Season Begins Tonight, New Chamber Boss, My Little Boy Turns 37

A little of this and a little of that heading into the next-to-last weekend of summer as most of us know it:

• Unbeknownst to most the high school football season begins this weekend for six Shore Conference teams who are taking part in what is considered Week 0.  Tonight, Southern is at West Windsor-Plainsboro and Freehold Township hosts Manalapan.  Saturday at the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City it will be Toms River North versus Washington Township and Red Bank Catholic collides with St. John Vianney. Other shore teams open their seasons next weekend with most of the games being played Thursday and Friday night.

• Congratulations to Marina Papanikolas who was named this week as the new President/CEO of the Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce. She succeeds Danielle Norcross who is leaving at the end of the month after 12 years, the last 2 ½ as President/CEO.  Papanikolas, who is a married mother of 3 and lives in Toms River has been the Director of Business for the Chamber since 2018.  Both she and Norcross helped the business-friendly organization exceed 400 members, a milestone, during their time together.

• I can still remember the excitement of when my son was born at the old Point Pleasant Hospital. I could not wait to share the news and hand out cigars to celebrate the birth of a healthy boy who would be named Brandon James (I picked my son’s name and my chose our daughter’s six years later).  Anyway I can look back and say that Brandon has lived up to every hope and dream we would have for our first-born and today has a great career, home, wife and 3 year old son who we simply adore. I don’t know where the years went but my little boy turns 37 today which really makes me feel old but thrilled for the moments we have shared and the ones still to come.  Happy Birthday Brandon, I love you!