Wegmans Food Markets will give scholarships to 15 employees from the Manalapan store. The recipients are among the 1,445 people who will receive a scholarship from Wegmans for the upcoming school year.

This is the 20th year that Wegmans Food Markets has awarded scholarships to employees. Since 1984, more than 17,000 employees have received tuition assistance, totaling $54 million, with more than $4 million paid out for the 2003-04 academic period.

Full-time employees are currently eligible to receive up to $2,200 a year for four years. Part-time employees may receive up to $1,500 a year for four years. They must work at Wegmans for a specified number of hours over a certain period and must maintain both a high academic standard and have a good work record. After graduation, students return to work at Wegmans to advance their careers while others establish themselves elsewhere.

The Manalapan employees receiving the scholarships are Ralph Bertelle, Alana Cohen, David DeLouise, Tiffany Esposito, Anthony Giarratano, Kevin Kehoe, Heather Lapkin, Krista Lathrop, Michele Lawrence, Stephanie Michetti, Danisa Morallos, Andree Payne, Yuliya Soynov, Miriam Wolfe and Christina Zizza.

Rob Kash was elected to a two-year term as chairman of the Freehold Center Partnership, an organization dedicated to promoting the revitalization and economic development of the downtown area while preserving its historic past.

Kash is co-owner of the Metropolitan Café, 8 E. Main St., Freehold, and Nonna’s, 190 Route 9 north, Marlboro. Previously he served as the chair of the Partnership’s restaurant committee and in 2003 was named the organization’s first vice chairman.

Under Kash’s leadership, the restaurant committee co-operatively sponsored a traveling billboard, print advertising, valet parking and San Gennaro festivals. In addition, they participated in workers’ health and food-handling classes, worked on immigration labor concerns, and created a restaurant directory for downtown Freehold. By the end of 2004, an outdoor music system will be installed downtown on the sidewalks of Main Street.

Siperstein’s will celebrate the grand reopening of its renovated paint and decorating center at 338 Route 9 north, Manalapan, on June 27. The event will officially unveil the center’s new facade and the modern architectural look of the family-owned and -operated Siperstein’s chain, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Special promotions, prizes, giveaways and music will be featured. A wallpaper-cutting ceremony with Manalapan Mayor Beth Ward is scheduled for June 25 at 10 a.m.

Serving local customers since 1973, the Manalapan center is the first Siperstein’s retail outlet in Monmouth County to get a face lift as part of a major storefront renovation program planned for the chain’s 20 centers.

The New Jersey Association of Realtors (NJAR) joins other Realtor organizations around the country in celebrating National Home Ownership Month. The theme for this year’s event is "It’s Good to Get Home."

NJAR is offering a free "Housing Opportunity Resource Guide" to prospective home buyers who need assistance purchasing a home. The guide, created by NJAR’s Housing Opportunity Task Force, contains program descriptions and contact information for housing assistance programs offered by the federal government, state government and nonprofit organizations. NJAR formed the Housing Opportunity Task Force last year to examine the need for more affordable housing in New Jersey. The 24-page booklet is available at no cost by calling (732) 494-5616 or through local boards/associations of Realtors.

Marlboro resident Stuart A. Hoberman was installed on May 20 as president-elect of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) at the organization’s annual meeting in Atlantic City. Hoberman also serves as trustee for the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, the NJSBA’s philanthropic arm.

A shareholder and director of the Woodbridge law firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, Hoberman is chair of the firm’s business law and financial services department. He has been an NJSBA member for 28 years.

The current chair of the ad hoc committee on multidisciplinary practice, Hoberman is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and since 1979 has been a lecturer for the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He is the author of numerous articles published in the New Jersey Lawyer Newspaper, New Jersey Lawyer Magazine, American Banker, Business News of New Jersey and publications of the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

A member of the Middlesex County and American bar associations, Hoberman served as chair of the county bar’s Committee on Corporate, Banking and Business Law. He is also a member of the American Bar Association’s section on business law.

Active within his community, he is a member of Cancer Care of New Jersey’s board of trustees and a former vice president and trustee of the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation. He is also a member of Garden State Credit Associates and the Bank Lawyers Council of the New Jersey Bankers Association.

A 1969 graduate of Baruch Business School, City College of New York, New York City, Hoberman received his law degree from Brooklyn Law School and a master of laws degree from New York University School of Law.

Robert A. Hersh, D.D.S., was recently sworn in as the New Jersey Dental Association’s (NJDA) secretary for the 2004-05 year in a ceremony held at the organization’s annual convention at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Resort in Atlantic City.

Dr. Hersh earned a bachelor’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and his dental degree from Temple University School of Dentistry, Philadelphia. He completed a dental internship at Hackensack Hospital and received postdoctoral training in periodontics and oral medicine at the Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Dental Medicine.

Treasurer of the New Jersey Dental Association, Dr. Hersh is a member of the American Dental Association and has also served as president of the New Jersey Society of Periodontists, the Monmouth-Ocean County Dental Society and the American Academy of Oral Medicine-New Jersey Section.

He has been a member of the faculty at New York University School of Dentistry, as well as a consultant to Veterans Administration Hospital in East Orange and the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry.

Dr. Hersh maintains a private practice in Freehold Township that is limited to periodontics and implants and also works as an attending dentist at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township. He and his wife, Marcia, live in Freehold and have two grown children, Lauren and Andrew.

Sue Kozel, owner of SK Visions, has unveiled her Cream Ridge-based public relation firm’s new Web page, which features a thank-you note that can be downloaded and printed. Kozel is a resident of Upper Freehold.

Known as a "thank you" consultant, Kozel assists businesses and nonprofit organizations in thanking employees, clients and volunteers with special thank-you notes as well as suggestions for awards and creative recognition ideas. She has worked in public relations for more than 30 years and serves on the Board of Directors of the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce. She is also a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners, the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners, the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, the Public Relations Society of America, Women Impacting Public Policy, and the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions.

Kozel is the 2003 recipient of the Athena Award, which is presented by the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce. On June 9 her business was honored by Congressman Rush Holt with a Congressional Record entry to mark the environmental scholarship created for Allentown High School.

Kozel’s Web page may be accessed at www.skvisionsmedia.com.

The Monmouth/Ocean Chapter of the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO) will hold an informal networking breakfast from 7:30-9:30 a.m. on July 1 at Amy’s Omelette House, Ursula Plaza, 444 Ocean Blvd., Long Branch.

Founded in 1978, the association addresses the concerns and issues of business ownership by women by encouraging and supporting business ownership by women, enabling women business owners to network, providing a legislative voice for the interests of women-owned businesses, and providing entrepreneurial training and assistance.

Reservations are not necessary. Attendees will pay for their own breakfast or coffee. For further information, call Sheryl Gambarella at (732) 370-7047.

Colts Neck resident Meg Fox, assistant editor of Design NJ magazine, and Donna Grimes, owner of the Carpet Gallery in Ship Bottom and Donna Grimes Custom Designs, will team up at 8 p.m. July 27 at Long Beach Island (LBI) Foundation of the Arts and Sciences. Design NJ magazine is published by Hobby Publications, of the Morganville section of Marlboro.

Fox, whose presentation will include photos from remodeled homes throughout the state as seen through the eyes of Design NJ editors, will share insights and tips about remodeling in New Jersey. She will also take a look at updated kitchens, bathrooms, master suites and basements, with a special emphasis on home theaters. Grimes will then discuss the designer’s role in home remodeling.

The event is in conjunction with the 38th Annual LBI Foundation Seashore open house tour on Aug. 4 sponsored by Design NJ magazine, which is published bimonthly and features homes from Bergen County to Cape May.