Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce will hold their Second Annual Job Fair at the Meadow Wood Manor, 461 Route 10 West, Randolph, on Wednesday, April 28. This event is free for both hiring companies and potential employees. The event will start at 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Potential employees will have the opportunity to meet with hiring companies, have their resumes reviewed and meet with career counseling professionals. "Last year, we launched a very successful economic and workforce development program, Employment Outreach, which includes the annual Job Fair. Our first Job Fair brought in over twenty-five companies and two hundred attendees. This year we are looking to grow upon last year's success to make this an even better event," stated Chamber President Robert Peluso.

 The Employment Outreach Program is the Chamber's unique approach to stimulating the local economy by developing the current and future workforce. The program offers several services including: job posting board, bi-monthly newsletter (Workforce Morris), website (employmentoutreach.org), internship opportunities, scholarship program, training events, career counseling, and workforce development opportunities for students. "The employee is the most important part of any organization. It is the people and their abilities that often make the difference between success and failure. Our goal is provide organizations with the best possible people [workforce] available. Through the development of a quality workforce, companies will grow and come to the greater Parsippany Area," stated Craig Schlosser the Chamber's Executive Director and founder of the Employment Outreach Program.

 The Job Fair and the Employment Outreach Program reaches outside of Parsippany into the greater Parsippany Area through the utilization of several strategic partnerships. Two organizations that have greatly helped with the Employment Outreach Program are the New Jersey Small Business Development Center (NJSBDC) and the Morris County Chamber of Commerce. This year, Assistant Director Mary Adelman of the NJSBDC will being leading Job Fair efforts as the chair of the Chamber's Community and Economic Development Committee. Paul Boudreau, President of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, will be joining Mary and the other committee members in the execution of the Job Fair. In entering his second year of service, Mr. Boudreau stated, "I applaud the initiative of the Parsippany Chamber of Commerce in bringing together employers and those seeking employment. We are excited about partnering on job creation which is critical to moving our economy forward in the months ahead.”
 All of the services provided by the Employment Outreach Program are solely funded by the Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce and the program's sponsors. This event is designed to help grow the economy and community. For information on the event please visit www.employmentoutreach.org, or email employment@parsippanychamber.org or call (973) 402-6400.

The Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce links businesses and the community together by providing education, information, and networking opportunities. PACC is recognized as a vital resource for conducting businesses successfully in the Parsippany Area and works to better our community.

J. MICHAEL ARMSTRONG, Chief Executive Officer of Community Hope, has been named one of six of the nation’s Behavioral Health Champions by Behavioral Healthcare Magazine.  With more than 35 years of experience in the behavioral healthcare and addiction fields, Armstrong was selected from dozens of nominations received for the awards, which will be presented at the SECAD conference in Nashville, Tennessee on February 22.
 
“What’s surprising about our Champions . . . is not their heartfelt passion for the work, but the fact that they, in their own gentle ways, are remarkably tenacious, entrepreneurial and determined,” said Dennis Grantham, Senior Editor of Behavioral Healthcare Magazine.  “They have invested patient decades, urging and helping their respective organizations to grow.  They have taken risks, championing investment in once-unproven ideas.”

Armstrong joined Community Hope in 1999, expanding the agency’s programs from serving 52 individuals with mental illness to today serving 300.  Among a handful of initiatives he successfully developed is the Hope for Veterans Program. In 2004, he led the opening of the largest program in New Jersey for veterans homeless as a result of mental illness and substance abuse.  Community Hope’s 95-bed transitional housing program won national acclaim from the Mutual of America Foundation with its Community Partnership Award as a model to be replicated across the country to address widespread homelessness among veterans.

Prior to joining Community Hope, Armstrong served as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of SERV Centers of New Jersey, Inc.  Previously, he was SERV’s Vice President of Addiction Services and held various positions at Elizabeth General Medical Center (now Trinitas Hospital) in Elizabeth and the former Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield.  He holds an MBA degree from Rutgers University and an MA in Counseling and a BA in Psychology from Appalachian State University in his home state of North Carolina.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Community Hope was formed as a private nonprofit organization in 1985 under the name Project Hope by family members and mental health professionals seeking a safe haven in the community where young adults could continue their recovery from chronic mental illness. 

MACK-CALI REALTY CORPORATION on behalf of the partnership that owns One Jefferson Road announced that Day Pitney LLP has signed a long-term lease for 100,000 square feet at the property. The transaction is believed to be the largest new lease signed in northern New Jersey in 2009.

Day Pitney is a full-service law firm with approximately 375 attorneys. It has offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC. The firm is relocating from 200 Campus Drive in the Park Avenue at Morris County office campus in Florham Park and is leasing the entire class A building, which is located in The Center of Morris County business campus.

One Jefferson Road was the fourth and final building to be constructed at the campus, which totals 850,000 square feet and includes such prestigious firms as State Farm Insurance, Novartis Consumer Healthcare, and Deloitte. Dennis R. LaFiura, managing partner at Day Pitney, said, "One Jefferson Road offers our firm an opportunity to design and construct new space that will meet the firm's standards and needs for years to come, as well as provide the identity we could only accomplish with a full building occupancy. It also affords Day Pitney the flexibility to grow and the ability to control our expenses more closely." The building's ownership is a joint venture partnership among institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, The Hampshire Generational Fund, LLC, and Mack-Cali.

Mack-Cali is responsible for the leasing and management of this class A office building. Mitchell E. Hersh, president and chief executive officer of Mack-Cali, commented, "Day Pitney is a welcome addition to our roster of blue-chip tenants. We are extremely pleased the firm has chosen this location, and we look forward to providing a superior experience for years to come." "While the local leasing markets in New Jersey continue to be challenged in these times of economic uncertainty, Day Pitney's long-term lease commitment speaks volumes about the quality of the building, its superb location, and the credibility of the asset's ownership," commented Norman Feinstein, executive vice president of The Hampshire Companies. Thomas P. Welsh of Welsh Chester Galiney Matone Inc. represented the tenant, and Mack-Cali was represented in-house by James Nugent, senior director of leasing. Mack-Cali is a member of the Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce.

XCEED FINANCIAL CREDIT UNION UNVEILS ITS NEWEST FINANCIAL CENTER -- As part of its growth strategy and commitment to continually giving its members unsurpassed financial options and the benefits of membership that only a credit union can deliver, Xceed Financial Credit Union celebrated the grand opening of its newest financial center at 22 Sylvan Way. “Our newest financial center in Parsippany is just one example of Xceed Financial’s ongoing effort to deliver cutting-edge, full-service banking to an even greater population of members nationwide in what we believe to be a very ‘un-bank-like’ experience” said Teresa Y. Freeborn, Xceed Financial’s president and chief executive. “We’re expanding our markets to bring our members the newest technology available and an overall friendlier banking experience.” Members will enjoy time-saving teller cash recyclers, and wide-screen TVs will provide news, weather, and sports updates throughout the day. Xceed Financial is a member of the Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce.

CHERRYROAD TECHNOLOGIES signed a multi-year, 18,000 square feet lease at Powder Mill Plaza III, 301 Gibraltar Drive. Cushman & Wakefield’s Jon Williams represented the tenant, while C&W’s Josh Cohen represented owner Powder Mill Management. CherryRoad Technologies Inc. is a full-service systems integrator for the public and commercial sectors. The company has a history of providing "answers that work" and has extensive experience in selected vertical markets, including entertainment, financial services, healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, public sector and telecommunications. The company is currently located at 199 Cherry Hill Road and was found in 1983. The company also provides Web services and solutions, including Web services implementation, supply chain management, and portal and B2B exchange development/support services; e-business strategy, application development, implementation, and security services and project management.