Pictured from left to right: Deborah Courtright, NJAWBO State Treasurer; Rosanna Imbriano, NJAWBO State President; Lawrese Brown, MetroEast Region Event Coordinator; Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno; Holly Kaplansky, NJAWBO President-Elect; and Donna Thompson, NJAWBO State Communications Coordinator at the NJAWBO 2016 Annual Spring Conference and Expo at the Crowne Plaza in Edison.

Here is a list of their August NJAWBO networking opportunities. How many will you attend? Make the most of August and network with members, sponsors, and prospective members across the state. There are amazing women business owners (and some men owners, too) from all parts of New Jersey who you should get to know.

• Northeast Region Networking Luncheon- Thursday, August 11, 2016, 8:00am to 9:30am
• Central Region Networking Luncheon Hosted by Investors Bank - Friday, August 12, 2016, 11:30am to 1:30pm
• MetroEast Region Networking Luncheon- Tuesday, August 16, 2016, 11:30am to 1:30pm
• Northeast Region Happy Hour - Wednesday, August 24, 2016, 4:30 to 6:30pm
• South Jersey Region Networking Luncheon - Thursday, August 25, 2016, 11:30am to 1:30pm
• Northwest Region Networking Luncheon- Wednesday, August 31, 2016, 11:30am to 1:30pm

You can find out more on their website

The Zonta Club of Morristown Area, a member of Zonta International, an international organization empowering women through service and advocacy, has selected Dr. Unjeria Jackson of Mendham Township as Woman of the Year 2016. Dr. Jackson was honored at a dinner held at the Madison Hotel, Convent, where she celebrated with her husband, Larry E. Thompson, and their four daughters.

Dr. Jackson is an alumnae of Yale and receive her MD from Boston University School of Medicine. She did her residency in New York at Harlem Hospital and completed a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. She practiced at Morristown Memorial Hospital for 18+ years.

Dr. Jackson is an avid supporter of education, healthcare and the arts. She has served as a trustee of The Peck School, and Morristown Memorial Health Foundation. She is currently president of P.G. Chambers School, as well as a trustee of the Mayo Performing Arts Center and The Morris Museum. She is a member of the Morristown Medical Center Advisory Board and on the committee for patient safety. She recently completed 28+ years as a member of the New Jersey State Committee which reviews maternal mortality and makes recommendations to address specific issues of concern. She is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

The Zonta Club of Morristown Area was founded in 1956. The Club is celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Details on meetings and membership can be found on the website www.zontamorristown.com

Karen Perri is not your typical wealth advisor at a Fortune 500 company. Yes, as of February 2016 she has $200 million under management for her clients at the Northfield, NJ, offices of Morgan Stanley, at which she has worked for 23 years with her husband and business partner, Steve. Yes, she deals all day with facts and figures, processing reams of financial, economic and investment information, formulating strategies to help meet her clients’ complex portfolio challenges. And then, after a long day at work, Perri slips off her heels…and laces up her ballet flats.

Karen Perri is not your typical ballet dancer, either.

“I started ballet at the age of 33. I am now 55,” says Perri, a gymnast by training. She was a Florida state gymnastics champion; the Miami Herald 1978 Athlete of the Year for gymnastics; won a gold medal with the 1977 Maccabiah games team (the Olympics for Jewish athletes held in Israel); and received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, also for gymnastics.

The New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners is holding their 2016 NJAWBO Annual Statewide Spring Luncheon Conference and Expo on April 20th. Garden State Woman is a sponsor. So please spread the word about the event and if you would like to attend you can sign up here.

As Founder of Garden State Woman LLC and Garden State Woman Education Foundation. I have been invited to participate in the 8^th annual Yale University Women’s Leadership Conference in New Haven, Ct in February.

A distinguished panel of women leaders will discuss: WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN: FULL TIME. Topics include: Why have you devoted your career to helping women? In your work, what do you see as the biggest challenges women are facing? What does “women empowering women” mean to you? Where do you see the future of women’s empowerment in 20 years?

Garden State Woman has been an advocate for empowering women for eighteen years. We focus on women who are role models. I frequently hear “if she can do that so can I.” Often what women lack to move forward is the confidence to take risks.

It is totally okay to put together a list of New Year's Resolutions that you can diligently break. This year my family decided that it would be a good idea if I paid attention to my health and made a NYR (new year's resolution) that I would keep.

So far, so good. It is the first week of January 2015 and I am still enthusiastic about my new project. It is entirely new to me. Something I have never tried. Even though it is a stretch (literally), it is new and different. Found a place locally that feels good so we will see how it goes. More to follow in my next blog.

Another important NYR is to make sure my bird feeders are well stocked every day. Unfortunately a large flock of starlings have found me and they are eating all the sun flower seeds I am putting out for the cardinals. I have 3 beautiful male cardinals that come to the feeders. I have also discovered that peanuts seem to be a favorite of many of the birds so am keeping the shelled peanut holder well filled. Suet is being consumed at a record pace by the woodpeckers as well as the starlings. The birds no longer care if I invade their territory on my deck. They fly off and return as soon as I go inside. It is possible to spend lots of time waiting to see who comes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This NYR will be easy to keep – as long as I remember to do my bird shopping.

It is totally okay to put together a list of New Year's Resolutions that you can diligently break. This year my family decided that it would be a good idea if I paid attention to my health and made a NYR (new year's resolution) that I would keep.

So far, so good. It is the first week of January 2015 and I am still enthusiastic about my new project. It is entirely new to me. Something I have never tried. Even though it is a stretch (literally), it is new and different. Found a place locally that feels good so we will see how it goes. More to follow in my next blog.

Remember the Birds!

Another important NYR is to make sure my bird feeders are well stocked every day. Unfortunately a large flock of starlings have found me and they are eating all the sun flower seeds I am putting out for the cardinals. I have 3 beautiful male cardinals that come to the feeders. I have also discovered that peanuts seem to be a favorite of many of the birds so am keeping the shelled peanut holder well filled. Suet is being consumed at a record pace by the woodpeckers as well as the starlings. The birds no longer care if I invade their territory on my deck. They fly off and return as soon as I go inside. It is possible to spend lots of time waiting to see who comes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This NYR will be easy to keep – as long as I remember to do my bird shopping.

Our friends at the Joetta Clark Diggs Sports Foundation, Inc. proudly invite you to attend the 9th Annual Joetta Clark Diggs Sports Extravaganza called "Magical" and sponsored by Johnson & Johnson. This years' Extravaganza is scheduled for Friday, September 19, 2014, at their NEW LOCATION the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Olympians, athletes and other prominent individuals will be honored at the Sports Extravaganza because they symbolize Excellence on and off of the field.

The Horizon NJ Health VIP Reception is for ALL guests and this is the period of the event where the guests will have the opportunity to get their programs autographed by the Olympians/Athletes. The reception is from 6:00pm -7:00pm, followed by the program, dinner and dancing from 7:00pm -10:00pm. For Ticket information visit. www. joettasportsandbeyond.com Click on Extravaganza.

Etcetera, launched in the year 2000, has cultivated a reputation as a chic, everyday lifestyle brand for women on the go by creating exquisite clothing held to couture-level design standards. Etcetera is available exclusively via appointment-only trunk shows, therefore the shopping experience is extremely personalized. 

If you are interested in a part time opportunity where you can make money by selling gorgeous clothing in the comfort of your own home (four times/year), this is a perfect job for you.

This opportunity enables you to be your own boss, set your own hours, and meet an interesting client base of women. You still have time for your family, community and yourself. 

You can challenge yourself by setting personal goals, contribute to the house hold income and even win trips to exciting destinations. 

Sales associates have been extremely successful in holding events such as happy hours, teas, girls night out...basically anything fun you can think of to gather up the girls! Invite friends, family, co-workers, gym buddies--anyone and everyone!

There is no doubt that Mother Nature is a force to be reckoned with. Her power is being brilliantly displayed as she continues to drop snow and other winter elements our way. The positive side of this is that in February we can look forward to Spring - in November all we have to look forward to is Winter. Even though blue skies and sunshine are everywhere, the cold wind prevents significant melting. When we get passed our inconvenience, we can marvel at the splendor of this Winter Wonderland.

Another dynamic force of Nature is the cycle of life. Many of us with pets can measure years by the amount of time we share with them. A sad day for many of us was the passing of our good friend Maggie.

She was a West Highland terrier that was a devoted companion to my friend Isobel for many years. Just as the passing of a dear human hurts the heart, so does the passing of a loved pet.

As we wrap up 2013 we would like to take this opportunity to thank our many friends who continue to support the mission of Garden State Woman. Thinking ahead to 2014, we look forward to a fresh, new year.  One of the important ideas that we will consider is the impact of change. When I think about  the impact of change, I look at the example set by my nine year old German Shepherd, Faith.  There is an expression that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. I am not sure that I agree with that. 

During this last year, Faith’s life changed dramatically. For eight years she had been top dog and totally in charge of our environment.  In February we adopted George. A young bull dog suddenly was moving into Faith’s space.

After considerable assurance from us that she was still indeed top dog, Faith agreed to accept this precocious male as part of our family. Now they are best buddies.

Change certainly became an integral fact of life for all of us. The only one who did not cave into change was George. He continued to call the shots and insisted that we meet his demands.

Since we are all mature, we accepted George’s demands. I can easily draw parallels to George and Faith in real life experiences. Often, due to circumstances that we did not create we have to adjust to change. This is often the case in our work as well as our family environments. 

George came to live with us in February. He was 8 months old. Normally I would not advise taking a
puppy in winter because it is too hard to housebreak them. George (aka Wrinkles or Dodger) was adopted on the condition that our eight year old German Shepherd, Faith, would accept him as a member of her family. Faith is very particular about whom she wants around and there was no reason to expect that she would welcome George. This introduction required a definite strategy.
The plan was to have them both on leases outside when we made the initial introduction. Faith welcomed George with a bellowing German Shepherd greeting that made it very clear who was the Alpha animal. George seemed unimpressed. Once in the house, George was crated and Faith was free to check the situation out. George was obviously not afraid of her – in fact tried to lick her thru the crate door.
We have had experience with many different dogs over the years. We have never associated with a bull dog except as Yale and Georgetown mascots. Before George arrived we read as much about bullies as we could find. They are a different personality than any dog that I have known. They speak through their eyes – with such a lovable face, you have a tendency to overlook their faults. George is a compulsive chewer – anything is fair game. He will consume the most disgusting stuff and then want to give you a warm and loving lick. He is single minded and moves on his own time. Now that they are friends, he loves to play with Faith. He thinks she is a small bull and he practices his moves on her. She seems amused by him and periodically puts him in his place.
The point of this reflection is – be open to try new things. You may be surprised that you might just have some fun. I have learned to have a 40 lb lap dog whenever I sit down. George is fearless and I think that is what attracts Faith.

George came to live with us in February. He was 8 months old. Normally I would not advise taking a puppy in winter because it is too hard to housebreak them. George (aka Wrinkles or Dodger) was adopted on the condition that our eight year old German Shepherd, Faith, would accept him as a member of her family. Faith is very particular about whom she wants around and there was no reason to expect that she would welcome George. This introduction required a definite strategy.
The plan was to have them both on leases outside when we made the initial introduction. Faith welcomed George with a bellowing German Shepherd greeting that made it very clear who was the Alpha animal. George seemed unimpressed. Once in the house, George was crated and Faith was free to check the situation out. George was obviously not afraid of her – in fact tried to lick her thru the crate door.
We have had experience with many different dogs over the years. We have never associated with a bull dog except as Yale and Georgetown mascots. Before George arrived we read as much about bullies as we could find. They are a different personality than any dog that I have known. They speak through their eyes – with such a lovable face, you have a tendency to overlook their faults. George is a compulsive chewer – anything is fair game. He will consume the most disgusting stuff and then want to give you a warm and loving lick. He is single minded and moves on his own time. Now that they are friends, he loves to play with Faith. He thinks she is a small bull and he practices his moves on her. She seems amused by him and periodically puts him in his place.
The point of this reflection is – be open to try new things. You may be surprised that you might just have some fun. I have learned to have a 40 lb lap dog whenever I sit down. George is fearless and I think that is what attracts Faith.

It goes without saying that picking partners can be a life changing decision.  Personal partners can either add or subtract from your quality of life. This is also true of business partners.  In either case it is important that you share a common point of view, particularly in ethics. You want a partner that will uphold your ethics – who will engage in practices that reflect kindly on your values. The need to maintain the integrity of a partnership will be based on trust.  Trust has to be based on knowing that your partner is truthful. There is no gray matter around telling the truth.   This is why it is important to get to know your prospective partner so there are no surprises.  Reputations can be destroyed by one thoughtless moment. Be sure to project yourself by being smart about selecting your partner. Try to separate fact from fiction and not be swayed by emotions.

Keeping your head in charge of your heart will help make a sound choice.  Much easier said than done. Good luck.

One of the  important points that David Deutsch, Founder and CEO of SynergiSocial, emphasized at our Social Media Workshop last week was "Don't Fear Social Media". This is a tag line that David uses constantly in his training programs for corporate America. Like any new technology, it is important to understand it and learn how to use it effectively.  The point was also reinforced by our second presenter, Ken Morris, as he described how to use LinkedIn effectively.  David shared his expertise with Facebook.

It is amazing how much depth there is to these programs once you understand their capabilities.

The four hour program held at FDU flew by. In addition to meeting up with some "old" – meaning previous – friends, we welcomed some first timers to a Garden State Woman Education Foundation event.  The general consensus seemed to me – MORE!.

Another new technology experience for me happened later that night when I was interviewed for the internet by Hanging with David and Dave.  You can find this on YouTube.

I guess the message is that we may as well accept the fact that this is the way we will all be communicating and we should get up to speed. Good luck!

I hope that you have reserved a spot for our social media networking event on Friday, September 14 from 1 – 4:30 in the Mansion at Fairleigh  Dickinson University in Madison.

In response to requests from our readers who want to know  in detail how to get the most from social media as a business tool, we have invited two presenters that we feel have exceptional qualifications.  David Deutsch started his own company, SynergiSocial, and does corporate training in this subject. We think David really "knows this stuff" and will be tremendously helpful to you.  Ken Morris, IT Executive, will present from the user point of view. Ken, too, is extremely knowledgeable especially with LinkedIn and will be a real resource for you.

Don't delay. Click here to sign up. In addition to a solid learning experience, you will be supporting the Garden State Woman Education Foundation. We offer conferences, networking events, and newsletters. I was recently cited by the Small Business Association for my efforts to "champion women in business".   In addition to our educational programs, we support inner city girls attending a New Jersey college or university. Over the last decade we have given support to ten young women.  You can be part of this effort.

Don't delay, sign up today. Thanks for your support.

Are you a social media fanatic or maybe one who “doesn't touch the stuff”? Social media has taken the world by storm and somehow we all need to jump on the bandwagon for the benefit of our personal brands and our businesses. Almost all of us use e-mail but how many of us utilize the other sites effectively to promote ourselves? Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn allow users to set up business pages yet many women I speak to don’t have their pages created. The biggest reason is time. It does take a fair amount of our so precious time to learn the features of each site and to get them up and running. Once they are established, time needs to be taken to “collect” friends, connections and members. Eventually, your sites will almost grow on their own. I can’t think of a better way to promote your business but to people who “like” you best.

Fear is another reason that prevents women from joining the social media frenzy. For some it’s fear of the unknown, others fear of loss of privacy and for some even fear of competitors gaining access to their hard work. The fear of not having a presence on social media, however, should be our biggest fear. If you own your own business, just think of how many times you are asked for your website address.

I hope you can join us on September 14, 2012 for a workshop addressing all of these points and more. We willed be joined by David Deutsh of SynergiSocial and IT Executive Ken Morris as we explore the benefits, risks and how-to’s of social media. Seats are limited. Sign up now.

Have you heard of the Move Over Law?  Although it has been in effect in New Jersey since January 2009, it seems that few drivers pay attention to the Mover Over Law (39:4-92.2).  When you see flashing lights on the side of the road, slow down, and if it’s safe to do so, Move Over – away from police, fire crews, paramedics and tow truck drivers.  The DMV is conducting a campaign to raise awareness of this law. Check out their website to learn more.

Ignoring the law can result in a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500.  Listen to some stories of service people who have lost their lives by those who have neglected to Move Over.  Please stay attentive and drive safely to keep our protectors and roadside helpers safe. 

Thank you...to all the wonderful people that supported the Garden State Woman Education Foundation 7th Annual Awards Luncheon on March 23 at the Park Avenue Club in Florham Park. More than 300 guests attended to honor our twenty six awardees. As usual, it was a wonderful day with family, friends and professional acquaintances joining together. This year we were glad to welcome three of our scholars, Bria Barnes, Nana Marfo and Mahmuda Choudhury. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, we honored the New Jersey leaders and welcomed from Girl Scouts USA, Kathy Cloninger, who spoke about her new book, Tough Cookie. A community outreach award was presented to the national accounting firm, Rothstein Kass, for their generous support of the 2011-2012 scholarship fund.

Thank you...to the New Leaders Council for honoring me with the 2012 Progressive Media Leadership Award which was presented last week in Princeton. The NLC-NJ is a newly formed chapter of the national New Leaders Council which trains the next generation of entrepreneur leadership. More information can be found on their website.

Thank you... to all our loyal followers and website (www.gardenstatewoman.com) readers for your continued interest. We are refreshing the website and will have lots of interesting things coming up.

The commonality is me, Judy Chapman.  I had an amazing day yesterday in NYC. The day began, after getting a 7:45 am train from Gladstone,  at an event sponsored by Rothstein Kass.  To announce the results of a recent study of opportunities for women in alternative investments, the firm – hosted by partner Rosalie Mandel – invited key women in the financial sector to a private viewing of the auction items of Elizabeth Taylor. An impressive  collection of jewels, artwork and clothing.  The event included a wonderful  lunch and interesting program in connection with the LIFE program at Rothstein Kass.

Upon leaving Christies – even though  it was raining – I checked out the Christmas Tree and the ice skaters at Rockefeller Center.  Having time, and to get out of the rain,  I made my way toward the Discovery  Museum.  Would  you believe that in the sub basement of this building you can enjoy treats from the Cakebox!!  This is where the gift shop for the museum is located and also the Cakebox Café. Carlos is not just in Hoboken.

We had been invited to a private showing of a new exhibit at the Discovery Museum of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is a dynamic, powerful exhibit which explores  the early history of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and their common beliefs.   The collection of artifacts along with the remnants of the scrolls provides a picture of a much earlier time in our history.

To finish off the day, we found a Korean vegan restaurant on Park Avenue where we explored the menu and had a healthy dinner;  back to Long Valley and completion of a 17 hour day.