Bulletin Board Magazine, 2017 Volume 4

XXXXX President’s Report

C ontents 01 President's Report by Michael J. Kokes 03 Welcome New Members 2017 05 2017 Events 10 What a long strange trip it’s been! by Suzzane J Kronenfeld 11 Executive Officer’s Corner by Gina McNamara 14 Identity Theft by Jose A Rodriguez Jr. 15 American Properties Realty Spotlight 17 Marijuana Legalization NAHB VOLUME 4 | 2017

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Flair Marketing Group - Stephanie Shaffery

PRESIDEN'TS Report By Michael J. Kokes - SBACNJ

DESIGNER Flair Marketing Group

OFFICERS President – Michael J. Kokes

Michael J. Kokes President - SBACNJ

First Vice President – Christopher Amato

I t is truly an honor and a privilege to be the President of the Shore Builders Association of Central New Jersey. For the past four years I have served as the Treasurer and First Vice President, and I feel prepared and excited about this new role. Allow me to introduce myself and provide some background as to why this position is so special to me, as well as some of my goals I plan to focus on during my presidency. My name is Michael J Kokes, and building is in my blood. My family has been in the building industry since 1964 and I am told that my Grandfather joined the association around 1967. That would make our family’s continuous membership at 50 years long. From a building perspective, we have predominantly focused on central New Jersey, and in total we have built over 20,000 homes in this area. We were pioneers in the Active Adult sector, and were a public company in the late 80s. We have been through numerous recessions and have continually reinvented ourselves when the economy changed. Most recently we divested numerous assets and for the past few years have worked on reinventing ourselves again to adapt to the ever-changing market.

Vice President of Associates – Thomas McGrath

Our experiences have shown that the building industry in New Jersey is always changing, and now more than ever, we need to identify what the needs of the market are and support them. We need to continue to define what the true purpose of the association is so that we remain relevant in the industry. Ultimately, we need to demonstrate the value our association brings to the communities we serve that can’t be found elsewhere. As President, while I will focus on many different aspects of the association, my primary focus will be membership. Our association’s strength is in our membership. I don’t believe that there is a simple solution or “magic plan” to grow and retain membership, but rather a focus on the various “things” that achieve that goal. We identify the benefits of membership through conversations about the needs of our members. It has been my experience that it is not only important to grow membership, but it is equally important to guide our new members in making the association work for them in order ensure retention. Engagement, relevancy, and value, are some of these keys to improving membership renewals year after year. The Officers and I would like to expand our use of the existing Shore Builders website, as well as our social media platforms to grow our association’s exposure in the industry. We would like to continue our outreach efforts to the general public and the communities we serve to provide an understanding of Shore Builders Association as a resource.

We would like to grow our mentoring efforts with schools and organizations to attract future building industry leaders. While new to our association, this effort has gained much traction and I look forward to working with our committees to expand our reach. I have been inspired to see in my past four years as an officer, some of the creative ideas that our members come up with for improving events, providing seminars, and forming new committees. Procuring a great idea is one thing, but seeing those members work tirelessly to have those ideas come to life is truly amazingand I look forward to seeing more of that in the next two years. If we haven’t met already, I’ll look forward to meeting you at an upcoming event. I look forward to continuing to create and build lasting relationships within the association. It is a great honor to be the President of Shore Builders Association of Central New Jersey.

Treasurer – James Pittenger

Secretary – Kim Manicone

Immediate Past President – Thomas Bovino

SBACNJ STAFF Executive Officer – Gina McNamara Office Manager – Chris Boyle

The Bulletin Board magazine is published quarterly and is distributed to the membership and others. eMagazine by member company Flair Marketing Group stephanie@flairmg.com Unless otherwise noted Photography by member company: All is Sharp Photography Howell, New Jersey Photos can be viewed and ordered online at allissharp.com

21 Get Involved! 25 #TBTThe 80'S 27 Cardinale Spotlight 29 Legal/Legislative

By Marge Karahuta & Stephanie Shaffery, FAME Co-chairs

by Michael J. Gross, Esq., Steven M. Dalton, Esq. and StevenW. Ward,

35 Professional Women in Building by Giovanna E. Pergola 41 Branding Yourself in 2018 By Nicolas Cole

S A V E THE DAT E S !

62 Continuous years of publication to our members

January 31st – Economic Forecast Breakfast Jumping Brook Country Club

So, how can this benefit Shore Builders Association of Central New Jersey?

March 8th – Annual FAME Awards South Gate Manor

THE BUILDER CONNECTION

Each Officer, Board of Director, and Member bring a unique perspective to the association. These experiences, which are shared at the table, steer the future of our association.

Interested in Joining SBACNJ?

April 11th & 12th – Atlantic Builders Convention Atlantic City, NJ

CLICK HERE As a Builder

CLICK HERE As an Associate

CLICK HERE As a Remodeler

190 Oberlin Avenue North Lakewood, NJ 08701 | P. (732) 364-2828 F. (732) 905-2577

Bulletin Board | 1 | www.shorebuilders.org