more! A record number of vendors and visitors participated in Monmouth County’s fifth ‘Made in Monmouth’ (MIM) expo on Saturday, April 9 in the MAC at Monmouth University. Approximately 240 county-based companies displayed their goods or services with more than 5,000 people sampling and purchasing.

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The Arnone Report: Shop Local, $32.4 million bid for county nursing homes

By Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

Believe it or not, the holidays are upon us. We’ve been extremely fortunate as the weather has been mild thus far, allowing many of us to continue to enjoy the outdoor activities we love to do throughout our beautiful county – from the beaches and parks, to local tree and menorah lightings, to shopping in our beautiful downtowns and local shopping centers.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to shop local, I encourage all of you to do some this holiday season when buying gifts for your loved ones. I was happy to join our Lieutenant Governor, Kim Guadagno, on Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving), along with my fellow Freeholder, Serena DiMaso, on a tour of several local businesses in the Red Bank region. We were pleased to see these businesses thriving on that start to the holiday shopping season, as well as the crowds we saw on the bustling sidewalks throughout the downtown.

It’s a proven fact that independent and locally-owned businesses recirculate more revenue locally. The spending done by a local business to operate (including inventory, utilities, equipment and salary to employees) directly impacts the economy within our own community. In addition, the indirect impact happens as employees and business owners spend their income within our local economy, recirculating dollars through their earned money.

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The Arnone Report: Shop Local

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

Want to make a difference in your community? Shop local! Keep the money within our own community.  It’s a proven fact that independent and locally-owned businesses recirculate more revenue locally compared to absentee-owned businesses. In other words, going local creates more local wealth and jobs. The spending done by a business locally to operate, including inventory, utilities, equipment and pay to employees directly impacts the economy within its community. In addition, the indirect impact happens as dollars the local business spent at other area businesses re-circulate and the additional consumer spending that happens as employees, business owners and others spend their income in the local economy.

Not convinced? How about helping the environment? In addition to the economic impact, there is also a positive impact on the environment that occurs when shopping locally. When you choose to buy from local or independent makers, you are cutting down on processing, packaging and transportation waste.

Our 4^th annual Made in Monmouth event was recently held to help support local business as well.  Made in Monmouth was created by the Grow Monmouth Team within the County’s Division of Economic Development in 2012,  to help small Monmouth County businesses expand their customer base and find new partnerships. In addition to the annual event held at Monmouth University, Made in Monmouth expanded last year and was a part of the Monmouth County Fair in July and held two “Mini Made in Monmouth” events in Manalapan and Cream Ridge last December.

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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.

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The Arnone Report

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

Recently a Mayor’s Luncheon was held in Belmar for the purpose of giving Belmar businesses a forum to meet and discuss tourism and how it benefits businesses at the Jersey Shore. I was happy to attend and join Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty in greeting the local business owners and to share with them what the County Tourism Division does to promote the industry. The luncheon was held at Ollie Klein’s Waterside Café located on River Road in Belmar.

Additionally, we are currently working toward entering into a shared services agreement with Hightstown to utilize the Monmouth County Vehicle Wash facilities. This is yet another approach to help reduce costs and redundancies in the delivery of public services, while adding some additional revenue for the county to help offset our operational costs. Because Hightstown already has a shared services agreement with Roosevelt Borough for trash collection which is hauled to the Monmouth County Reclamation Center, it makes good sense for them to utilize the county vehicle wash facilities as a value added shared services while they are in the area. Howell Township has just been added to our MODIV property tax assessment shared services system. This system has been recognized for innovation and excellence in public service by the Harvard Kennedy School and Moody’s Investor’s Service for its role in streamlining the delivery and implementation of the tax assessment process. Certain municipalities have seen savings of up to 65% through this shared service.

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