Second Quarter 2016 Newsletter

Thursday, June 30, 2016 | TMA New Jersey | turnaround.org/newjersey

While these may be the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, NJTMA is in full force with a strong, active membership. In addtition, our board is working hard to provide support, networking and educational opportunities for the chapter. In May the board was delighted to host Greg Fine, TMA Global CEO, at our board meeting. Greg shared that while membership has declined nationally, TMA has had explosive growth internationally. Greg said, "The perception of membership is the single most important factor when someone is deciding to become a member." This information was gathered from TMA Global's strategic planning initiative.

I'm proud to share that NJTMA has met its membership goal with 195 active members. Many thanks to Dennis Bobker, Vice President of Membership, and his committee for their efforts in reaching our goal. Meeting our goal is wonderful, but please know we would like to exceed it, so we always welcome more new members with open arms!

We are excited about the five NJTMA Scholar Recipients. Thank you to the scholarship committee, Anthony Calascibetta, Bruce Gibson, Steven Agran and Bill Giovanniello for their time and dedication in reviewing and awarding these scholarships to outstanding students for their achievements. Please see more below.

Thanks to Sydney Darling, TMA NOW co-chair, in planning "Whiskey Business," TMA NextGen and NOW's Scotch Tasting event on May 26, 2016. We also had a successful co-sponsored golf outing with the NJCFA at Crestmont Country Club. Thank you to board members, Dennis Bobker, Paul Schuldiner, Bob Schnitzer, Harvey Topitz, and Rich Hauer, who worked with NJCFA's leadership in planning such a great day. Additionally, I would like to thank Oren Klein, Vice President of Networking and Mid Atlantic Symposium (MAS), Co-Chair for his efforts in making the MAS '16 a huge success once again. More details are highlighted below.

We have NextGen and NOW events scheduled for July and a Sponsor Thank You dinner in August. Annually we kick off the fall season with the Bridgewater breakfast and this year is no exception. On October 5^th, we will co-host with NJCFA a panel event entitled, "How Lending in New Jersey Has Been Affected by Recent Industry Mergers" at Tournament Players Club at Jasna Polana. Please join us for these and more in the fall.

On behalf of the board, I would like to wish you a great summer and in the words of Nat King Cole...

"Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer!"

Respectfully yours,

Janey Mitnick, Founder and President
SM Financial Services Corporation

Report from the Boardwalk by Oren Klein

It was another amazing year to be "Back on the Boardwalk" at the
14^th Annual TMA Mid-Atlantic Symposium and I was honored to serve as co-chair along with Edward Phillips from the Philadelphia Chapter. Close to 300 turnaround professionals descended upon Atlantic City for the annual two-day conference. There were great opportunities to learn about the current state of the industry as well as an amazing and timely keynote from political commentator, Stuart Rothenberg. Rothenberg is the founding editor and publisher of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report and is a columnist for The Washington Post. His keynote presentation was well received by attendees.

I spoke with several first-time attendees to receive their feedback on the conference. One sentiment they all shared was that the conference's multitude of networking opportunities encouraged - and made it easier - for attendees to get to know each other. They also appreciated the many relevant learning opportunities, and for those reasons all said they'd be back in 2017.

Of course, a fantastic conference can only come together with the help of many volunteers. Notably, NJTMA president Jane W. Mitnick along with board members Steven F. Agran and Sharon L. Levine, and member Sydney J. Darling. In addition, none of the success would be possible without our loyal NJTMA firms that sponsored the conference and those members who attended the event.

Oren Klein, Managing Partner
AuctionAdvisors

NJTMA Outreach Program at Seton Hall University is a Great Success!

On April 18th, NJTMA co-hosted an outreach program, How Social Media Can Help You Network Your Way to a Great Job!, along with The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University. NJTMA professionals joined Seton Hall University students and professors in a panel discussion. Topics included tips to help students get their first job and advance their careers, as well as professional networking. The panel was moderated by NJTMA member Christopher Hemrick, Partner at Walsh Pizzi O'Reilly Falanga LLP, and the panelists included Lori Graham, Recruiting Manager, Wiss & Company; Daniel Ladik, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Seton Hall University; and Amy Aronoff Blumkin, CMO, Lowenstein Sandler LLP.

As part of the event, we presented the 2016 NJTMA & George Mehm Scholarship to Kyle Packnick, a student in the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University. Requirements for the scholarship included an essay on "How have the challenges you have faced in life spurred your interest to become a business professional?" George J, Mehm, NJTMA member and Seton Hall alum, co-sponsored the scholarship along with the NJTMA.

The presentation was lively and informative with great questions and interaction from students and NJTMA members. I would like to thank our moderator, panelists, NJTMA president Jane W. Mitnick, member George J. Mehm, board member Anne M. Roslin, Susan Scherreik, professor at Seton Hall University and NJTMA Chapter Administrator Betty Mantz for making this event a success. The students and NJTMA members all left with actionable takeaways from the event and the NJTMA/George Mehm scholarship was presented to a well-deserving student.

William Giovanniello, CPA, CFF, CIRA, CTP
Managing Director - Transaction Advisory Services
BDO

Congratulations to the NJTMA Scholars!

As part of NJTMA's educational mission, we award scholarships to children and grandchildren of NJTMA members. This year, five smart, well-rounded applicants were all well-qualified and deserving, so we decided to award five scholarships. All five achieved academic honors and high SAT/ACT scores, participated in sports and clubs, were involved in their communities, and had stellar letters of recommendation.

Kyle DeGraw will be attending University of Maryland-College Park in College Park with an intended major of Meteorology. His goal is to educate everyone on the climate and how individual actions make a difference. Kyle is an Eagle Scout who also played football, ran cross-country, and was involved in Robotics.
Sarah Malzberg, who will be attending Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.with an intended major of Biology/Pre-med, ranked first in her graduating class. She earned many athletic awards, played soccer, ran track and volunteered countless hours with Habitat for Humanity, American Cancer Society, and the local animal shelter among others.
Jacqueline Schwartz will be attending University of Virginia in Charlottesville with an intended major in Architecture. Her positive outlook has been an asset in her many activities, including volleyball and softball as well as her volunteer work with Partners for Women and Justice and The Chelsea assistant living facility.
Andrew Topitz will be attending University of Rutgers in New Brunswick to study business. He is active in the Future Business Leaders of America and is President of the Junior Statesmen of America where he earned successively more responsible positions over four years.
Jennifer Giovanniello will be attending Lafayette College in Easton to study psychology, anthropology, and environmental sciences. She volunteers at the Monmouth County Park System at Deep Cut Gardens where she helps maintain the grounds, is a lector at her church, and is an active member of the national award-winning Laureate Literary Magazine and the Lead for Diversity club.