Works by Kathy Polenberg, above, and other local artists are showcased as part of the rejuvenated Red Bank Art Walk event on Friday.  

It looked for a while as if it might never regain its footing — but after sitting out the past couple of years, the Red Bank Art Walk makes its return this Friday, hot on the heels of the borough’s selection (by Smithsonian Magazine) as one of the top three Best Small Towns in the USA for culture and quality of life.

A three-hour, self-guided tour through the downtown Green and points west, the Art Walk is both rejuvenated and reconfigured in its 2012 incarnation, with a new cast of participants joined by several “non-traditional spaces” where Art Happens, from restaurants and retail stores to at least one transformed place of worship.

Going on between the hours of 6pm and 9pm, this first in a projected new series of events is being spearheaded by a relatively recent arrival to town — Gallery U and Boutique, the rather Unique and Unorthodox artspace that opened its doors at 80 Broad Street last year.

Jon Fried and Deena Shoshkes of  legendary NJ band The Cucumbers make a rare Red Bank appearance at Gallery U on May 11, during the Red Bank Art Walk.  

A companion to an existing Gallery U in Montclair, the Red Bank space is managed by Robert Langdon and operated by Livingston-based Universal Institute Medical Rehab Therapy Center, a facility specializing in the treatment of patients with brain and spinal cord injuries. UI established the two galleries as part of their vocational training program for adults with traumatic brain injuries, and quickly generated buzz that centered around the success of the program’s therapeutic aspects, as well as the high quality of the art featured in such well-received group shows as Awakenings — a recent exhibit that incorporated pieces created by the Institute’s disabled clients.

That show was curated by Ben Danzi of Rumson, and featured contributions from Eileen Kennedy of Red Bank, as well as Long Branch-based Kathy Polenberg — herself a former head injury patient, and a seemingly tireless creator of indoor/outdoor art, theatrical scenery, residential flourishes and other amazing stuff in evidence throughout the greater Green and beyond. The artist known as “Polekat” returns to Gallery U for Promenade, an event that boasts a live musical performance (and super-rare Red Bank appearance) by Deena Shoshkes and Jon Fried, co-founders of The Cucumbers — a reborn combo familiar to fans of the 1980s Hoboken scene, as well as listeners of the late and lamented WHTG-FM.

Also featured in Promenade are works by Alexandra Alger, Lisa Budd, Jill Caporlingua, Bill Cohen, Lauren Curtis, John Darvey, Karissa Harvey, Kathleen Heron, Jonathan Hernandez, Robert Langdon, Marci Shrewsbury Lopez, Adena Macri, Onix Mora, Marilyn Rose, Kristian Sacca, Randy Schaeffer, and Erik von Ploennes.

Elsewhere on the Art Walk, Bolivia-born “action painter” David Banegas offers live demonstrations of his specialty at his Banegas Fine Art Gallery (43 Broad Street), while Gallery 135 inside Monmouth Street’s Red Bank Community Church presents a first look at one of Red Bank’s best kept secrets: a newly rebranded exhibit space curated by associate pastor and contemporary artist Reverend Gerda Liebmann. Up at  McKay Imaging Gallery , an exhibit of “New and Unknown” works by Red Bank legend Evelyn Leavens is open for public perusal (see redbankgreen‘s feature on that ongoing installation, LEAVENS GETS LINEAR).

Also on the tour will be such long-established borough spaces as The Art Alliance of Monmouth County and Beacon Fine Arts Gallery on Monmouth Street, as well as Chetkin Gallery on Wharf Avenue. They’ll be joined for the Art Walk by such art-friendly restaurants as Front Street Trattoria, No Joe’s Cafe, Good Karma Cafe, and Jon Bon Jovi’s nonprofit JBJ Soul Kitchen. In fact, all participants in the Red Bank Art Walk are encouraged to contribute non-perishable food items to donation boxes set up at various venues on the Walk, with a collective donation being made to Foodbank of Monmouth & Ocean following the event.

Strolling art aficionados can pick up free street maps of Red Bank along the route, highlighting Art Walk locations, and, as an additional mark of distinction, each venue will also be displaying red balloons outside their doors.

The Broad Street salon gave 50 $7 children’s haircuts in four hours to raise funds for the medical care of Duwayne Powell, a 9-year-old Red Bank Primary School student suffering from a heart ailment. (Photo by Stacie Fanelli. Click to enlarge)

It started six years ago, in a place called Pink Bank.

It quickly caught on in the nearby communities of Pink Haven (Fair Haven, that is) and Pink (Monmouth) Beach. And in 2012, you’ll find it happening everywhere from Pinkbury (Shrewsbury), Pinkson (Rumson) and Little Pink (Little Silver), to Pinkdel (Holmdel), Atlantic Pinklands (Atlantic Highlands) and possibly other coordinates on your G-Pink-S.

Beginning Friday, May 4, and continuing through May 12, Riverview Medical Center invites residents of the greater Green to participate in a campaign that’s designed to encourage women aged 40 and older to schedule an annual mammogram — as well as to fund mammography services to our uninsured and underserved neighbors — with a pledge to Paint the Town Pink.

If, as it’s been said, it takes a village to turn a town pink, then this year’s nine-day campaign promises to be “bigger and pinker than ever,” with a gala reception, celebrity appearances, large-scale public events, and the centerpiece of the schedulE: the mass “pinking” of homes all over this side of the Garden State Pinkway.

‘Apprentice’ winner and motivational speaker Bill Rancic (seen with wife and breast cancer survivor Giuliana) makes a May 7 appearance at the Count Basie. Below, line painter Mark Arnone laying down Broad Street’s pink strip in 2009. (Click to enlarge)

Having received their Paint the Town Pink Starter Kits from the event organizers, entrants in the house decorating contest have been busily planting lawn signs, raising flags, hanging up bows and ribbons, and using their imaginations to transform their domiciles into displays that range from respectful breast cancer survivor tributes, to playfully pink’d examples of creative energy. A panel of judges will visit all decorated homes on the first weekend of May, awarding honors in three categories (Most Creative, In Honor of a Survivor, Pinkest House) to registered entrants in each of the eight participating towns.

Meanwhile, hundreds of area business are expected to offer in-store specials and other special events keyed to the campaign, while scores of individual volunteers, community organizations, medical professionals and local officials will be working side by side in what’s being called “a grassroots initiative that is changing lives in very tangible and meaningful ways” — with the common goal of raising awareness of the importance of annual mammography.

With that in mind, the event organizers have called in the “Men in Pink,” the theme of this year’s campaign, and an acknowledgment of the guys who have played an integral part in Paint the Town Pink since its inception; from Mark Arnone (the man who’s painted that famous pink line down the middle of Broad Street every year since 2009) to Bob McKay, co-founder of Red Bank-based McKay Imaging and the “man behind the Pink Lens.”

On Monday night, May 7, the Count Basie Theatre will be the venue for a visit for another well-known Man in Pink, when Meridian Cancer Care presents An Unplanned Plan: An Evening with Bill Rancic.

Famous as the Season One winner of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice — as well as a motivational speaker, best-selling author, and the entrepeneur behind Cigars Around the World — Rancic is also familiar from the Style Network series Giuliana and Bill, the reality show that he shares with his wife, herself the co-host of E! News and Fashion Police. Having shared the details of their fertility issues with a nationwide audience (the couple is expecting a baby via a surrogate this summer), the Rancics announced in the fall of 2011 that Giuliana, who had been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, had undergone a double mastectomy.

Tickets for the 7:30 pm presentation — in which “Bill will candidly share his story of his marriage and family, his career, and his wife’s recent breast cancer diagnosis and all the unplanned things in life that happen when you are busy making other plans” — are priced at $39 general admission, with a limited number of VIP premium tickets (including a post-show cocktail reception with the guest) available for $100; take it here to reserve.

There’s much more to be found on the Pink slate, of course, beginning with a “Party for Pink” fundraiser gala at Middletown’s Navesink Country Club on Friday, May 4, and a “Pink Community Day” of activities and awareness at Riverview on the afternoon of Sunday, May 6. Meridian’s Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel will host the inaugural “Pink Zumbathon” on Saturday, May 12, and Red Bank nightspot The Downtown will get into the act with a special edition of “Girls Night Out” on Thursday, May 10. Full details and updates on each of these events (as well as about Paint the Town Pink in general) can be found right here, or on the organization’s Facebook page.

By JOHN T. WARD

A Navesink couple is the latest in a string of wealthy donors to write a whopping check to help pay for a new surgical center at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, the hospital announced late Tuesday.

Richard Saker, the third-generation CEO of the Saker ShopRite chain, and his wife, Laura, have donated $1 million to the cause through the business, the hospital reports.

The commitment pushes the hospital’s campaign for the 22,000-square-foor surgery center “well past” its $15 million goal, the nonprofit said in its announcement.

Prior donations have included $5 million from Bob & Joan Rechnitz, founders of the Two River Theater Company, and $1 million from George and Vita Kolber of Locust. Hospital workers themselves ponied up nearly $375,000, officials said at the center’s opening last month.

The hospital did not immediately say how the campaign surplus would be spent. [Update: Riverview spokesman Tom Paolella tells redbankgreen via email that the Saker contribution "continues the significant momentum and support from this community that has us ahead in our plans for a second phase of growth for Riverview that we will be sharing with the community shortly."]

Here’s the full announcement from the public relations office at Riverview, one of the hospitals in the Meridian Health universe:

Red Bank, NJ – April 17, 2012 – Riverview Medical Center today announced a $1 million charitable donation from Saker ShopRites to Meridian Health to benefit the Life.Changing. Campaign for Surgical Excellence at Riverview. The donation will help support the construction of Riverview’s new 22,000 square foot center for surgical excellence, and effectively vaults the campaign well past the $15 million fundraising goal. The project, which is currently underway includes: two sophisticated specialty surgical suites, renovated post-anesthesia care area, relocated and renovated surgical day stay, and a state-of-the-art conference and educational center. This advancement will allow patients to continue to receive advanced surgical procedures close to home, without having to travel to New York City or elsewhere.

The Saker family has spent a lifetime sharing their blessings. Richard currently serves as a member of the Riverview Medical Center Foundation board of trustees. As president and chief executive officer of Saker Holdings Corporation, and Saker ShopRites, Inc., Richard has harnessed the power of this huge enterprise to benefit countless lives and the quality of life for the residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties. Together with his wife Laura, a professional educator, dancer, and choreographer, they have both helped to raise millions of dollars to benefit the hungry, and many other worthwhile causes.

“Our family is extremely proud and honored to be a part of a project that is going to have such a life-changing impact on the surrounding communities,” said Laura. “We feel it is important to support the community we call home,” said Richard. “Laura and I have always had a deep affection for Riverview Medical Center where our children were born and where our family members have always been well cared for. When we heard about the new center being built, we wanted to do what we could to help make it happen.”

Richard serves on the boards of Wakefern Food Corporation, the New Jersey Food Council, the Academy of Food Marketing at St Joseph’s University, and the Joan Dancy and People with ALS Foundation. Both Richard and Laura have been recognized by singer Andrea Bocelli for their charitable work with the Vision of Children Foundation and are steadfast supporters of the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. In the past year alone, over 1,500 Central NJ organizations have benefited from Saker ShopRites charitable donations. In addition, Saker ShopRites supports the “ShopRite Partners in Caring” program, a charity dedicated to the fight against hunger, where this year over 1000 charities have received a portion of the $2 million donated by “ShopRite Partners in Caring”.

As third generation in a family business, Richard remains loyal to his roots in Monmouth County and to his hometown of Freehold; site of the first family owned and operated Saker’s market, established in 1906 by his grandparents. Together with Laura who serves on the boards of the Monmouth County SPCA, Two River Theater Company, Monmouth Conservation Foundation, and the Drumthwacket Foundation, they have maintained a decades-long Saker family tradition of giving back to the community in which they work and live.

“We are grateful for the long-standing commitment to Riverview Medical Center by one of Monmouth County’s most charitable families,” says David Flood, president of the Meridian Health Foundation. “This gift is a tangible affirmation of our commitment as the healthcare heart of our community and provides critical support for the programs and services we are developing. Thanks to their generosity and vision, the Sakers have put this campaign over the top, while contributing to a momentum that has us ahead in our plans for a second phase of growth for Riverview that we will be sharing with community shortly. This great community demands and deserves superior healthcare, and Riverview is committed to delivering just that with every dollar invested.”

“The Saker’s generosity is inspiring,” says Tim Hogan, FACHE, regional president of Riverview Medical Center and Bayshore Community Hospital. “People rightly acknowledge that Riverview has had an exceptional past. But exceptional isn’t going to be good enough for the future; as healthcare moves forward we need to be at the forefront of patient care. The campaign provides an opportunity for any and all community members to put a personal stamp on this historic project — one that will provide state-of-the-art healthcare for generations to come.”

To learn more about the center for surgical excellence, or to support the Life. Changing. campaign visit www.RiverviewMedicalCenter.com/LifeChanging.

About Riverview Medical Center

Riverview Medical Center, a member of the Meridian Health Family, is a 463-bed not-for-profit community hospital located on the Navesink River in Red Bank, New Jersey. Riverview Medical Center provides health care programs and services in all major medical disciplines including: maternity, oncology, orthopedics and rehabilitation, neurology, thoracic and vascular surgery, cardiology, renal dialysis, diabetes management, and emergency and critical care services. Riverview’s Jane H. and John Marshall Booker Cancer Center offers comprehensive cancer services close to home, while Riverview’s Jane H. Booker Women and Children’s Center combines expertise and convenience to address preventative health, diagnosis, treatment, and support for women of all ages. Riverview Rehabilitation Center is Monmouth County’s only fully-accredited inpatient rehabilitation facility, and Riverview is a designated Primary Stroke Center and has also maintained prestigious Magnet designation for Nursing Excellence since 1998. Riverview is the only hospital in the region with the groundbreaking CyberKnife® system, offering new hope for patients with inaccessible or inoperable tumors. For more information about Riverview Medical Center and Meridian Health, please call 1-800-DOCTORS or visit www.riverviewmedicalcenter.com.

By TOM CHESEK

He appears right around this time each year, making people smile; a familiar figure instantly recognizable by his trademark headgear and his distinctive transportation.

We’re talking of course about Cousin Eddie, the boorish ne’er-do-well played by Randy Quaid in various Vacation movies — specifically Christmas Vacation (and its direct-to-video sequel). The image of Eddie, clad in bathrobe and flap-eared trapper hat, has been burned into our nation’s pop-cultural consciousness in recent years. And on Saturday, December 17, downtown Red Bank revelers and strolling shoppers may encounter another “thing you can’t un-see,” when nearly two dozen Cousin Eddies take to the streets (and saloons) in support of a worthy cause, as part of the newly minted local tradition known as EddieCon.

And by some Christmas magic, Saturday also marks the first appearance in Red Bank of SantaCon, the international pub-crawl phenomenon described as “a non-denominational, non-commercial, non-political and non-sensical Santa Claus convention that occurs once a year for absolutely no reason.”

Organized as part of an event that transpires in over 200 different cities worldwide, SantaCon Red Bank may not have a reason, but it has a cause — raising money in support of the Red Bank Middle School Athletics Foundation, with the entry fee for participants ($15 in advance, $20 day of Con) donated to the local nonprofit organization.

According to organizers Alex Federico and Dan Campbell, SantaCon is an event in which “EVERYONE dresses in their best Santa attire and takes to the street for a day of debauchery” — with the Bad Santa bacchanal governed by a very precise set of rules that are detailed in entertaining fashion on the crawl committee’s web page.

From the Rules of SantaCon: “Watching Santa get drunk and obnoxious is fun. Babysitting Santa while they vomit in an alley is not. Don’t be that Santa.”

The inaugural Red Bank crawl kicks off at 12:30pm inside The Dublin House, where registrants can pick up a bracelet that will allow them to enjoy bargain-priced ($1 to $3) drink specials at participating bars and restaurants around the Santa circuit. The crawl continues until 8pm,with Alex and Dan’s Good Time Committee urging one and all to “dress in your best Santa or Christmas inspired outfit” — and to take a few minutes to read those all-important rules of decorum, engagement and general Spreading of the Red.

Before there was Santa, there was Cousin Eddie — at least here on the Green, where Chris Kenny of Shrewsbury and Dave Carr of Rumson organized the unique-to-Red Bank EddieCon for the first time in 2010. As reported here on redbankgreen, the Quaid parade was set up as a shake-the-bucket fundraiser for Monmouth Day Care Center, and the facility on Drs. James Parker Boulevard (for which 18 participants raised over $500 last year) will once again be the bar-crawl beneficiary as some 20 Eddies assemble on Wallace and Washington Streets at approximately 3pm.

From there, the men in bathrobes head west to Broad Street, where they’ll get down to the serious “E-day” business of soliciting donations and visiting some dozen or so Red Bank watering spots.

If you’re looking to don the robe and earflaps yourself and join the march, be advised that the organizers have closed the event to additional Eddies (“in an effort to not overdo it and keep it a little exclusive”) — although cash contributions, matched this year by a pair of sponsoring businesses, are welcomed as the group aims for a 2011 fundraising goal of $3,000.

The Salvation Army Red Bank Corps building on Newman Springs Road is the setting for the seventh annual “high squeal factor” Red Kettle Classic youth basketball tournament Saturday.

Featuring the boys and girls teams of Knollwood Middle School, Forrestdale Middle School, Red Bank Charter School, St. James School and Holy Cross School, as well as the Red Bank Youth Team, the tourney is sponsored by United Teletech Financial.

First game tip off at 8:45 a.m., with concessions, free megaphones and admission just one dollar for students (or free with donation of nonperishable food item).

Game participants will receive complimentary tournament T-shirts, goody bags, participant certificates, and possible selection to the coveted “All-Tournament Team” made up of game MVPs. Call (908)902-2203 or email for more info.

Salvation Army Jane H. Booker Community Center, Newman Springs Rd., Red Bank • 8:30am/ $4 adults, $1 students

Jersey Shore guitar master Sonny Kenn provides the sonic spice as the Red Bank Flavour culinary campaign kicks off with a special holiday season smorgasbord benefit Thursday night at the Oyster Point.

The culinary consortium that is Red Bank Flavour marks its first holiday-season interlude with a happening that could be the start of a new December tradition on the picturesque banks of the Navesink, when the river-view ballroom of the Oyster Point Hotel hosts a special Holiday Flavour event Thursday evening.

More than twenty Red Bank restaurants, taverns and specialty shops are expected to offer a taste of their wares at the event, with a portion of the proceeds dedicated to the borough-based nonprofits Lunch Break and the newly opened (and very popular) Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen.

There’s also live music from the formidable bluesmaster Sonny Kenn, a live painting exhibition by David Banegas, plus prize giveaways and auctions throughout the night.

It all happens between the hours of 6 and 9pm, with tickets available at the door for $40, or for an advance discounted $30 right here (where you’ll also find an updated list of participating eateries).

Oyster Point Hotel, Bodman Place, Red Bank • 6pm/ $30 advance; $40 door

The most eagerly anticipated touch football event of the season takes place on November 26, when the annual Turkey Bowl raises funds for Jason’s Dream for Kids, at Thompson Middle School in Middletown.

Maintaining the available blood supply here in the most densely populated state of the union is serious business — which is not to say that the dedicated staff at  Central Jersey Blood Center doesn’t get to have a little fun at certain times of the year.

Following a Halloween interval in which they helped Phoenix Productions preview the bloody operetta Sweeney Todd and solicited donations from the thousands who marched and shambled in Asbury Park’s NJ Zombie Walk, the CJBC van returns to Red Bank today, November 11, for a Veterans Day blood drive hosted at the Pearl Street location of Arrow Limousine.

Scheduled for 9am to 2pm, the blood drive offers an additional incentive to registered donors: a chance to win a “Dare to Dream” prize package that includes a chauffered Thanksgiving family excursion for up to six people, with tickets to see Disney On Ice at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford.

Donors can register or obtain additional information at 732-747-4844 — and we’re serving up five more full courses of Done Good right around the corner.

SATURDAY: Spaghetti Dinner at K of C Red Bank. Even as not-for-profit organizations continue to brainstorm ever more star-studded, sophisticated and creative vehicles for fundraising, there’s no denying that the good old Spaghetti Dinner (and its early-to-rise cousin, the Pancake Breakfast) remains a favorite for a good reason, and any number of Done Good causes.

This Saturday evening, November 12, the Knights of Columbus Red Bank Council 3187 twirls the fork for their annual dinner event, with the public invited to enjoy sketties and meatballs in a community dining experience at the Council’s hall (which happens to be in Fair Haven). A $16 per person ticket — discounted to $11 for seniors and children under 12 — also includes salad, dessert, coffee, wine and soda, served up between the hours of 5 to 8pm. Proceeds support the K of C’s charitable efforts in the greater Red Bank community throughout the holiday season and beyond.

Friday, November 18: Silver Chef Throw-Down at McLoone’s. The event’s title suggests a crossfire of airborne paring knives, pots and pans straight out of Hell’s Kitchen. But while the competition is no less intense, this entirely civilized fundraising event will see a trio of contestants face off toward a mutual goal: the Education Foundation of Little Silver and its efforts “to purchase very specific pieces of technology for use at the two public schools.”

In the 7pm event hosted at McLoone’s Rum Runner in Sea Bright — owned, of course, by Little Silver’s Tim and Beth McLoone — LS teachers Tim Russoniello and John McGrade will enter the friendly field of compote combat against Joe Racioppi, executive chef at McLoone’s Pier House in Long Branch. It goes without saying that the borough’s kids will be the winners, with ticketholders enjoying the best of the participating chefs’ kitchen kung fu. Email for tickets and additional info.

Saturday, November 26: 12th Annual Turkey Bowl in Middletown. After Turkey Time and all the attendant trimmings, it becomes necessary to work off the excess stuffing —  and nothing fits the bill like Monmouth County’s largest touch football tournament, fielding its 12th annual edition for the benefit of Jason’s Dreams For Kids Foundation, the Red Bank-based nonprofit that grants wishes to terminally and chronically ill kids.

Presented by the athletic charity event foundation Play 2 Win and hosted this year on the playing field at Thompson Middle School in Middletown, the Turkey Bowl is “a seven-on-seven, two hand touch, bracketed football tournament that has become a local tradition and can’t-miss event” for scores of “armchair quarterbacks, weekend warriors, and those looking to revisit their glory days.” It’s also an institution that’s evolved from a neighborhood game into a fundraising vehicle that’s collected more than $250,000 for seriously ill children since 1999.

Approximately 20 teams of 10 to 16 adult players are scheduled to take part in the rain-or-shine tourney beginning at 9am, with each team donation of $1,000 getting team shirts, knit caps, and food and beverages courtesy of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Jersey Shore Chef’s Association. To register a team or for sponsorship opportunities contact Jeanne Moir at 848-456-3055, or email info@play2winfoundation.org.  For more information about the Turkey Bowl, take it right here.

Sunday, November 27: 11th Annual Navesink Challenge. Not to be outdone by the armchair quarterbacks and weekend warriors,  the Jersey Shore Running Club (JSRC) — another organization that’s not afraid to get out into the brisk late-autumn air for a worthy cause —  teams up once more with the Middletown Youth Athletic Association (MYAA) to host the eleventh annual Navesink Challenge.

Billed as one of New Jersey’s premier running events, the Challenge traces a scenic path along the Navesink River, with the tree-ringed precincts of Middletown’s Bodman Park a lovely start/finish point for an event that includes a 15K run (start time 10am) and a 5K run/walk that commences immediately after. There are several awards for participants, as well as an official Navesink Challenge long sleeve technical shirt for each contestant — and all participants and guests are welcome at “the most fun post race party in New Jersey,” hosted at Navesink Hook & Ladder, Monmouth Avenue in Middletown. Register online here, or in person at Road Runner Sports in Shrewsbury on Saturday, November 26 between the hours of 1 and 4pm.

Wednesday, November 30: Friends of Different Learners at RFH. The Lower Library inside Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School will be the setting for a special discussion on the challenges of ADD/ADHD in adulthood, presented by the school’s Special Services Department in conjunction with the PTSA committee Friends of Different Learners. Presented free of charge and open to all area residents, the presentation “will work to dispel the myths surrounding ADD/ADHD, to help parents and families become aware of the challenges for their children who are or are becoming young adults with ADD/ADHD, and to discuss the strategies and supports available.”

Guest speaker for the 7pm event will be Eva O’Malley, Founder and Coordinator of Monmouth/ Ocean CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and a Certified Parent to Parent Teacher whose workshop “will aim to help families address the changing needs their child experiences as they move beyond high school and into post-secondary learning environments and the workplace.” Contact PTSA Special Education Committee Chair Sarah Maris at 732-747-6922 for more information.