Business Briefs

Young professionals from all over New Jersey will gather on June 27 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Jumping Brook Country Club, 210 Jumping Brook Road, Neptune, for an evening of speed-networking at the June meeting of Young Professionals, Forty and Under, sponsored by the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce. Attendees are encouraged to bring friends and business cards. The registration fee and a light dinner buffet is $25. Details and registration: (201) 421-9148.

OceanFirst Bank has been selected by the state of New Jersey as a recipient of one of its High Growth Workforce Development Grants. OceanFirst was the only bank to receive funding from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. In all, 66 businesses will receive nearly $7 million.

The $66,400 grant will enable OceanFirst Bank to provide more than 300 hours of training to entry level and middle management employees. The training programs and courses, which include customer service, technology, leadership, and consumer and commercial lending, will be taught by instructors from Ocean County College. The first training program will get under way in early June.

Vito Nardelli, executive vice president and chief operating officer of OceanFirst Bank, said the grant will play an important role in developing a highly skilled workforce.

Tom Hesslein, Toms River, who started his career 16 years ago as a commercial copywriter and voiceover person for WJRZ-FM, has returned to his radio roots. Hesslein has been hired as a regional account sales manager for Greater Media radio stations WRAT-FM and WJRZ-FM. His duties include increasing revenue for both radio stations through combining radio advertising and interactive Internet marketing services.

Prior to joining Greater Media, Hesslein was a local sales manager for Millennium Radio Group, overseeing sales staffs and being involved with account executive training, political advertising and public relations, among other duties.

Hesslein graduated from Kutztown University in 1987 with a bachelor of arts degree in radio and television, and a minor in business. Hesslein parlayed his senior internship at Philadelphia's WCAU-TV into the per diem position of associate producer with the news lead-in program "Live on Cityline," hosted by Matt Lauer.

Greater Media Inc. is the parent company of 20 AM and FM radio stations in the Boston, Detroit, New Jersey and Philadelphia markets. It also owns a modern printing plant and a group of weekly papers in central New Jersey as well as several telecommunications towers located throughout the United States.

American Woman Fitness Center of Freehold, 3333 Route 9 north, Free-hold Township, is holding a Fit Kids camp this summer. Fit Kids is a fitness program designed to promote physical well-being and create a love for exercise among children. The camp will meet every Thursday from 4:30-5:30 p.m., July 12 through Aug. 2. Cost is $75 per child for the four-class session.

Fit Kids is open for enrollment to girls ages 10 through 13. Contact American Woman Fitness Center at (732) 409-6800 for enrollment information.

Joanne, Gary and Matt Rosenberg invite the public to join them in the grand opening celebration of 3-2 Count Athletic Training Facility, 323A Fairfield Road, Howell. The celebration will be held June 2, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. The Rosenberg family has dedicated their lives to community service and area youth through their work with Optimist International. They have designed an athletic training facility that is completely handicapped accessible with turf installed specifically for wheelchair athlete programs, "helping all kids be just kids," according to a press release. The local chapter of ARC will also be holding events at the facility.