JerseyMan Magazine V8N3

PHILLY FUNNYMAN

Joe Conklin

The Historic Walnut Street Theatre

Spectacular Rides Sweet Wheels for Rolling “Down the Shore”!

George Anastasia’s

MOB SCENE

Volume 8 • Number 3 – $3.95

Rolls Royce Ghost

Atlantic City Redux Revitalizing the Queen of Resorts

AC WELCOMES THE HARD ROCK www.jerseymanmagazine com JerseyMan_V8-N3.indd 1

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PUBLISHER

FROM JerseyMan Magazine THE VOLUME 8 • NUMBER 3 ____________________________________________________________________________________

BY KEN DUNEK Ken Dunek Publisher

I

EDITOR George Brinkerhoff

am a writer.

ART DIRECTOR Steve Iannarelli

And I have never kept a journal.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS George Anastasia, Jan L. Apple, Michael Bradley, George Brinkerhoff, Sam Carchidi, Alexandra Dunek, Jamie Dunek, Molly Golubcow, John Hopkins, Robert Kennedy, Sam Kraft, Dei Lynam, John McAdam, Anthony Mongeluzo, Daniel R. Morroni, Gervase Peterson, George Polgar, Andrew Ryan, Kurt Smith, T. Jordan Wompierski

I’ve always admired people who take a moment in the evening to recap their day, their thoughts, and their emotions. What a great gift it is for loved ones after one passes to relive the daily travails of someone they will never see again.

My father died last year. He never kept a journal but I have a saved voicemail from him on my phone recorded the week before he died. I haven’t listened to it yet, but it comforts me knowing it is there. That I can, again, hear the voice that I loved and respected so much.

My time has passed for a diary—too old to start now. But then I started thinking.

We have published 42 issues of JerseyMan and PhillyMan Magazine since our inception in 2010.

And in many of those columns, I have bared my soul to friends and strangers. Having the “bully pulpit” to express ideas to all that care to read them is a powerful and cathartic experience.

So in essence my columns (most are available at jerseymanmagazine.com) are my journal. And I hope when I am gone, my words are a source of care and comfort to all who took the time to care about my opinion.

You see words, a lot like voicemails, can live forever.

Administrative Assistants Alexandra Dunek Allison Farcus Events Coordinator Ashley Dunek Assistant Events Coordinator Jamie Dunek Editorial 856-813-1153 Advertising 856-912-4007 Printing 856-813-1153 Controller Rose M. Balcavage Sales Associates Ashley Dunek, Jamie Dunek, Terri Dunek, Allison Farcus, Chris Kazmarck, JP Lutz JerseyMan Advisory Board Peter Cordua (Chairman). HBK CPAs & Consultants Nick DeRose. . . . . . . . . Legacy Treatment Services Joseph Devine (Emeritus). . . . . . . Kennedy Health Ted Flocco (Emeritus). . . . . . . . . . . Ernst & Young Bob Hoey. . . . . . . . . . . Janney Montgomery Scott Jeffrey Jaskol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Jaskol Group Robert Kennedy. . . . . . . . The Kennedy Companies Julie LaVan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LaVan Law Anthony Mongeluzo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PCS Mike Regina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Big Sky Enterprises Paul Tully . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eagle Wealth Strategies Les Vail. . . Gloucester Co. Chamber of Commerce

“Every Summer, like the roses, childhood returns.”

– Marty Rubin JerseyMan Magazine/PhillyMan Magazine, products of the partnership of Ken Dunek, Alex Kazmarck and Anthony Mongeluzo, are published by New Opportunity Publishing, LLC, with offices at 7025 Central Highway, Pennsauken, NJ, 08109. Copyright 2018.

www.jerseymanmagazine.com

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INSIDE

JerseyMan Magazine VOLUME 8 • NUMBER 3

COVER STORY

48

SPECTACULAR RIDES

24

LESLIE ROBINSON

by DEI LYNAM

30 THE PERFECT SHAVE 32 OFF THE MAP

The Lost Town of Centralia, Pa.

38 THE GREAT DONUT REVOLUTION

Duck Donuts - A Fast Growing Franchise

44 EPIC LIFESTYLE

44

Dean Parsons of Epic Cigars

64 JOE CONKLIN

Philly Funnyman Making His Mark

68 STEEPED IN HISTORY

Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre

72 RENAISSANCE WOMAN

52 ATLANTIC CITY REDUX

Redesigning, Reinventing and Revitalizing the Queen of Resorts

56 COMING SOON TO AC:

HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO

The Dynamic Diane McGraw

52

COLUMNS

12 JOTTINGS • 20 FEEL GOOD PHILLY • 22 GEORGE ANASTASIA’S MOB SCENE

26 GET FIT • 28 WHERE WE EAT • 76 THE CIGAR GUY • 80 THE ENTREPRENEUR COACH • 86 WHAT WE WEAR 88 TECH TIME • 91 THE WINE MAN • 92 THE ENTHUSIAST • 94 SAY GERV? BY GERVASE PETERSON

jerseymanmagazine.com

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Cover photograph by Tyler Ward

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JOTTINGS

“Live in the sunshine,

swim the sea, drink ______________________________________________________________________________

BY GEORGE BRINKERHOFF

the wild air.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

When U.S. Presidents Summered at the Jersey Shore

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UP, IT’S TRUE, seven different U.S. presidents each chose the same spot on the Jersey Shore for their summer vacations. Long Branch, New Jersey was the vacation place du jour for both rich and famous during the Gilded Age and beyond, from the late 19th to the early 20th century. President’s Ulysses S. Grant, James A. Garfield, Chester Alan Arthur, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley and Woodrow Wilson all vacationed there while in-office, conducting business and receiving guests, each effectively making whatever beach “cottage” (aka mansion) in which they

President James A. Garfield was taken to the Jersey shore in the hopes he would recover from an assassin’s bullet.

were residing their de facto summer White House. St. James Protestant Episcopal Chapel, or the Church of the Presidents as it has become known, is where all seven worshipped (six during their administrations with Grant attending after he was out of office), and is the only structure remaining in Long Branch associated with them. Nearby Seven Presidents Park, on the oceanfront, commemorates these summer visitations of the Presidents more than a century ago.

Also, down the street from the Church of the Presidents is the site of the beach cottage that once stood where President Garfield was moved in the hopes he would recover from an assassin’s bullet, two months after being shot in 1881. The long journey from the Washing-

The Church of the Presidents in Long Branch, NJ

ton, D.C. was fraught with peril and discomfort for the gravely ill president, and his every need was thoughtfully considered along the route. It was decided that, rather than moving the President along a bumpy carriage ride from the local train station to the cottage prepared for him and causing him further discomfort, the Central Railroad of New Jersey would build new section of track nearly a mile to deliver Garfield right to his cottage door. Re-

markably, with the entire town turning out to help, the spur was completed overnight between Sept. 5-6. Garfield was moved to Long Branch at the behest of his wife and doctors who believed the salt air might be restorative.

Sadly, it wasn’t, and Garfield died September 19, 1881. The area has since undergone development, and the Francklyn cottage, as it was known, is gone, but a small granite memorial still marks the spot.

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Ryan Kiscaden wants your mercury-filled thermostats

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s the executive director of Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC), in Fort Washington, PA, Kiscaden promotes the removal of mercury thermostats via a network of recycle bins within the United States, and meets the mandate of the TRC. The TRC is funded by 31 thermostat manufacturers. He’s a detective, of sorts, who is always on the look-out for ways to improve the recycling of mercury thermostats, which helps to divert the flow of mercury, a universally acknowledged hazard, away from the landfills and waterways. “I’m not a detective in a fictional sense, but I use my skills as a business person to analyze, model and implement a recycling program that meets the legal obligations of TRC members.”

TRC targets and works with HVAC contractors, who are continuously replacing aging mercury containing thermostats with newer, “smart models.” The contractors then return the thermostats to various wholesalers who send them to a TRC center for safe recycling. Do-It-Yourselfers who want to recycle their mercury thermostats can also find their nearest collection bin by going to the TRC web site and typing in their zip code in the Find A Thermostat Collection Site Near You page. Consumers can also get tips for recycling non-thermostat mercury items by clicking on the “learn more” button on the same page.

Since its founding in 1998, TRC has collected more than 2.4 million mercury containing thermostats, which translates into keeping 11 tons of mercury out of the waste stream.

Kiscaden’s goal is to track down and recycle every last mercury thermostat. Essentially once he finds the final one he will have worked himself out of a job. “That’s true, but I’ll know that I won,” Kiscaden says. “And it’ll also mean that our environment is just a little bit safer for all of us.”

Tom Peric contributed to this article.

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What we read.

Summer Shore Memories

Is the truth is out there?

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F ASKED DIRECTLY, most people will probably say that they consider themselves to be “realists,” (regardless of whatever version of “reality,” or perhaps alternate “reality,” they have ultimately chosen to believe in.) For many, then, the thought of UFOs travelling at the speed of light through enormous gulfs between the stars, piloted by little green men is still the stuff of ‘50s era B-movies or ‘60s sci-fi television. And

the television “UFOlogists” that have appeared in ever-increasing numbers on cable TV shows in recent years, with their hysterical conspiracy theories in tow, have done nothing to dispel those old UFO stereotypes for most of us. However, with the release over the last few months of Department of Defense tapes showing objects captured on infra-red cameras from pursuing aircraft, which demonstrated flying characteristics beyond human capability, and which were corroborated by pilots and others involved (see https://coi.tothestarsacademy.com/2015-gofast-footage), maybe it’s time to take another

approach to investigating just what these phenomena might be?

The Outsider’s Guide to UFOs, by James T. Abbott, is a good place to start. In his new book, Abbott, who considers himself an open minded agnostic when it comes to UFOs, offers a forthright examination of over 70 years of the UFO phenomena from an outsider’s perspective. Through his meticulous research, he examines 40 cases, looks at all types of explanations, describes 13 strange UFO characteristics and develops some conclusions, such as the large number (at least 1,500 across the world every year) of these phenomena which occur with what Abbott determines to have a high degree of credibility each year. He offers sober thoughts on conspiracy theories and coverups. Ultimately, Abbott lays out in great detail a way forward, establishing four things that a sustained scientific investigation should do, and lays down a challenge: “As an outsider one has to say that there is simply far too much in the way of evidence of an anomaly for scientists to continue their ‘there’s no such thing’ act. I challenge any open-minded scientist to read this book and then say there is nothing at all to be gained from deeper study and serious evaluation.” Perhaps, as in The X-Files, “the truth is out there.” His book is available through Amazon.com. For more info, visit www.jamestabbott.com.

The book is filled with many fascinating photos and illustrations.

A

NEW BOOK by Robert Friedenberg, Nostalgia by the Sea, Coming of Age in the Wildwoods, just might be the perfect volume to remember those golden sunned, good old days of yesteryear. Full of memories and photos of the summers he spent growing up with friends and family in Wildwood Crest during the 1940s, Friedenberg recounts tales about his family, the Crest shopping center, moving from Philly and starting seventh grade in Atlantic City, and experiencing WWII as a kid at the shore, with its rationing, black out lighting and German U-boat attacks.

He recalls summer jobs like cleaning fish for three cents each, working at Automatic Baseball on the Boardwalk for 50 cents an hour, then becoming a stock boy at Woolworth’s at 75 cents per hour, plus time and a half for overtime. Later at a dollar an hour, he drove food delivery trucks, relishing the sleep deprivation of reporting for work each morning after partying late each evening.

Each chapter is a vignette that captures an essential ingredient of the rich tapestry of the author’s memories of how he, and his core circle of lifelong friends, spent their adolescent summers at the shore. He attributes the freedom they experienced during that time as the catalyst for the future success of their entire circle of friends, all now successful octogenarians who have each moved back near this same shore. It’s a fond look back at those warm summer childhood days, and a nostalgic journey that every reader with memories of the shore can enjoy.

To pick up a copy, go to www.bob-tales.com.

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THRU THE LENS Island Beach State Park, NJ Photograph by Richard Beck

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“Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.”

– Albert Einstein

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Iron Hill Brewery “First Pour” Ceremony – Rehoboth Beach, DE Gateway Mortgage Group Celebrates Folds of Honor Donation – Marlton, NJ

(L to R): Cape Henlopen Superintendent, Robert Fulton; Iron Hill Brewery Co-Founder, Kevin Finn; Delaware State Representative, Peter Schwartzkopf; Iron Hill Brewery Rehoboth Beach Head Brewer, John Panasiewicz; Iron Hill Brewery Co-Founder, Kevin Davies; Iron Hill Brewery Co-Founder, Mark Edelson; Iron Hill Brewery Rehoboth General Manager, Rick Whittick.

Gateway Mortgage Group, LLC, a privately held mortgage company offering originations, servicing, and correspondent lending, will make a donation of $8,080 to Folds of Honor in the Marlton, NJ Gateway Branch. Sierra Eggleston, right, a Folds of Honor Scholarship recipient for three years, will be accepting the donation on behalf of Folds of Honor.

She is daughter of Staff Sergeant Charles Eggleston, who received a Purple Heart when he was wounded in action during his 16-year tenure with the United States Army.

The Moorestown Rotary Breakfast Club – Moorestown, NJ

In May of 2017, Gateway announced that it would donate $5 to Folds of Honor for every mortgage loan closed through its retail branches nationwide. Since that time, the company’s contributions are on pace to surpass the original 12-month forecast of a $100,000 donation.

Mural Arts Super Bowl Mural Ribbon Cutting – Spike’s Trophies, Philadelphia, PA The Moorestown Rotary Breakfast Club welcomed Cathryn Sanderson, Executive Director, Back on My Feet Philadelphia Chapter, and donated $250 to help move the organization forward. Back on My Feet seeks to revolutionize the way our society approaches homelessness. For all in need, Back on My Feet aims to provide: practical training and employment resources for achieving independence; an environment that promotes accountability; and a community that offers compassion and hope.

NFL Alumni Golf Tournament Running Deer Golf Club – Elmer, NJ

(Above, L to R): Pa. State Representative Ed Neilson, Flyers PA Announcer Lou Nolan, Former Philadelphia Eagle Bill Bergey, Mural Arts Director Jane Golden, Keith Baldwin, Artist Dave McShane and Sportswriter Ray Didinger. At left: the mural depicting the Eagles victory in Super Bowl LII.

JerseyMan was a proud sponsor of the NFL Alumni Golf Tournament.

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Feel Good PHILLY

_______________________________________________________________________________

Local stories to live inspired…

Rooting For You

I

T’S COMMON for those suffering from bipolar disorder to forget pieces of the past,” Kat explained to me. We were chatting one afternoon at the office she works out of in Philadelphia. For her day job, she is employed as a business analyst for an IT company. Yet Kat is well aware of the brain disease she so candidly speaks about. The story she shared with me was about her bipolar diagnosis, and the struggles that she has encountered since high school in fighting it. Bipolar disorder is a brain and behavioral disorder that, without medication, causes Kat to deal with manic and depressive periods that last for weeks at a time. Sometimes the manic phases resulted in five days of no sleep or indulging in binge shopping sprees. The disorder also ignited a symptom of the disease identified as psychosis that Kat explained, “felt like I was living in my own reality.” After extensive treatment and hospitalizations, she is ready to fight the negative reputation associated with mental health struggles and is looking for others to join in.

As of February 2018, Skilled Not Ill has made its mark in Philadelphia. Search for the website and you’re greeted with bold, large lettering that reads, “We Are Rooting For You,” which encompasses exactly what

the group is all about. Skilled Not Ill is the mental health club Kat founded to fight the stigma associated with different mental health issues, which are more common than one might think. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (at NAMI.org), approximately one in five adults in the U.S.— 43.8 million people—experience a mental illness. Kat uses her extensive training from

by Jamie Dunek

Founder Kat Jost (left) and team at a monthly volunteer outing.

IOP (intensive outpatient program) to put her skills to use, while encouraging others to come along. She explains the group is for modern humans who get sh*t done, but is very vocal about its purpose. The social meet-ups are a complement to existing mental health routines and should not be used in place of licensed treatment. All are welcome to attend, and Kat encourages anyone struggling with anxiety, depression, a mental health issue, or simply anyone looking to connect to join in. Members can expect multiple events and meetups during the year that range from: DBT/CBT (dialectical behavioral therapy/cognitive behavioral therapy) skills training, workshops, and monthly volunteer outings. There is no minimum fee to get involved and the group follows a pay what you

How can you get involved? Visit www.skillednotill.com for pricing, apparel, or to get in touch with Kat!

feel pricing model. They can also expect messages like this, direct from the Founder: “ I started this for you. You wake up for work each day, like everyone else, and you lock the door on your way out, like everyone else. The difference between you, me, and everyone is else is that we don’t know the battles you fight in your own mind. We don’t know if/when you experience anxiety, self-doubt, fear, depression, rage, or any other unwanted emotions.

But when you’re part of our community, we arm you with skills and friends that make all of those things feel less sh*tty and isolating.”

– Kat Jost, Founder, Skilled Not Ill Kat, we are rooting for you, too. n

Follow:

@SkilledNotIll

SkilledNotIll

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MOB SCENE

_______________________________________________________________________________

BY GEORGE ANASTASIA

Getting a Piece of the Mob’s Action

M

ob boss Joey Merlino, who has spent nearly half his adult life either in jail or on probation, is heading back to prison.

The flamboyant, 56-year-old South Philadelphia wise guy pleaded guilty to a gambling charge back in April that could carry a jail term of up to two years.

He is to be sentenced in federal court in Manhattan in September. By that point, it probably will be legal to place a bet on a sporting event—which is what Merlino pled guilty to— at any casino or racetrack in New Jersey. And it won’t be much longer before the same will be said for Pennsylvania and several other states.

The irony is not lost on Skinny Joey who has pointed out to friends that he will be going to jail for something that is no longer a crime.

Go figure.

This, of course, is the result of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned longstanding federal law prohibiting states from legalizing sports betting. Bookmaking, long the exclusive legal province of Nevada, is about to become as common place as state lotteries.

Point spreads, over-and-under, reverses and parlays will be part of the new, everyday gambling parlance just as boxed and straight, once phrases common only to those who played illegal numbers, are now routinely uttered by anyone playing the lottery.

New Jersey, which spearheaded the legal push on sports betting, is ready to cash in.

How big a boon this will be to the state’s casino and racetrack industries is hard to determine. But there is clearly money to be made.

Consider this. It is estimated that the Nevada sports books took about $150 million in action on this year’s Super Bowl. Those were legal bets. But the total amount wagered, according to those same estimates, was about $5 billion worldwide. Most of that money was bet either online or with illegal (and often mob linked) bookmakers.

New Jersey hopes to grab a piece of that pie

as well as a piece of the billions more that are wagered over the football, basketball, baseball and hockey seasons.

Will legalized sports betting have a financial impact on the mob?

Probably.

But the bet here is that legalized bookmaking is not the death knell of organized crime’s gambling economy. Some even believe adding sports betting to casinos and racetracks will eventually create new customers for mob bookmakers.

Big winners in casinos have to report their earnings—and pay taxes—to the IRS. That doesn’t happen if you’re betting with a wise guy.

More important, mob bookmakers allow you to bet on credit. It may be weeks during a football or baseball season before you have to settle up.

A simple phone call is all it takes to place a bet. During the football season, a gambler who has taken a beating on Saturday betting college games, can call his bookie and try to recoup by betting the pro games on Sunday. If he takes another hit with the one o’clock games, he can double-down again by calling in bets for the four o’clock games. Then the eight o’clock game and then the Monday night contest.

Football in America!

At no time during that process will he have had to reach into his pocket for cash or use his credit card to support his action. Try that in a casino or on an Internet gambling site.

There is also the mob’s economic corollary to bookmaking—loan sharking.

“There’s nothing better than shark money,” former mobster Nick Caramandi told me when I was interviewing him for a book about his life.

The Crow, as Caramandi was known, went on to explain the dynamics.

“Gamblers, serious gamblers, are degenerates,” he said. “They have to bet. Now a guy

“Gamblers, serious gamblers, are degenerates.

They have to bet.”

– Nick “The Crow” Caramandi

gets in debt to us. Let’s say he owes $10,000.

He’s gotta pay that money or we don’t let him bet no more.”

So Caramandi would send the gambler to a loan shark—who was affiliated with the mob.

The gambler would be loaned $10,000 which he used to pay off his gambling debt to The Crow.

He would then be able to continue gambling.

The loan, Caramandi explained, was for 10 weeks at three points. The math works this way: Three points is three percent per week.

That’s $300. At the end of 10 weeks, the gambler will have paid $3,000 in interest and still owe the $10,000 from the initial loan.

Now if he’s had a hot winning streak, maybe he can pay off the debt. In most cases, that doesn’t happen. So Caramandi and company would extend the loan for another 10 weeks, again at three points.

At the end of a year—and for degenerate gamblers this was a real possibility—the gam-

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bler will have plaid $15,600 in interest and still owe the initial $10,000. And the mob will have put that $15,600 “on the street at three points.”

“Nothing better than shark money,” Caramandi said again with a smile.

That’s the economy of sports betting in the underworld. To the extent that legalized bookmaking takes gamblers away from the mob, loan sharking will decline. But for a casual gambler who suddenly finds himself hooked on sports betting, legalized books may just be the first step toward bigger play on credit with the wise guys.

Another irony.

HE NFL, the NBA, the NCAA and most other leagues were adamant in their opposition to legal sports betting. They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for attorneys who argued against the proposition. The integrity of the games and the sanctity of the sport were at stake, said the leagues.

Now they’re looking to get cut in on the action.

Hypocrisy?

Greed?

Or just plain, old fashioned American entrepreneurship?

Without the games, there would be nothing to bet on. So, to argue that the leagues should

T

get a cut is logical and economically justifiable, even if it is morally and ethically inconsistent with the stance the leagues have taken for years.

It’s all about the bottom line, something a mob bookmaker or loan shark would clearly understand and appreciate. When money is involved, institutions like the NFL are willing to make adjustments.

It seems that in sports—just as in government and politics—morality and ethics are nothing more than commodities. Each comes with a price attached. In every situation the choice and the questions are the same as those faced by a gambler or a wise guy operating outside the law.

What’s the risk? What’s the consequence?

And how much am I willing to pay?

The NFL took a financial hit last year over the issue of players taking a knee during the national anthem. Television ratings dropped.

Now there’s a rule in place to ensure that taking a knee is not something we’ll see during the pre-game ceremony.

And that may be the ultimate irony.

The flag is a symbol of democracy. In a democracy, any citizen has a right to protest.

Taking a knee is not a sign of disrespect, but rather public recognition of what the flag stands for.

Put a price on that. n

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DEI LYNAM

_______________________________________________________________________________

Versatility On and Off the Court Photo Beverly Schaefer

L

ESLIE ROBINSON has spent the past four years growing as a basketball player and as an individual at Princeton University.

On June 5th, she will graduate with an Ivy League degree and a plethora of fond college memories.

“The most satisfying thing for me over the last four years is the family of sisters I am leaving with; from the seniors when I was a freshman to the freshmen when I was a senior,” Robinson said. “We have been able to do so much together; we have won together, lost together, cried together and laughed together.

“Not every team loves each other, but we definitely do. Going 30-0; getting an at-large NCAA bid; winning the Ivy League Tournament and the Ivy outright—the team makes that all happen.”

This past season as a senior co-captain, Robinson averaged 10 points, seven rebounds, and better than four assists per game. The Tigers finished with an overall record of 24-6, including a 12-2 conference record. Her team’s success, coupled with personal accolades, led to a pleasant surprise on April 12th. Robinson became the first Princeton product to ever be selected in the WNBA draft. The New York Liberty chose her 34th overall.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Robinson said.

“I was hanging out with my Princeton team and the men’s team as well. We turned it (WNBA draft) on because of my general interest in where my AAU teammates were going to be going, and then my name popped up on the TV screen, and we all just freaked out.”

Robinson joined the Liberty for training camp, but she did not make the opening day roster.

“The competition was great,” she said. “It was good to play against the best, and learn from some of the best. I am constantly adding to my game, and adding to my network of people in the basketball world. It was fun.”

Robinson plans on pursuing her professional basketball career in the fall, playing overseas.

“I took Spanish in high school and at the

This year, Robinson recorded the first-ever women’s triple-double in Princeton history.

Princeton language department,” Robinson shared. “If I could go to a Spanish-speaking country that would be amazing and I could grow that. If not, I would want to go to a place that doesn’t speak English because I want to learn about another culture and I think the best way to do that is through language. It is something I will embrace while playing overseas.”

OBINSON HAS NEVER been one to shy away from a challenge. That very characteristic led her to enrolling at Princeton in the first place. Her father, Craig Robinson, played for the Tigers in the 80’s, and was twice named Ivy League Player of the Year.

For some, following such a family legacy would be overwhelming. For the younger Robinson however, it was an opportunity.

“At first I didn’t want to follow in his footsteps,” Robinson recalled. “But then I thought about how it is 35 years later that I would be starting at Princeton, and I am a woman. It would be an entirely different experience. The university is different; Princeton basketball is different today.

“At first I was a little hesitant, but I don’t

R

regret my decision for a second. I have always been a daddy’s girl. It’s been great to have this experience with him, but also have separate experiences if that makes sense.”

It makes total sense. With her dad often looking on from the stands, Leslie blossomed into a tough, all-around player. On March 2nd of this year, Robinson did herself, her teammates, her coaching staff, and her dad proud recording the first-ever women’s triple-double in Princeton history.

“It was so amazing how excited my teammates were for me,” Robinson said. “Gabrielle Rush wanted to hit that shot so bad for me. She said pass me the ball I am going to make this shot so you can get this (10th) assist. It goes to show how much we care about each other and want each other to succeed.”

That night also separated her Princeton journey from her father’s collegiate career.

“He never did,” Robinson replied when asked if her Dad ever recorded a triple-double. “It is one thing that I can say I did better than him.”

She can also say she is the niece of a former President of the United States, has casually hung out at the White House, and is a better basketball talent than her older brother Avery.

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“He definitely knows his hoops,” Robinson said of her uncle, Barack Obama. “He knows how to play. He can hold his own in a pick-up game.

And he enjoys watching the game for sure.”

As for hanging out at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, “Many times,” Robinson said. “It was just their house. It would be like you going to your cousins’ house, your aunt and uncle’s house, but their home happened to be a pretty famous one.”

And like most families, Leslie enjoys a positive sibling rivalry with her brother who is four years her elder and played basketball at Division III Wesleyan in Connecticut.

“I would like to think I am better than my older brother Avery,” Robinson said with confidence, not a tone of cockiness. “I do work out with him, and he would do anything to help me.

I have the greatest support system. But I would say, as a player, I am on a higher level than him.”

That confidence has been growing with her game these past four years. Robinson will walk with it in her cap and gown. She will carry it abroad when her next basketball challenge confronts her. It’s part of who this 22-year old Princeton educated woman is.

“I was born in Chicago, lived in Corvallis, Oregon, went to college in New Jersey,” Robinson says with pride. “I like to say I am versatile on the court and versatile in life.” n

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GET FIT

For more guidance follow Alexandra, NASM Certified

Personal Trainer on Instagram at @TipsfromAFitChick _______________________________________________________________________________ __

BY ALEXANDRA DUNEK

Summer Get Out!Heroes

M

Y DAD ALWAYS SAID, “Heroes come in all shapes and sizes.” I should add that sometimes they come in pairs.

Dreary weather skewed my chances of meeting up with Shanin and Bryan Theiss in Ocean City, NJ but that didn’t stop me from learning their story. The two brothers are competitive lifeguards originally from Allentown, PA, who spent 11 years respectively with the Ocean City Beach Patrol (OCBP).

After a 12-year hiatus, they tried out again for the patrol (Bryan in 2014 and Shanin in 2015). Now they have 15 years under their belt in Ocean City, and over 50 years combined of Ocean Rescue & EMS service in New Jersey, Florida, California & Colorado.

Even though they are based in different departments in Colorado and Florida, both mi-

grate back to the Jersey Shore every summer to reunite with their true passion… lifeguarding. From June to September they return to the OCBP where they get to pass down their knowledge and expertise to kids in training.

Bryan is a Training Officer Lt. and Shanin is a Senior Guard.

T

HIS IS MY FIRST TIME hearing about competitive lifeguarding, but I learned that it has been around for years. As young kids spending summers down the shore, their father used to take them to the lifeguard races where they quickly fell in love with the sport. The race can include a combination of swimming, paddling, rowing, running and surf skiing, or feature all five activities. For those unfamiliar with the surf ski, like myself, it’s basically a kayak but more suitable and stable

for the ocean conditions. Bryan’s favorite race is the Ironman, which includes swimming, paddling, rowing and some running. I have to catch my breath just typing this out.

Although they have eased up a bit from competing, they still represent Ocean City in out of town races since their return to the patrol, and hope to keep going again this year.

The pair holds a pretty admirable record winning many races and city titles over the course of 15 years.

If you’re wondering whom they get it from, their athletic roots trace back to their parents.

Both are Health & Phys Ed teachers, and their father was a well-rounded athlete growing up in Philadelphia. “My father taught me to play every sport by the time I could walk,” says Bryan. “From football to tennis to swimming.

He was instrumental in teaching me every

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Whether competing, teaching or saving lives, the Theiss brothers are leaving their mark on the beaches of Ocean City one summer at a time.

sport imaginable, but yet allowing me to gravitate towards what I wanted.”

Lifeguarding isn’t the only thing that impressed me. They have also branched off into

other disciplines such as Fire Rescue, Ice and Swift Water Rescue and have countless certifications and instructor credentials. Shanin shares, “I enjoy teaching, molding and sharing the knowledge with the younger guards. Passing the torch... giving back what was given to me and what I learned... and we never stop learning, which is why I continue to train and take classes and educate myself every chance I get. I think it’s unique and a profession less than one percent of the population can actually do. It’s a privilege and there’s some prestige to do what we do.”

When the summer is over, Bryan takes after his father and is an Aquatic Supervisor at a country club in Hobe Sound, Florida while Shanin owns a wholesale apparel company called, Love Light Apparel, LLC based in Dillon, Colorado. His apparel includes Colorado designs, as well as some New Jersey & Pennsylvania designs. Check it out at www. lovelightapparel.com. n

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Where We Eat Follow along as we taste and sip our way through Philly’s well-known establishments and hidden gems.

The Chelsea Tower, Tropicana, AC

I

N JULY OF 2017, Tropicana Hotel and Casino acquired The Chelsea Hotel and has now claimed it as The Chelsea Tower of Tropicana. And you’ve got to see this place. IBR got a sneak-peek at the debut of the newly renovated Skybridge (connects the main casino with the tower), Cabana Five Bar & Pool Deck, Whiskey Five Bar, and Chelsea Five Gastropub. We couldn’t get over the views!

Here’s what you can expect from these #tastytrop additions:

• Whiskey Five Bar A hidden lounge, calming fireplace, billiards table, and a drink list exceeding 50+ top-shelf whiskeys. We went with the classic Manhattan. Sneak out the glass doors and down the outside patio for a secret entrance into our next stop.

• The Chelsea Five Gastropub allows patrons a panoramic view of the Atlantic as they munch on starters like Lobster Cheesecake – a thick, decadent mix of Maine lobster, smoked gouda, onions, and peppers piled on-top of a parmesan crust.

Whether you’re cozying up in a booth or relaxing at the bar, the floor-to-ceiling views overlooking the Atlantic are the perfect complement to your meal. Cheers to the official start of summer!

Other must-haves: Yellowfin Tuna Tacos: Crispy wonton shells topped with creamy avocado, cool cucumbers, and sweet soy sauce. The crunch is addicting.

White Cheddar Truffle Fries: Trust us and add the braised short rib!

Short Rib Grilled Cheese: Four Cheese Blend, Braised Short Rib, Tomato Jam, Texas Toast.

Maple Whiskey Salmon: Sweet Whiskey-Glazed Mushroom Risotto.

C5 Chocolate Jubilation Cake: Chocolate Buttermilk Cake, Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Facebook: Tropicana Atlantic City Instagram: @tropicanaac @tastytrop (coming soon) is the casino’s newest page dedicated to us foodies. It will highlight favorites from Tropicana’s 25+ restaurants.

In Between Rivers IBR is a professional content creating service partnering with local businesses in Philadelphia to grow your social media presence.

We produce alluring, high quality, engaging content featuring the things that you are most proud of. www.inbetweenrivers.com • info@inbetweenrivers.com • Follow us @inbetweenrivers

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The Pursuit of the Perfect Shave

T

BY JOHN McADAM

HE ELUSIVE PERFECT SHAVE. It’s like the pursuit of happiness.

The best you can do: know that you are on a successful path.

Things inevitably go wrong to make you question the path. That said, what can you do to pursue the benefits of a close to perfect shave? At the risk of me sounding like a man-scaping metrosexual, here are some guidelines for you: Start with the best tools for your skin and hair type to pursue the perfect shave: 1. The right razor – one that doesn’t need pressure and matches your hair type; 2. A camel hair brush – the brush lifts the hairs for better hair cutting;

3. Pre-shave cleanser – a mild exfoliant removes dead skin to keep your razor clean during use;

4. Pre-shave oil – oil protects your skin from shaving damage since we all make mistakes;

5. Shaving cream – whatever you like that’s good for your skin type (dry, normal, or oily);

6. A facial cleanser – the first step in the aftershave phase for skin restoration (yes, the perfect shave requires two cleansings); 7. Moisturizer – hydrate your skin postshave and enable it to perform per design;

8. Aftershave – your skin needs alcoholfree repair with natural oil restoration and hydration after dragging a razor across it multiple times.

Ladies, you can incorporate all the above tools to pursue your own perfect shave, but whatever you do, never use your man’s razor to shave your legs and then give it

back to him. Men would rather be with a hairy woman than throb in pain for hours after shaving with a dull razor blade.

How to Avoid Certain Shaving Outcomes: • Nicks and cuts – First, use a sharp razor blade and a quality razor. Second, avoid applying pressure to the razor. Third, prepare your skin properly to shave the tough spots. Finally, slow down; impatience causes accidents.

• Red bumps – shave with the grain of the hair if you are prone to red bumps.

• Razor burn – use the tools above and shave slowly while avoiding pressure on the razor.

• Hair patches – you will need to shave in more than one direction to avoid these.

• Dry skin – most alcohol-free aftershave balms work here. Use your personal preference.

Trial and Error Trial and error might be the best method to find the best shave for you. Choose a hybrid of products a la carte from the starter kits above or on your own to discover what works best for you. Even with experimentation of different products, you should first know your skin and hair types. Second, understand the shaving problems that you have. Then, purchase products that work for you. The path to the perfect shave remains yours and yours alone.

Whatever you do, take care of your skin, and it will take care of you. n

If you are looking to step up your shaving game, or better still pursue the perfect shave, here are three starter kit options to choose from: COMPANY

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- The auto-ship commitment of razor blades $9/month

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Two set options

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ADVERTISE WITH US

contact: ken@jerseymanmagazine.com

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Photos by Kenneth Jackson

(@kennyjacktr)

Now known as Graffiti Highway, this portion of Route 61 was closed in the early 90’s for safety reasons.

OFF THE MAP T H E

L O S T

T O W N

O F

C E N T R A L I A

BY ASHLEY DUNEK

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If it wasn’t for the kindness of our tour guide and the single bar of service that kept my GPS hanging on for dear life, we would’ve driven right past it.

The images in my head of crumbling storefronts and dilapidated buildings quickly vanished as we arrived at the grassy stretch of land that once was Centralia, Pennsylvania.

What used to be a thriving mining town was now overrun with weeds and graffiti. The town square where kids used to play, now only a meeting ground for trash and rubble. The houses that once neatly lined Locust Street are long gone, with barely a brick left in sight, and all that remains are the memories of what was.

GPS: “You have arrived at your destination.”

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Locust Street, right off Route 61. Then and now.

T

om Dempsey, Sr. was the postmaster of the small town during its heyday and was introduced to me through a friend of a friend. He was hesitant during our first phone call, not knowing my motives, but I assured him, in the most respectful way I knew how, that my interest was in telling the story of his hometown, a place that fascinated me.

Any fear of who this man was, a stranger who was about to give me a tour around an abandoned town, burning underground, in the middle of somewhere-Pennsylvania, vanished as soon as I caught glimpse of him. Tufts of white hair poking through his bucket hat accompanied a smile that was warm and inviting, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of my grandfather. After a short exchange of words, he passed my trust-test and we hopped in my modest, yet handy-for-adventures SUV, and started our tour.

It was hard to believe that the mounds of dirt and debris we were looking at were once a thriving mining town with almost 3,000 residents (Tom considers the number to be even higher).

A little history Officially established as a borough in 1866, Centralia was part of the Coal Region of Pennsylvania, the largest source of anthracite coal in the Americas. The small town itself was once sitting

In 1992, the town was officially condemned and in 2002 Centralia’s zip code was revoked. on 25 million tons of coal.

This made the Columbia county town a popular place for people to settle during the late 1800’s. During the height of the town’s success, there were five hotels, seven churches, twenty-seven saloons and fourteen general and grocery stores. The town was known to be a hotspot for Molly Maguires (aka the Irish mob), who went to deadly lengths to try and protect Irish-immigrant mine workers.

By the early 1930’s the mining industry was changing and with it, the small town. Shrinking in size, those who remained became a tight-knit community.

Sadly enough, the very thing that helped put Centralia on the map was the same thing that would slowly erase it.

The first stop on the tour was the Odd Fellows Cemetery, located right near the area the fire started over 55 years ago. Other than the rusted vent pipes protruding from the ground (one of several unsuccessful attempts to douse the fire), the only other sign of something strange was the smell of sulfur, stagnant in the open mountain air.

Tom walked me around the dirt lot littered with empty beer cans and broken glass, pointing out where things once were and where the first houses that fell victim to the fire once lay.

He shared heartbreaking stories of kids coming up there to tragically end their lives, of women doing racy photoshoots, and of the madness that happens during Halloween, with young thrill-seekers desperately looking for the eeriness that embodies Centralia today.

Although there are a few theories as to how the underground mine fire started, Tom quickly cleared that up; something along the lines of, “I was here. I know.”

The underground mine fire started in 1962 from county workers burning trash in a landfill, that was formerly a strip mine. They had no idea it would ignite a coal seam that would burn, well...maybe, forever (but we’re thinking at least 250 years).

One thing everyone can agree on is that the fire was mismanaged from the beginning and could have been stopped with immediate action. A few accounts say that they were weeks

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away from extinguishing the flames when the township ran out of money. It took almost three months to get the funds together and by that time the fire was unstoppable.

Tom confirmed the unthinkable stories of people using canaries in place of carbon monoxide detectors in their homes. That one small detail is embedded in my memory.

The first serious scare came in 1979 when local gas station owner John Coddington, discovered that his underground oil tanks were at near boiling temperatures. With this incident, the town started to panic and rapidly decline in population. Two years later, a 12-year-old boy by the name of Todd Domboski fell through a sinkhole in a backyard. By sheer luck he was saved by his cousin, but that terrifying incident sent the small rural town from panic mode into hysteria.

The decision of whether to stay or leave tore the tight-knit community apart.

The government intervened in 1983 and helped make most people’s decision much easier by allocating $42 million to relocate the residents of Centralia.

Without giving me exact numbers, Tom told me people were generously offered almost three times what their homes were worth. Most people didn’t think twice and jumped at the opportunity, but there were quite a few that didn’t, and some that still don’t.

Contrary to popular belief, there are still a handful of people left living in Centralia. In 2013, all pending lawsuits ended and the few that are left are allowed to live out their lives there peacefully. They’re not huge fans of visitors and rightfully so after years of rowdy tourists imposing themselves, all for a creepy blog post or daring Instagram pic.

After touring some more of the once-was town, we visited one of the few buildings left, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the last of the seven churches in Centralia.

St. Mary’s

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Although there are a few theories as to how the underground mine fire started, Tom quickly cleared that up; something along the lines of, “I was here. I know.”

Tom Dempsey, Sr. with the author

The building was a distinct thing of beauty in a green sea of nothingness. Looking more like a castle from a fairytale, we learned that St. Mary’s lies just feet away from the “impact zone,” making it safe and standing (and very well maintained I might add, not the church you’d expect to see in an abandoned town). Pastor Mike still

holds weekly services there and many former Centralia residents attend, including Tom, who moved just a town away.

After a few more stops, photo ops, and an hour of sifting through old picture albums while listening to colorful stories that floated in and out of Tom’s memory, he politely let us know

that he would not be joining us for the last portion of our visit, a one mile stretch of road, now called “Graffiti Highway.”

Formerly part of Route 61, this portion of the highway was closed in the early 90’s for safety reasons (I’d say a major highway, cracked, buckling and with clouds of smoke permeating through, makes for a pretty solid reason).

The eponymous Graffiti Highway has become a popular spot for urban explorers, amateur photographers and street artists who are looking to contribute to the colorful canvas.

In 1992, the town was officially condemned and in 2002 Centralia’s zip code was revoked.

The story of Centralia, Pennsylvania is a true American tragedy and reminds me more of a sad love story than the setting of a scary movie. But the town has been a source of inspiration for countless horror films and eerie plot settings including Silent Hill, Dean Koontz’s Strange Highways and the 1991 flick Nothing But Trouble.

It may be off the map, but Centralia continues to live on through articles like this and people like Tom Dempsey, Sr. n 36

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BY KURT SMITH

The

Great

Donut

Revolution Duck Donuts began franchising just five years ago.Today they have sold more than 200 stores, including new openings in New Jersey in Marlton and Avalon. The donut-buying public is ecstatic.

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e should all love our jobs as much as Ted Gill does.

It’s refreshing to hear a business professional, with franchise ownership aspirations, unashamedly spout three “reallys” describing his product.

“People really, really, really love the idea of fresh, made-to-order donuts,” he says, when asked how business has been since the opening. “Business has been great.”

There’s no measured, calculated tone with Gill. His enthusiasm leads to unabashed exaggeration. “There is a little bit of a wait, but it’s definitely worth it. You get a warm donut, and it’s a million times different than if you got one just sitting around the shelf somewhere.”

Ted Gill is the general manager at one of the newest Duck Donuts locations.

He runs the show in the recently opened Marlton store in the Marlton Crossing strip mall, as the rapidly expanding chain of made to order donut shops makes a splash in the Garden State.

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Photo Kurt Smith

Going Global

Ted Gill (center) general manager of Duck Donuts in Marlton, NJ.

If you were apprehensive about a South American vacation because of the absence of Duck Donuts, that’s no longer a problem for you. As this article goes to press, Duck Donuts has recently announced an expansion into the Southern Hemisphere, with ten stores opening in Chile.

According to the official press release, Duck Donuts has signed an international franchise agreement with OBX Alimentos SpA. Their CEO, Marcial Dieguez-Acuna, is quoted as saying “We look forward to having Chileans adopt this new concept with open arms and for Duck Donuts to become a significant player in the sweets industry in Chile. We will offer a superior product to current market standards and with the highest level of quality service.”

A former owner of an East Brunswick pizzeria, Gill found the opening for the Duck Donuts position on Facebook. He spoke with the franchise owners, who probably had an easy time deciding to give him the job. In an age where one bad customer experience gets halfway around the world before a good one gets its pants on,

Ted Gill gets it. “People want a fresh, delicious product, and customer service is key. We want everybody to leave here with a smile.”

He plugs his employer like a winning racecar driver. “That’s what we strive to do at Duck Donuts.”

Duck Donuts President Gary McAneney, who

Given that the business model is working pretty well in America, it’s not hard to imagine that Chileans will take to Duck Donuts just as quickly. Russ DiGilio says the company is pursuing more international franchising opportunities. In a few years, you may be able to get a Duck Donut wherever your vacation plans take you.

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“ People want a fresh, delicious product, and customer service is key. We want everybody to leave here with a smile.” – Ted Gill

is overseeing the company’s ludicrous-speed expansion, shares Gill’s enthusiasm for customer happiness as part of the big picture.

“It is a detail-oriented business. You have to pay attention each and every day to the small stuff,” McAneney says. “I think that’s with any food business, but ours is a little different… we’re discretionary spend. People have choices on whether they’re gonna buy donuts or not. It’s not a must have, so we need to be on top of our game with each and every experience.

“Our franchisees have to understand that.

They cannot take their success for granted. Even if the first month or so, lines are out the door and sales are going great, they can’t take their foot off the gas pedal delivering that customer experience.”

During the interview with Gill, customers filter in and are greeted warmly by the staff. Employees behind the counter assist them in the challenging decision of how to coat their donuts, send the brand new donuts through the fryer, and carefully cover them with the requested toppings and drizzles, creating dazzling donut artwork that looks as great as it tastes. All in full view for customers…many of them excited children…to watch.

Your fresh and warm donut can be coated with strawberry frosting, Oreo crumbs and hot fudge drizzle. Or try peanut butter frosting, with shredded coconut and blackberry drizzle.

And so on. Imagine choosing a dozen combinations like this for your team at work. Imagine your suddenly improved stature within the company as you open the box to display them at the meeting. Can’t think of the right combo?

Duck Donuts suggests favorites: maple frosting with chopped bacon (bigger than bacon bits) is beloved of course, as is the Key lime frosting donut with graham cracker crumbs, which is only available in the spring.

When this writer’s arm is twisted enough to

try one (resulting in a fairly easy “uncle”), he opts for a breakfast sandwich…a maple covered donut sliced in half, with egg and cheese inside and bacon pieces on top. After some thoughtful consideration of the additional bicycle miles required to work it off, I follow up with the aforementioned Key lime edition.

The verdict? Let’s just say that with Duck Donuts in Marlton now, you’re within an acceptable radius anywhere in South Jersey. Go try them. If you can find a better donut, contact me so I can ask the publisher to let me do a story on them too.

The fresh coffee is no slouch either, in case one still thinks that’s a reason to frequent the “leading brand” donut stores.

uck Donuts founder and CEO Russ DiGilio simply wanted to make the world, or at least the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a better place.

DiGilio, who at the time owned several assisted living facilities, frequently spent vacations with his family in the resort town of Duck (you see where this is going, right?), which, according to Wikipedia, offers “outdoor recreational activities, summer events and concerts, watersports, fine dining, shopping, art galleries, and a nationally known jazz festival.”

t’s fair to believe that the experience is rehearsed enough that it isn’t just a show for a writer of a popular magazine. It’s also fair to say the experience is different from well-known large donut chains, who have rested on “acceptable” customer service laurels for decades.

So yes, the quality of service at Duck Donuts is noteworthy. But let’s not discount the quality of the donuts as part of the business plan.

Sitting on the counter is a cake container filled with cinnamon sugar donut pieces, which patrons are welcome to try. Usually the taste results in approval for the complete, paid version, with any of a “duckzillion” combinations of coatings, toppings, and drizzles.

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Photo Kurt Smith

Quack Gives Back Duck Donuts didn’t invent the Chemo Duck, as is easy to believe when one initially views the Quack Gives Back page of their website.

Which is why the two entities are a perfect fit for each other.

The only thing missing from that list, DiGilio noticed, was a fresh donut shop. And so the first Duck Donuts was born.

Well, okay. Don’t quit your day job thinking it’s that simple. DiGilio and his family spent months developing the right combination of batter and shortening “from absolute scratch,” and researching the market before opening the first store in 2007.

“There are a lot of different food options out there,” DiGilio notes, “and if someone wants to come up with something, they need a niche.

They need something unique, a hook to bring people in. You can’t just be any Joe Schmoe hamburger shop. There’s just way too much competition.

“In our days as kids, going to boardwalks and hole in the wall places, we used to get donuts, and they were made to order. You walked up to the window, they made some donuts and you go on your way. Our reminiscing of times when we were on vacation prompted us to do this in a much different way.”

“Fortunately for us, made to order wasn’t very prevalent.”

Nor did it become prevalent in Duck for the first couple of years after the store’s opening. As every business owner knows, success doesn’t come without a struggle. It took some time.

“The first year out of the gate…nobody knew what we were about. On vacation you’ve got a lot of options. It took word of mouth.

The third year was the first year we broke even, that’s when it kicked in and we said this has legs. By the fourth year, we knew we had something special.”

o say word of mouth has been an effective marketing tool for Duck Donuts would be quite the understatement. It’s one thing to inform your soon to be vacationing friend about the amazeballs donut shop on Osprey Landing. It’s quite another level to repeatedly pester the founder about franchising. Duck Donuts gets so many such offers that there is a prominent page on their website about how to do just that.

Chemo Duck is a program dedicated to helping children with cancer overcome their fear and anxiety through the inevitably trying therapy.

Children are given a “Chemo Duck,” a stuffed yellow duck with hospital scrubs and a chemotherapy port. Parents can use the Chemo Duck to help their children see what their therapy entails and to help ease the child through treatments.

Duck Donuts founder and CEO Russ DiGilio

“It was surprising to me how much a donut impacted people,” DiGilio recalls, “but when you think about it, the whole idea is family based. People were on vacation enjoying themselves, and it just elicited these memories of while people were on vacation of an enjoyable time.

“It was almost like we had a cult following. We had people write in all the time, telling us how much they love our concept, the donuts were out of this world, and they just loved it. They prompted us, year after year, to come to their hometown or teach them how to do what we do.

“Over time it became so overwhelming that we said, we’re gonna kick ourselves if we don’t test the waters and try to franchise this concept.”

Today Duck Donuts is operational in 13 states, with contracts to open in ten more. The actual number of stores is growing so rapidly that an exact number listed here would likely be inaccurate at press time. There have been 200 locations sold since 2013, with 30 stores likely to open this year alone.

Some pretty impressive numbers in just five years of franchising. But to DiGilio, that first franchise opening, in Williamsburg, VA, is still arguably the proudest moment.

“That couple dipped their toes in the water before anyone else and took a huge risk, which we’re eternally grateful for. But the fact that that store opened with such fanfare and has done so well and continues to this day, in the big picture, set us on our way.”

And if Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme aren’t looking over their shoulders yet, they ought to be. n

“Obviously what caught our attention was the duck,” DiGilio explains. “Their whole program is based on childhood cancer awareness and education. They’re not really working for a cure, but they are helping the families who are dealing with this type of illness, who need a lot of support and comfort and education.”

This last September (September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month), all of the Duck Donuts stores gathered together and raised $75,000 for Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program.

Chemo Duck

“We deal with families, they’re one of our primary customers, mothers with children. This was a nice tie-in, because it’s children dealing with an illness, and they have a duck as their mascot, so it just seemed like a natural relationship. And all families can benefit from what we have to offer, and this is our way to give back to those struggling with illness.”

Duck Donuts strongly encourages franchisees to give back, which they are happy to do, through their Quack Gives Back program. The King of Prussia store alone raised over $4,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “We challenge our franchisees to be connected with their local community,” DiGilio says. “We want our stores to be connected with whomever, nonprofits, baseball teams, high schools, churches, etc.”

If you’d like to learn more about Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program, you can find the website at chemoduck.org.

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BUILDING AN “EPIC” LIFESTYLE Epic Cigars Founder & CEO Dean Parsons

D

BY T. JORDAN WOMPIERSKI

Dean Parsons is a modern day renaissance man. From playing semi-pro hockey out of college to a 10-year stint as a police officer to a real estate career in the tropics, Parsons has dabbled—and succeeded—in a wide variety of fields. With so many adventures in his past and a promising future in the cigar industry continuing to gain traction, it’s safe to say that Parsons is living an epic life.

“Epic is a lifestyle,” Parsons said. “Whether you’re celebrating the birth of a child or at the Eagles Super Bowl parade smoking a cigar, those things are epic moments. Even just hanging out with friends can be considered the same thing: sharing epic moments.”

These days, the 47-year-old Newfoundland native enjoys many epic moments as the founder and owner of Epic Cigars, a premium cigar company based in the Dominican Republic that’s taking the cigar world by storm.

“The brand has become international in a very short time, and I’m pretty proud of that,”

Parsons said. “My cigars are sold in the U.S., Canada, and Europe—we’re in Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.”

How, exactly, does a Canadian police officer turned real estate agent end up owning a Dominican cigar company? In 2001, one of Parsons’ old hockey teammates was working in the real estate industry in the Turks and Caicos islands, and after a few vacations to visit his buddy, Parsons was offered a job there himself in 2004.

“I took an early retirement, packed my bags, and moved to Turks and Caicos,” Parsons explained.

Parsons enjoyed many aspects of the lifestyle in the Turks and Caicos Islands, as did his clients, but they soon realized that it was hard to find a good cigar there.

“We had a lot of clients coming in to look at properties and buy real estate, but you couldn’t buy premium cigars there, so I started traveling to the Dominican Republic,” Parsons explained.

n

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PARSONS HAD ENJOYED CIGARS since his 20s, but he didn’t fully understand the subtle nuances involved in the blending and manufacturing processes until he started spending time at cigar factories in the Dominican Republic.

“I would go a couple times a year, and I just started meeting a lot of small factories, boutique manufacturers, and just people in the industry who were really open to helping me learn about the business,” he said. “I learned

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about tobacco, about the process of blending cigars, making cigars, and that’s kind of how I got started.”

Soon after, Parsons launched Turks Select: a premium cigar branded specifically for the Turks and Caicos Islands. The cigar brand did quite well locally, but Parsons had his sights set on something bigger. He wanted to launch a cigar brand that could make waves on an international level.

“As great as it was, it was only really designed to be a cigar for the Turks and Caicos, and not something I could really market internationally,” Parsons said. “But that kind of gave me the start in the industry and some good knowledge to get started in cigars.”

By 2009, the real estate market crash had hit the Turks and Caicos Islands hard, so Parsons took a new job with a development company in the Dominican Republic. Finding gainful employment after the crash was good news inand-of-itself, but as an added bonus, the move

‘‘

WE’VE MORE THAN DOUBLED OUR BUSINESS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. IT TAKES TIME, BUT THE POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH IS ENDLESS.” to the Dominican Republic also meant that Parsons had easier access to the country’s best boutique factories, where he spent even more time learning about cigars from some of the industry’s most renowned experts.

“It’s a lot like wine,” he said. “Once you understand the types of grapes, and the years, and the seasons, and what’s available, and what you like and what you don’t like, it’s very similar to blending wine.”

Parsons continued to study the craft until he felt he was ready for his next foray into the cigar business. In 2010, Parsons officially launched Epic Cigars. At the time, the company came out with two premium offerings: the Epic Maduro and the Epic Corojo. Both cigars were received well, and both remain in the Epic Cigars line of products today.

“I created the blends in a boutique factory,” Parsons explained. “I don’t own the factory, but I choose all of the tobaccos, I create the cigar 45

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blends. I mean, in layman’s terms, you could call it the cigar recipe, but in terms of making cigars, you’re creating a blend. You’re taking tobaccos from different regions, and you have your wrapper, filler, binder, and you can have anywhere from three, four, five, six tobaccos in a single cigar blend.”

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Parsons hand picks all of the tobaccos and creates the cigar blends for his company’s offerings.

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WHILE EPIC CIGARS WAS INITIALLY a side job for Parsons, he decided to dive in head-first and make it his full-time gig in 2012.

Since then, he has worked tirelessly to promote and expand his brand, and today, the Epic Cigars line includes nine unique cigar offerings in a total of 25 different sizes.

“We target cigar aficionados,” Parsons said.

“It’s a premium cigar, the same as your Fuentes or your Dominican Montecristos, or any of your big Nicaraguan brands like Drew Estate.”

The premium blends of tobaccos that Parsons utilizes have worked well at attracting customers of all demographics.

“Even though our factory is based in the Dominican, we use tobacco from Nicaragua and the Dominican, from Brazil, and Honduras, and Ecuador,” Parsons said. “We’re blending tobaccos from different regions in the world in our cigars. They’re medium but full-bodied and

full-flavored. We have cigars for the seasoned smoker, but also something that I could introduce to the first-time smoker.”

n

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PARSONS NOW RESIDES YEAR-ROUND in the Dominican Republic, where you can find him doing epic things like kiteboarding or surfing, playing golf, and riding his motorcycle. Of course, more often than not, he’s on the road

promoting the Epic brand. Parsons estimates he spends at least 200 days traveling each year.

“It’s not easy,” he admitted. “It’s a tough business. You’ve gotta show people that you have a brand worthy of building up.”

Fortunately, all of the time and effort Parsons has devoted to his company is paying off.

“We’ve more than doubled our business in the last few years,” Parsons said proudly.

“It takes time, but the potential for growth is endless.”

Epic Cigars are now carried at over 600 retailers worldwide. New Jersey and the Philadelphia area have been hot spots for Parsons, but sales are also skyrocketing in Europe as well— particularly in Germany, where Epic Cigars are offered at over 300 retailers.

Parsons is pleased with the success of his business so far, but he knows the company has the potential to really take off, so he continues to work on building the Epic brand. What better person to do it than someone who has lived such an epic life?

“The brand is still evolving and it will continue to evolve over time,” Parsons said. “It’s been kind of a crazy ride, but I’m thankful.” n

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Spectacular Rides

for the Annual “Down the Shore” Rally!

BY GEORGE POLGAR

I

f you grew up in the Delaware Valley, one of the greatest shared memories has got to be the seasonal mass migration to the shore from South Jersey, Philly and its suburbs. We all remember piling into Dad’s big sedan, Mom’s wagon, your first $200 beater or your buddy’s 10-year old boogie van— with the floor to ceiling orange shag carpeting—in the race to that shining ribbon of white sand beach!

And that “down the shore” stretch of Atlantic coast, from Long Beach Island’s northern most Barnegat Light to Cape May at the southern tip of the state, is made up of a string of communities with varied personalities where certain vehicles just seem to fit in perfectly. So here are a few hot rides for rolling to your favorite South Jersey beach town for the summer of 2018!

Rolls Royce Ghost

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The top of the line Infinity QX80 Limited is big enough to be swapped out with a 19th century Conestoga Wagon.

Infinity QX80

Rolls Royce Ghost The BMW masters of the exciting modern era of Rolls Royce have succeeded in eliminating the best joke about the elitism of this vaunted brand. Back in the day if you saw a guy driving a Rolls Royce, he was probably a chauffeur. So when Rolls Royce was hard on the comeback trail with its grandiose Phantom being driven around by diminutive status seekers, we had to wonder “What, you can’t afford a chauffeur?”

But the new Rolls Royce Ghost, which you would surely be driving to the glitz capital of NJ… Atlantic City… is a whole different animal. Following the pattern set by the Rolls Royce Wraith two-door coupe, the Ghost is tailored as a personal driver.

And what a driver it is! The bi-turbo 6.6-liter 563 horsepower V12 makes the Ghost a posh rocket, unstoppable on the long straight shot of the AC Expressway. This Roller makes quite an appearance with a $44K Henley Inspiration styling package of a subtly superb two-tone white over silver paint job, with playful orange pinstripe accents.

The vast expanse of hood is imposing on this sedan which is 4 inches longer than a standard F150 pickup. The 21-inch five-spoke alloy wheels are a touch sporty but just to show that the Ghost is serious… watching it as the car moves, you’ll note the RR logos in the center wheels don’t move. They are mounted on ball bearing based floating rims which were popularized by the spinner wheels of hip-hop rides.

Inside the Ghost is a magical place of silky soft leather seating, luxurious lambswool carpeting and highlypolished, rich wood grains. The leather and wood-styled dash board is accented in bright Mandarin Orange leather. These small touches highlight the nexus of the Rolls Royce tradition and the newest 21st century ride of celebrity, sports, business and tech geek royalty.

The only thing even a little scary about this Ghost is, of course, the sticker, which gets pretty close to $400K with a nice load of must-have options. But if your luck is good, that could be just a night’s work in the gambling palaces lining the beaches and bays.

Infiniti QX80 Big Luxury SUV While big American SUVs are going with the government-issue look of a Presidential security motorcade, the Infiniti QX80 takes full advantage of the new sheet metal sculpting, folding and wave making techniques that have made the entire Nissan upmarket division lineup so widely acclaimed for styling. The top of the line $89,000 QX80 Limited AWD edition rolls on 22-inch custom dark, machine finished wheels, big enough to be swapped out with a 19th century Conestoga Wagon.

The Infiniti QX80 shares the platform of the highly acclaimed new Nissan Titan pickup truck, with the addition of handling features like Hydraulic Body Motion Control and neat technology like the Smart Rearview mirror, which uses an LCD camera view alternative to the regular mirror to see around passengers and payload behind the driver. So roomy and opulently appointed, the Infiniti QX80 could be a premium Airbnb unit out in front of your shore home in clubby Stone Harbor or Avalon.

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Alfa Romeo 4C

Raging Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Mid-Sized Pickup Sporting your fave jams, with your board waxed and your best buds and babes ready for some gnarly wave action, the new Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 turns heads rolling through Surf City on Long Beach Island. With its brawny athletic profile, exceptional interior comfort, premium tech and amenities, and over the road and off-the-grid dual identity, the Colorado mid-sized pickup will have your crew howling like moon doggies on those long summer surfing safaris!

The stock $42,000 Crew Cab Chevy ZR2—a close cousin of a competition spec off-road racing Colorado—does a rousing dune buggy romp juiced by a 308 horsepower 3.6-liter V6 engine and some of the most sophisticated suspension technology ever designed for mid-sized truck.

2019 Alfa Romeo 4-C Sports Car

Chevy Colorado ZR2

This new mid-engine Italian import is a relatively modest exotic two-seater for around $65K. At that price point, don’t expect too much pampering. The Alfa Romeo 4C Spider is a snug fit for anyone over 6 ft. The sport seating, and racing inspired instrument cluster, steering wheel and tech gear of the 4C come together in a nice package. And once out on the road, what a wild and raucous ride it is, powered by a throaty 237 horsepower 1.75 liter inline 4-cylinder turbo.

In addition to a mid-engine 50/50 balance handling advantage, the Alfa Romeo 4C carbon fiber monocoque chassis is stronger and lighter than steel and enhances the vehicle’s power-to-weight ratio for amazing agility and responsive performance.

This Alfa Romeo 4C is pure Italian sexy fun, which may help fill your passenger seat when summer clubbing in Atlantic City.

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Ford Mustang Bullitt Special Edition 2019 With Molly McQueen—granddaughter of Steve—introducing the new 2019 Ford Mustang BULLITT special edition at the Detroit Auto show earlier this year, the narrative veered to a fantastic story of the discovery of an intact and still drivable 1968 GT390 Mustang that Steve McQueen himself essentially authenticated as one he drove in the movie. When the bidding war is over, the original BULLITT could fetch $25 million.

Ford Mustang BULLITT

Subaru Ascent

Meanwhile for just $46K the new 2019 Mustang BULLITT devours the old back roads to Wildwood with a 475 horsepower 5.0L V8 and a top speed of 163 mph.

The Dark Highland Green paint job and distinctive front grill with light chrome accessory touches are a nod to the McQueen original, while being totally cool and contemporary. The BULLITT rolls with standard GT Premium Content and the full GT Performance Package, including the 12-inch digital instrument cluster and an active valve performance exhaust with a unique Black NitroPlate™ finish.

New 2019 Subaru Ascent SUV The largest model ever offered by the indomitable left-field star player of the auto industry, the new 7 - 8 passenger $31K to $44K Ascent will carry Subaru to a new summit in the US market, and worldwide as the monster profit-maker of the auto industry.

The new Ascent looks the part of the big daddy Subaru, with a smooth muscular exterior, the familiar functional roof rails, contemporary front grille and backswept headlight design.

The Ascent carries on the Subaru legacy of safety with the truly impressive industry leading Eye-Sight emergency self-braking system, and the brand benchmark of reliability is underlined by the use of the new variable global platform architecture which underpins the whole Subaru line.

Inside the Ascent, Subaru LOVE is bundled with updated Wi-Fi and popular device interface options, and count ‘em, 19 cup holders for all the cups, juice-boxes, gaming devices and other kid cargo that it takes for a shore trip to Ocean City. n 51

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Redesigning,

H

o s e R f o n e e u Q e th g in z li Reinventing and Revita

rts

BY MOLLY GOLUBCOW ave you heard the latest about Atlantic City? The aging Queen of Resorts seems to be strutting her stuff once again.

In the late 1970s, the casino gambling silver bullet bailed the fading city out of tough times. Tourists returned spending lots of money—eating, gambling, and partying in one casino property or another, and in many cases, not even noticing the beach or Boardwalk.

Fast forward to 2007. After 30 years of a “gambling only” diet that ignored “healthy” business opportunities, overdoses of poor city management, generic economic aches and pains, and Trump-like charlatans coming and going at their Chapter 11 whims, the old gal fell into a decade of abandonment, decay, and financial hardship culminating in multiple casinos/hotels shutting their doors including four in 2014 alone—bang, bang, bang, bang!

As a result, depression set in big time for local businesses and residents. However, as you walk the Atlantic City Boardwalk today you

can feel something—a tingling sensation that, “We are going to be okay again.” And, you literally can see it being built, redesigned, and reinvented—diversified businesses drawing all sorts of people to Atlantic City’s beaches and Boardwalk, not just gamblers.

A Tale of Two Casinos

What was supposed to be Atlantic City’s newest and classiest casino, Revel opened and then closed its $2.4 billion troubled doors all in 2014. Although quickly snatched up for a

mere $92 million by billionaire developer, Glen Straub, it never got off the ground for a plethora of reasons ranging from red-tape to dollars and cents.

In January 2018, the sleek 60-story glass building sold and re-branded itself as the Ocean Resort Casino. No sooner was that transaction signed, when Ocean Resort partnered with Hyatt—ensuring that the tallest building in Atlantic City landed in experienced, hotel management hands. By May 2018, the Ocean Resort had already hired 3,000 employees for its June opening—an upbeat employment trend Atlantic City desperately needed.

And, speaking of partnerships, having big name investors like Mark Wahlberg can’t hurt. The actor/producer plans to be a visible presence by opening a bar as well as one of his family-named burger joints in Ocean Resort. Also, don’t be surprised to see episodes for the Wahlburgers reality show filmed in AC as well.

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Ocean Resort offers amenities for everyone, from five pools (including a salt water option) to a kid-friendly candy store. Depending on your definition of a sweet tooth (and your age), other attractions include the pulsating HQ nightclub and the risqué burlesque-style Royal Jelly show. And par for the course (pun intended), Ocean Resort touts its Topgolf Swing Suite® offering 11 bays and a virtual putting green in the sky with food and beverage services as well as stunning views of the Atlantic.

A few blocks south of the Ocean Resort, similar signs of life can be heard and seen at the former Trump Taj Mahal casino. Starting with the well-televised removal of the Trump sign, Taj exits stage left and Hard Rock enters the Atlantic City gaming and entertainment stage. A $500 million gut and redesign is currently underway—once again revitalizing Atlantic City.

As you would expect from any Hard Rock enterprise, beautiful sounds will emanate from that building—literally and figuratively.

In June, the rock ‘n’ roll themed property opened with powerful headliner, Carrie Underwood—country music diva. With their impressive 7,000-person seating capacity, Hard Rock’s 2018 lineup touts hundreds of weekend and weekday acts including Kid Rock, Kellie Pickler, Gin Blossoms, Steely Dan, as well as Jersey grown Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. (Editor’s Note: We sat down with the developers and the head of Hard Rock International for an exclusive interview. See page 56.)

That’s Entertainment

Luckily, Hard Rock is not the only game in town that figured out Atlantic City needs to entertain—lots of people, lots of options, and for all ages. One block away, the 2,400 seat Bourbon Room (formerly House of Blues) located in the boutique Showboat Hotel (for-

theoceanac.com

As you walk the Atlantic City Boardwalk today you can feel something - a sensation that, “We are going to be okay again.”

Ocean Resort, formerly Revel

merly Showboat Casino), exemplifies part of AC’s entertainment rejuvenation.

The venue, named after the famous street in New Orleans, opened its doors in late March with funky, edgy, millennial-attracting acts like Dead Reckoning, Unusual Suspects, professional wrestling, and silent discos—all adding to nightlife options for Atlantic City visitors other than throwing dice or feeding slot machines.

Other upcoming Atlantic City concerts rival Las Vegas big name acts. For example, Borgata plans to mark its 15th anniversary in Atlantic City this year with superstars including Cher, Barry Manilow, and Stevie Wonder. Boardwalk Hall, iconic home of the Miss America Pageant, offers events ranging from Evander Holyfield’s The Real Deal Boxing to rockers Fleetwood Mac and Rod Stewart.

As part of a Live Nation and Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) partnership geared to attracting tourists inside and outside casino walls, three Atlantic City Beach Fest concerts are scheduled again featuring Sam Hunt, The Chain Smokers, and

Demi Lovato. Concert goers and headliners alike are stoked about the upcoming beach performances. Lovato recently tweeted, “Since this is my only East Coast show of the summer, I wanted to do something a little different. And nothing screams summer more than the BEACH! This is going to be such a fun show, and I can’t wait to see all my fans in Atlantic City for a party by the ocean!”

As the entertainment rejuvenation bug spreads through AC, even neighboring towns feel the fever. For example, a long-time abandoned movie theater in Ventnor destined for demolition was recently purchased. The developer plans to give the old building a stateof-the art makeover transforming the decaying property into the Ventnor Square Theater—a “boutique theater” opening in 2019 offering dining, “adult beverages,” as well as threescreen movie options.

Location, Location, Location North Jersey-based Boraie Development,

LLC joined the revival effort with its 600 North Beach project, an $85 million residential complex currently underway in the Inlet area— abandoned beach-front lots desperately needing mouth-to-mouth financial resuscitation.

According to Atlantic City Council President, Marty Small, projects like 600 North Beach clearly indicate “…the worst days of Atlantic City are over. The storm is over.”

Located on New Jersey and Pacific Avenues, neighbor to the Ocean Resort, the 250-luxury 53

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units will surround an inner courtyard featuring a raised pool and community area. First occupancy is slated for August 2018 with an eye on being fully occupied by end of year.

Two miles down the road (and Boardwalk) signs of revitalization on steroids can be seen on Albany and Pacific Avenues. Where once several empty lots wasted away for too many years, the $210 million Atlantic City Gateway Project is well underway—a redevelopment initiative featuring a Stockton University campus/dorm and a South Jersey Gas Company headquarters housing over 200 employees.

The structures are not quite completed, but Stockton University has already filled most of their beach front campus for the 2018 Fall semester. In addition to dorm rooms for 500 students, the new campus provides 56,000 square foot academic space, class rooms, labs, and retail business options on the street level.

Curriculum will include hospitality & tourism—actual subject matter that students can study/participate in proximity to the campus.

It Takes a Village

Monopoly mavens will tell you that orange streets like Tennessee Avenue are the best properties to own. Evan Sanchez and Zenith Shah, founders of Authentic City Partners,

Stockton/South Jersey Gas – Gateway Project Rendition

know how to figuratively roll the dice on the Atlantic City gameboard. The two entrepreneurs, who believe in cultural diversity and community growth, envision a drastic redo

for the distressed Tennessee Avenue—from the Boardwalk down to Pacific Avenue.

Living true to their company name, Sanchez and Shah promote business partnering, Shah not just dollars and cents.

The co-founders see the Tennessee Avenue project as a vehicle that will methodically create a better city. Sanchez explains, “We’re focused on bringing one beach block Sanchez back to life by fostering community and small businesses. By doing it on one block, we’ll show it can be done and ultimately done at scale throughout Atlantic City.”

Plans are in the works to attract businesses on both sides of the neglected street. To date, the project kickstarted with The Leadership Yoga Studio, a not-for-profit organization bringing yoga and good practices to all in the community, and the first yoga studio in Atlantic City!

Mark & Deb Pellegrino – MADE

In April, MADE Atlantic City Chocolate Bar opened its tasty doors offering chocolate and wine lovers a chance to dazzle their pallets with tastings, wine pairings, and even chocolate making classes. Driven by love and passion, chocolatiers Mark and Deborah Pellegrino use cacao beans from around the 54

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Keepin’ Cool in Atlantic City Our top five adult-only pool bars for summer 2018...

H20 Pool at Golden Nugget If you’re looking for an upbeat day party, add this stop to your weekend plans! Along with live daytime entertainment on Saturdays & Sundays, amenities include several whirlpools, comfortable seating, plush daybeds & private cabanas and a very attractive staff. Check out Industry Tuesday’s, 2-4 p.m., comped admission if you’re in the biz, but a good time for anyone who attends!

• Open: May 1st

HQ Beach Club at Ocean Resort Casino Formerly the Revel, sources tell us Ocean Resort will be reopening the hottest day party in Atlantic City! If it’s anything like its predecessor, expect monster headlining acts, beautiful, scantily dressed servers and a pool party like you’ve never seen before.

• Open: Our sources say July 13th, but the casino and hotel grand opening is set for June 28th.

Cabana Five Bar & Pool Deck at The Chelsea Tower Newly acquired by Tropicana, this rooftop pool will be equipped with full service bars, cabanas and live entertainment. We have a good feeling about this one!

• Open: May 25th

Bungalow Beach Located on the Boardwalk, Bungalow’s beach pool, swim up bar, hookah, relaxing hammocks and headlining acts makes this spot an easy addition to our list.

Add their Saturday pool party to your weekend lineup!

• Open: Memorial Day Weekend

The Pool at Harrah’s So what that it’s indoors?! The 82-degree indoor oasis is landscaped with palm trees, 5 hot tubs, bikiniclad waitresses and ample bungalows, cabanas and daybeds. Turns into The Pool After Dark when the sun goes down.

• Open: all year round

world to create unique chocolates right in their hometown.

Mark Pellegrino enthusiastically looks forward to contributing to the Tennessee Avenue revival, “We want people to get back to enjoying community and local places that are small and MADE right there. You know what you are getting and where it came from. And you can watch it in front of you. What’s cooler than that?”

Additional businesses slated for the block include a coffee shop, beer hall, and more.

Whether it’s something soothing for your palette or your mind and body, Tennessee Avenue aims to attract and please tourists and locals alike. Shah sums up the vision: “We want

– Ashley Dunek

Atlantic City to be a world class city again.

We hope that Tennessee Avenue will serve as inspiration for other entrepreneurs and proof that if you build it, they will come. For us, it’s just the start.”

You Can’t Keep a Good City Down

From luxury residential apartments to a college campus, Atlantic City’s skyline and its raison d’être change by the millisecond.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, AC lives again. OK, it’s a bit melodramatic but it’s true.

Looks like with a little bit of determination and lots of dollars, the old gal is rocking and rolling—yet again. n 55

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HARD ROCKIN’ IN

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IN ATLANTIC CITY J

OE JINGOLI AND JACK MORRIS were checking in on a very good day to be involved in an Atlantic City casino property. Earlier that morning, in a decision many people had dreamed of and worked toward for years, the U.S. Supreme Court had legalized sports gambling on a state-by-state basis.

BY MICHAEL BRADLEY

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Suddenly, what some had viewed as a somewhat misguided pur-

suit—opening a casino in a town that couldn’t seem to stop closing them— had received the gift of a potentially gushing revenue stream. Images of packed sports books no doubt rushed through every casino executive’s head, but for Jingoli and Morris, who were betting that the Hard Rock brand would propel their project into the profit column, this was an extremely positive way to enter Atlantic City’s treacherous climate.

“This is very exciting for Atlantic City,” Jingoli says.

Neither he nor Morris was willing to provide any specifics on just what sports betting would mean for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino because they aren’t casino operators, but each knew that the ruling would have a substantially lucrative impact on the town.

“Sports betting is such a positive thing,” Morris said.

The trick now is to make the rest of the place a great experience for Atlantic City visitors.

Opening in late June in the tattered remains of the failed Trump Taj Mahal, the Hard Rock has exquisite timing. Boasting 2,000 rooms, the

7,000-seat Etess Arena, 2,100 slot machines and plenty more—including, of all things, a gas station—it brings an entertainment component to the Boardwalk that goes well beyond whether or not the dealer is going to bust hitting on 13.

Jingoli and Morris, a couple of Jersey guys who are successful developers, are taking their first steps into the gaming world. Partnering with Hard Rock International was a pretty smart way to do it, since the company has established successful footholds across the country and the world. Of course, Hard Rock also recently got out of the fun-and-games business in Vegas by selling its property to Virgin Hotels founder Richard Branson and some private

Jingoli

Morris

partners, but the company’s rock-and-roll persona is well known. Hard Rock chairman Jim Allen is enthusiastic about the new property, and the company has devoted considerable resources to its success.

“I was introduced to Jim Allen and had the opportunity to really see how passionate he is about the brand and what the brand is all about,” Morris says. “When people hear Hard Rock, they think rock-n-roll.”

Hard Rock has partnered with the Seminole Indian tribe to handle its casino ventures, and Allen pledges to be heavily involved in the AC property. It’s a great story. He grew up in nearby Northfield and was a dishwasher and a

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sous chef in an Atlantic City restaurant at one point in his life. Not long after that, he became a cook at Bally’s. Now, he’s one of the nation’s top gaming executives, and he is excited to be bringing one the nation’s—and the world’s— most iconic companies to AC. “The Hard Rock brand has so much global recognition,” he says. “It was created in 1971, and the company continues to grow. We’re in 75 countries around the world, and we are undergoing major expansions in resorts and hotels. In any brand survey, Hard Rock is among the top 10 in recognizable brands in the world.

Last year, we had 118 million visitors and 100 billion media impressions.”

THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING the Taj Mahal’s demise were hardly ideal. The casino opened in 1990 at a cost of $1.1 billion, and after truly Trumpian promotion and hype, it began to stagger. Trump filed for bankruptcy protection on it several times, and there were many years when his name was the only thing about it he owned. Earlier this decade, corporate raider Carl Icahn bought the property at a large discount

and immediately went to war with the unions, refusing to honor their contracts. In 2016, Icahn won a court battle that allowed him to impose new wage, benefit and pension terms, but the workers promptly went on a strike that became the longest in AC casino history.

After losing millions a month, Icahn bailed, and Hard Rock—which had toyed with the idea of owning a property in town and actually had one of its restaurants in the Taj Mahal— swooped in and paid a meager $50 million for the joint. At a time when Atlantic City is facing unprecedented competition from regional gam-

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ing establishments, Hard Rock’s arrival is important, since it signals faith from a major player. The rest of the casino community, along with major government players, has embraced the arrival as a sign of growing critical Allen mass in the city.

“We have received nothing but compliments, from the Division of Gaming Enforcement to the Casino Control Commission to the city of Atlantic City to former Governor [Chris] Christie and now Governor Murphy to the unions, with whom we already have eight agreements,” Allen says. “It has been all compliments.”

The decision to partner with Morris and Jingoli was a wise one, not only because it gave Hard Rock a local presence in town. The two men had enjoyed plenty of success in the development game and brought credibility and an understanding of the local landscape to the project, which is being overseen by Hard Rock’s people. Despite the hard times encountered by the Taj and the $2.4 billion Revel, which collapsed only two-and-a-half years after opening, the two men were optimistic from the outset that the project would be successful.

“We’re Jersey guys, and we really felt this

was the bottom of the market,” Jingoli says.

“Jack said, ‘This is the time to get in.’ It turned out to be accurate. You need to be on the ground here, and you need good market knowledge. Jack had all of that.”

JINGOLI GREW UP IN TRENTON and went to the Pennington School. He and his brother started and operated a “small, family construction business in Mercer County” and built it into a concern that did business around the Mid-Atlantic region and in the Caribbean. Jingoli’s company

is handling the building of the $206 million Stockton University campus in Atlantic City. His political connections and work in the energy field have been invaluable to the project.

Morris, meanwhile, has an impressive portfolio of residential and commercial properties across the state and has helped make Hard Rock’s foray into Atlantic City smoother.

“Jack’s success in New Jersey and experience as a real estate developer have been extremely helpful,” Allen says. “The Jingolis’ work with power plants and work in the area on Stockton University adds to it.”

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The Hard Rock can offer the traditional casino and hotel amenities to guests, but its most unique features will be in the entertainment realm, from the “world’s largest collection of rock-n-roll memorabilia”, according to Allen, to venues like the Etess Arena, the Howie Mandel Comedy Club and a nightclub. In addition to Carrie Underwood and Pitbull, who opened the property, big names like Toby Keith, Blake Shelton and Steely Dan have been booked.

Visitors can also enjoy Broadway productions of shows like “Kinky Boots”. Hard Rock properties hosted 35,000 shows last year, giving the corporation tremendous leverage with booking agents to attract acts to AC.

THE PROJECT IS NOT WITHOUT ITS PERILS, as anyone who is familiar with Atlantic City over the past decade-plus knows. In 2006, casino revenues in the town peaked at more than $5 billion. That also happened to be the year Pennsylvania’s first casino opened for business. Since then, the take has slid precipitously, to $2.7 billion in 2017, according to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. The Hard Rock will look great and have plenty to offer patrons, but with sports betting certain to expand opportunities in the region, the new project is hardly a sure bet. Atlantic City remains a city with a poverty rate above 30% and the highest foreclosure rate in America.

There may be fun to be had on the Boardwalk, but it’s hard to sell visitors on the rest of the town.

Despite that, Morris believes the success of the Hard Rock, and ultimately Atlantic City, lies in the ability to create a destination, not just a home to the slot customer. He remembers sitting on the boardwalk with his grandfather, eating a bag of hot peanuts, going to the custard stand and smiling as “Mr. Peanut” strolled past.

It’s a romantic reminiscence, to be sure, and one that he, Jingoli and Allen want to present in a 21st century form.

“That’s how I remember Atlantic City,” he says. “Millions of people remember Atlantic City for more than just slot machines and table games.”

The Hard Rock will sell entertainment, a gas station and convenience store, traditional gaming and sports gambling. It will also sell the ocean and a vision of Atlantic City that might not jibe with today’s reality, but which has been the dream of developers ever since Resorts International opened in 1978.

“We are bringing back entertainment, which has been an iconic part of Atlantic City,” Jingoli says. “We’re really excited.”

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PROFILE

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BY MIKE KERN

PHILLY FUNNYMAN

Joe Conklin: Making His Mark

S

o how does an Irish boy from the blue-collar Olney section of Northeast Philadelphia grow up to become, well, in a lot of ways the unique voice of a city. Or, more to the point, voices, most of them going right to the very core of what Philly makes tick as a sports community.

We can make fun of ourselves. Just don’t let anyone else try it.

Joe Conklin came from a family of voices.

People who could sing. And still do. Yet at first, his goal wasn’t to become another Rich Little.

The guys he looked up to were timeless media giants like John Facenda (NFL Films), Harry Kalas (Phillies) and Bill Campbell (who called just about everything in his career).

For decades now, Conklin has been making his mark impersonating those heroes. And many of the athletes/personalities they covered.

Who knew?

“I wanted to be a radio announcer,” Conklin said, who’s now in his early 50s. “I didn’t want to imitate (Kalas). I could do Zink (famed Sixers public-address man Dave Zinkoff). But I probably wasn’t the only one. I was always funny. I was the clown, getting in trouble that way. But I had a serious side too.

“I got straight B’s. I only applied to one (college). I couldn’t get into Temple now.”

He was the second-youngest of seven children (four sisters). His father was a trained classical singer who sang at funerals as a side gig, when he wasn’t working as a SEPTA dispatcher.

At some point Joe could “do” Howard Cosell. So he “performed” for relatives, teachers and neigh-

“I was like a toy. I used to get paraded around.

The great thing was they would give me candy.

I loved it. For some reason, it was more impactful to impress people who were older than me. I wanted to fit in, and be counted, with an older audience.”

But like most things in life, it doesn’t just happen. In fact, it almost never does. Even if it was, as he puts it, in his genes.

“I’ve always been able to find a sound, a note, a tone,” he explained. “It’s an ear to mouth thing, like hand to eye. I can’t explain it. I can hear it. I’ve got a good ear. And I can re-create it.

“I always talk to myself. Doesn’t everybody?

“ I’ve always been able to find a sound, a note, a tone. I can he ar it. I’ve got a good e ar. And I can re-cre ate it.” bors. He soon found out that he had the ability to make people laugh.

“That’s when I guess I got my sense of worth,” he acknowledged. “You know, you matter because you can do this.

“And I could do THIS …

In the car, definitely in the house, all day long.

Sometimes even when I’m walking down the street.

“Whatever you want to call it, it put me on the stage in the seventh grade. Catholic Charities Appeal was putting on a show. They wanted to 65

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know if anyone had some talent. I swear. And my friend put his hand up and said, ‘You can do those Wizard of Oz voices.’ I did the Good Witch, the Munchkins, some Alfred Hitchcock.

It was like a two-minute routine. They said, ‘You’re in.’ And I rocked it. I was locked in.”

Still, it’s a long way from that to where he’s taken it. As an eighth-grader he handled the PA, without a microphone, for the CYO basketball team at St. Helena’s.

“Me and a buddy did the book and clock,” he recalled. “And I started yelling (crap) out. Through a Dixie Cup.” Judging by the accompanying laugh, we can only assume the last part was a joke.

Eventually, he was doing the same at the varsity games for Cardinal Dougherty, which at the time was the biggest Catholic high school in the country but is no longer around.

“I felt empowered, but it was pretty damn intimidating,” Conklin said. “You need to have a certain level of confidence, and at first, when I was a freshman and a sophomore, I didn’t have the stones. I’ve grown to have that

confidence, with some of my success, but you’re always struggling with that to some degree …

“I just wanted to get into Philadelphia radio.

Because that was big time. That was it. And I thought I could accomplish that. I saw that map at an early age.”

profession. So naturally Conklin wondered who the other nine were. Seriously.

“I had a gimmick,” he said. “I knew I had to evolve. I had to be an impersonator who could become a comedian (too). Just doing somebody’s voice wasn’t enough. I had to be funny.”

He is. Maybe not every single time, but much

“I kne w I had to evolve. I had to be an impersonator who could become a comedian (too). Just doing somebody’s voice wasn’t enough. I had to be funny.”

While at Dougherty, Daily News high-school writer Ted Silary, who would become legendary himself, wrote a story about Conklin. That gave him sort of a stamp of authenticity. But with the promise also came the pressure.

Nothing worse than wasted talent.

He went to Temple, where the first thing a teacher told him was that 10 people out of 1,000 were going to get jobs in their chosen

more often than not. You think it’s easy being funny every time you open your mouth? Think again. But it’s clear that he gives the audience what they want, because that’s what they expect, whether it’s on his weekday morning WIP job as part of the popular Angelo Cataldi show, or entertaining a crowded ballroom at the annual Philadelphia Sports Writers awards banquet, performing at his own show or with WIP’s Big Daddy Graham. And on and on.

He does Andy Reid, which didn’t always go over well with Reid or the Eagles. But one of the

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highlights at a PSWA dinner back in the day was Reid going right back at Conklin. And getting just as big of a laugh. Touche. Bald joke tops fat joke.

He does Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, Brett Brown, Larry Brown, Cole Hamels, Joel Embiid, Charlie Manuel, Merrill Reese and too many others to properly account for. Oops, can’t leave out Mike Quick. Or Bobby Clarke. Especially when he’s calling Eric Lindros a big baby. My favorite was Rich Kotite doing the traffic report from a helicopter. Priceless. Then again, so are the rest. That’s why he is who he is. And Philly can’t get enough.

This, from a guy whose first real paying job was as a sales assistant for a radio station in Trenton, when he was leaning toward a career in marketing. He thought that’s where the money was. But he soon got bored. So he went back to his true passion. Even if it meant doing standup, which can be a difficult learning curve.

“My family had a really good work ethic,” Conklin said. “I had a gimmick. I just had to find a place to get my break. On camera, behind the microphone, whatever.”

That turned out to be WCAU-FM, where he got a one-day trial internship that went well enough to get him a return engagement. When they needed someone to be a “sidekick” to Morning Maniac Terry Young, it was exactly what he was looking for. And off he went, like it was all meant to be.

“As a comedian I have a cakewalk,” Conklin said. “I have such a great forum. I’m on one of the top shows in the market, and a lot of people listen to my stuff. Angelo drives it. When people show up to see me (somewhere else), they already like me. If you go 50-75 miles from here, I’m in trouble. But I’m OK with it. They want to see what they hear on radio.

“If I really want to challenge myself, I could try to go on the road and do this somewhere else. Would I make it in Tampa? And if you’re that guy, you’ve got to prove it every night. I walk into a stacked deck. I’m not unaware of that, if you know what I mean. I have a great advantage.”

He always has, because in his hometown he’s the gold standard. And there’s not even a close second.

“I grew up in a house where everyone did voices to one extent or another,” Conklin said.

“My father used to imitate Bishop Graham. I always get that question, how do you do it? The best thing I can say is I was born with it.”

But there’s always some guys that for whatever reasons he just can’t get.

“I couldn’t do John Madden forever,” he

shrugged. “Then (Frank) Caliendo broke the code. That’s the way it goes. I could never do (Howard) Eskin. It’s frustrating a little bit. I just work around it. I can rip him in other ways.”

For better or worse, he can do me. Even though sometimes there are only a few listeners who appreciate it.

“You’re the radio logo for a Philadelphia accent,” Conklin tells me, which I suppose is like an ultimate compliment.

Something I didn’t know was he leans heavily on longtime friend Mike Dougherty, who’s well-known throughout the comedy fraternity, for much of his material. They developed a relationship way back when, and Conklin has kept him on the payroll. Hey, Elton John had Bernie Taupin. Whatever gets it done, right?

“He doesn’t get enough credit,” Conklin duly noted. “I don’t even want to think about doing it without him. He’s brilliant. I can’t think of everything. I can’t just do voices. I’ve got to be edgy.

Angelo demands that. He’s a taskmaster. I have to stay on top of my game. I’ve been trained to pump out new stuff. I have to have jokes every time. Voices without jokes is only a voice. At some point I had a pad out at my brother’s house watching the Eagles. I’d get jokes off anybody.

“Philadelphia does not tolerate soft-pedaling.

You have to go for the jugular. Angelo taught me that. I’ll bring in a script and he’ll go, ‘Not enough teeth. You have to be more vicious.’

There’s a line that you straddle.”

And so it goes. There’s always a new voice to go with the standards. I mean, how can you ever go wrong with Allen or Charles? Not in Philly.

Or even beyond. But whatever happens during the rest of Conklin’s distinct journey, he will remain first and foremost all ours. Something to be said for that. It means he’s left his mark, for us to admire and enjoy. And he’s done it in his own style. At heart he’s just another guy from the neighborhood. Like Chip Snapper, one of his classic characters. Don’t ask.

“The only thing I think of is, is it funny,” Conklin insists. “That’s the first requirement. I know how it’s going to hit someone. Then I have to weigh, is it worth it? Like, can I make this jump or am I going to fall?

“And the audience is like go, go, go. They want it.”

And they know where to get their Knucklehead fix. Or maybe Practice.

How can that stuff ever get old?

Me, I want to know what kind of updates Richie has to get me through rush-hour on the Schuylkill.

Thanks Joe. n

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Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre

Steeped in History

BY JAN L. APPLE Bernard Havard

Top: The 1920 interior designed by William Lee. From 1920 until 1969 there were no renovations made to the building. (Photograph courtesy of the Theatre Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia.)

Middle: The theatre after the exterior restoration was completed in 1969.

Talk about a storied past!

I

T’S THE OLDEST THEATRE IN AMERICA; first opened in 1809 as The New Circus with equestrian acts; home to pre-Broadway premiers including “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Porgy and Bess,” “A Raisin in the Sun;” site of a 1976 presidential debate and launching ground for acclaimed actors and playwrights such as Tennessee Williams and Neil Simon.

The Walnut Street Theatre, designated in 1964 as a National Historic Landmark, has lived through many incarnations as an entertainment venue for two centuries.

Its first theatrical production, “The Rivals,”

Bottom: The nineteenth century eagle that hung above the proscenium arch until the 1969 renovation. Although there is no documentary evidence concerning the eagle, the only clue to the date is the number of stars on the shield. There are thirty-five stars, which would place the carving between June 1863 when West Virginia became the thirty-fifth state and October 1864 when Nevada entered the Union. Today, the eagle hangs in the mezzanine lobby.

took place in 1812. President Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette were in the audience on opening night. The “curtain call” as we know it today has its roots at the Walnut— beginning with 19th century actor Edmund Kean. And stars such as Helen Hayes, Ethel Barrymore, Edward G. Robinson, Katherine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier, Jessica Tandy, Jane Fonda and many more have graced the stage of this iconic structure that influenced the course of theatre in America.

In the late 20th century, the property at 9th

& Walnut began an evolution from a struggling rental facility in 1982 to a national and worldrenowned artistic hub that showcases five main stage productions each year (straight plays and musicals), an annual series of independent studio shows, a kids’ series, theatre school, thriving summer camp and apprentice and internship programs.

With a subscriber base of 50,000, the current production of the upbeat musical “Mamma Mia!” concluding July 15, will mark the culmination of the Walnut Street Theatre Company’s 35th season.

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O

NE WOULD BE REMISS in this history lesson without shining a spotlight on a man behind the scenes: Bernard Havard. As president and producing artistic director, Havard’s name has become synonymous with the regional theatre’s celebrated stature.

He is internationally regarded as one of America’s leading theatre producers.

The 77-year-old London native, who lives with his wife, Judy, and son, Brandon, 19, a block and a half from the theatre, explains that his role as both artistic and managing leader is quite unusual. Most theatres, he notes, separate the functions into two distinct jobs. He is quick to credit Walnut’s success story under his tenure to an amazing team effort.

Havard works in close collaboration with company members to bring world-class productions to audiences. Some shows he directs, such as this season’s “The Humans,” which won the Tony Award in 2016 for Best Play.

The actors, Havard elaborates, are not part of their production company. Every show is individually cast. It is this casting that Havard describes as the most critical component to a show’s success. It’s a skillset he possesses and the one in which he is the most proud. Having been an actor provides him with the insight to match precise talent with the demands of each character.

Of course directing is also of pivotal importance,

he explains. But without a properly cast show, even the best direction can only go so far.

“Many of the actors are Philadelphians and from New Jersey,” said Havard, of the vast pool of talent appearing on Walnut’s stage. “They are part of our extended theatre family.”

Subscribers have become accustomed to seeing actors appear in numerous productions. “I think it’s great to have high quality local theatre,” said David Griscom of Newtown (Bucks County), a subscriber for nearly 20 years. “You don’t have to go to New York to see great shows. The prices are very reasonable and there are all sorts of benefits.” No surprise that the Walnut is the most subscribed theatre company in the world.

AVARD IS HONORED to lead this historic gem. “Luck has played a role in my life,” he said during a recent phone interview from his second home in Somers Point, NJ. Luck was on his side when accepting the job at the Walnut in 1982. Previously, he worked in various capacities in the theatre in Canada and the United States: managing director, actor, stage manager, producer. America has been his home since 1977.

When he interviewed with the board of trustees, the head of the search committee was the late Ed Rome, then managing partner of the law firm Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley (now

H

As workmen removed the old interior to build a new structure within the original walls for the 1920 renovation, they discovered a number of relics left behind from the early years of the theatre. Among them was, carefully packed away, the skull of John “Pop” Reed, a stagehand who worked at the Walnut for more than 50 years in the first half of the 1800s. Reed stipulated in his will that he wanted his skull separated from his body, duly prepared, and used to represent the skull of Yorrick in Hamlet. His wish was granted, and the skull is signed by many famous actors of the day who performed in Shakespeare’s play.

Blank Rome LLP). Havard didn’t mince words about his goals. “I wasn’t interested in a booking house, which is what the Walnut had been,” he recalled. “I was interested in producing. I had to explain (to the board) the difference.” He

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Left: “A Raisin in the Sun” opened at the Walnut on January 26, 1959. Starring (from left) Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, and Lonne Elder III, the production was a success on Broadway and was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Actor and Best Play. Notably, it was the first play written by a black woman (Lorraine Hansberry) to be produced on Broadway, and was the first Broadway play directed by a black man (Lloyd Richards). (Photograph courtesy of the Theatre Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia.)

Right: At age 22 a virtually unknown beauty named Audrey Hepburn (left) made her Walnut debut in the world premiere of Gigi, starring opposite Cathleen Nesbitt.

told them: “‘A booking house is buying a cake off the shelf. I’m interested in baking the cake from scratch.’”

And so he has. “It happened that day,” remembered Havard, reflecting on the birth of the Walnut Street Theatre Company. Havard was given a year to work out the details of establishing the not-for-profit, self-producing region-

al theatre, which debuted in 1983. He credits Rome and a $3 million donation from the William Penn Foundation with helping him bring the idea to fruition.

“It was a gamble,” admitted Havard, who had no way of predicting the success that would follow. Yet staying true to his artistic passion was a commitment to which he has rarely

strayed. Theatre, one might say, is in his blood.

Havard’s maternal ancestors had been involved in acting for over 250 years. Artistry also runs deep on his father’s side. His grandfather, Louis Havard, was a wood sculptor at Buckingham Palace in the 1920s. He had been working for King Leopold of Belgium when the highly successful firm of Rorke & Sons, which was refurbishing part of the palace, recruited him.

In fact, this is how his parents, Maurice Havard (son of Louis) and Celia Rorke (whose family owned Rorke & Sons) got together.

ROM THE AGE OF SEVEN, Havard attended an all-boys Catholic boarding school in London. From as far back as he can remember, he was drawn to the stage.

“I played a lot of girls’ roles,” said Havard of his childhood entrée to the craft. “I had a high soprano voice and I was fine with those roles.”

Suffice it to say, he secured multiple leads, including that of Queen Elizabeth I. In those days, he hadn’t dreamed of a theatrical career. It was merely something he enjoyed. “At that time in my life, I thought I would become a Catholic priest,” said Havard, attributing this to the influence of the priests who were educating him.

In 1953, when Havard was 12, his family immigrated to Alberta, Canada. He became immersed in amateur dramatics. At 14, he was cast

F

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In 1983, Oliver was the first musical produced by the Walnut Street Theatre Company. The cast included (from left) Tom Everly, Edmund Lyndeck, Katherine Buffaloe, and Nadine Isenegger.

as Miles in “The Innocent,” a production of the renowned Dominion Drama Festival. “The festival was held all across Canada,” explained Havard, who later studied theatre at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. However, his university life was short lived. After two years, he left college to accept a scholarship at the prestigious Banff School of Fine Arts. During the summer festival, he was cast as Lucentio in “The Taming of the Shrew.”

His mother tried to steer Havard away from the stage. “There were a lot of broken marriages and substance abuse in the theatre,” noted Havard. But her warnings didn’t deter his path. Ultimately, Havard elaborates, with a career in acting, he couldn’t control his destiny. Needing to support a young family—he has three children from his first marriage—he parlayed his livelihood away from acting. He has never looked back.

Truth be told, Havard said: “I was always a nervous actor. I suffered horribly from nerves.

My one big fear is public speaking.” Clearly, a grander theatrical picture is what fate had in store.

URTURING THE WALNUT has been a labor of love and so much more than any 9 to 5 job. Havard works at least 60 hours a week and is on call 24/7. He is present at rehearsals, openings, board meetings, union negotiations, fund-raising galas—whenever he is needed.

Much like the fine-tuning of any show, the facility must also be attended to. Havard says they’ve always kept up with necessary repairs and refurbishing—interior and exterior. This is evidenced by the Walnut’s imposing façade, with its 19th century columns—updated yet

intact—a striking juxtaposition to the contemporary buildings that share the neighboring streetscape.

In 1998, major remodeling of the Mainstage area (orchestra & mezzanine) included all new, classic red velour seats, carpeting, upgraded lighting and sound equipment. Several years ago, the seats (1,100 in the Mainstage, 85 in the studio theatre), were again replaced.

Havard reveals news that may surprise some theatregoers. Plans are under way to build a 400-seat theatre in the round, restaurant, studios and rehearsal halls on the grounds where the parking lot to the East of the property now stands. Construction is expected to begin in late 2019. For anyone fearful of parking woes, Havard assures there is ample space across the street at Walnut Towers.

“I want people to be excited about our expansion,” said Havard. And if history is any indicator, a dramatic encore may yet be in store. n

The Walnut’s 210th Anniversary Season The official theatre of the State of Pennsylvania will kick off its 2018-2019 season with Irving Berlin’s “Holiday Inn,” September 4 – October 21, 2018 and conclude with “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” May 14 – July 14, 2019.

Visit www.walnutstreettheatre.org Walnut Street Theatre 825 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 574-3550

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D PROFILE

Renaissance Woman

Diane McGraw with husband Tug McGraw

BY SAM CARCHIDI

Diane McGraw, the pride of Ridley Park, is a renaissance woman in the sports and entertainment industries, two male-dominated fields.

And, yes, she is part of THAT dynamic McGraw family.

McGraw wasn’t yet married to her famous husband, Tug, when he was a bundle of energy on the baseball field and played a key role in the Phillies’ first-ever World Series title in 1980.

But she seems to have his gift of always being in perpetual motion, always looking for the next adventure.

McGraw, who is 63 and has the drive of someone half her age, never stops dreaming, never stops working, never stops extending a jaw-dropping resume.

She is now writing a book about her remarkable life—a few chapters are devoted to her late husband, Tug, whom she says is “still around” (see sidebar)—and serves as president of a company (McGraw Productions) that specializes in sports, entertainment and tourism marketing.

McGraw is also exploring opening a restaurant, accompanied by a cooking show, called Home Plate, which would bring in celebrity chefs and athletes and be tied together with the “Who’s On First?” band. The project, she said, would keep her husband’s legacy alive; she and Tug, who loved to cook, were working on a restaurant/entertainment endeavor before the colorful former reliever died of brain cancer in 2004 at age 59.

She is also hoping to re-launch a program at Temple University to help students learn the

McGraw

behind-the-scenes aspects of the sports and entertainment business. McGraw hopes the program goes national some day.

The Renaissance Woman is a busy person.

“It’s in my blood; it’s not unusual for me to be doing multiple projects at the same time,” McGraw said in a recent interview.

One of her company’s projects with McGraw Productions is helping launch the Mu-

seum of Sports near the South Philadelphia sports complex.

“I’m trying to help them with anything from fund-raising to athletes’ appearances,” she said.

In addition, she works with Lindy Snider, daughter of the late Ed Snider, the long-time Flyers owner, with her Athletes for Care Foundation. The foundation “helps former pro athletes re-engage back into careers, and any kind of assistance they need coming out of their old careers,” said McGraw, who now resides in Newtown Square after living all over the world in the last 40-plus years.

Her endeavor at Temple is called the Dare to Dream program, which mentors high school and college students on behind-the-scenes careers in the sports, tourism, and entertainment fields.

She is in discussions with Temple to re-start the program in October. ________________________________________

ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO, the genesis for McGraw’s Dare to Dream program was created while she was working in Los Angeles and did a seminar at Crenshaw High. A junior from the school, a member of a state-title basketball team, enthusiastically volunteered to be one of her interns that summer.

“This kid lived in South-Central Los Angeles and probably never walked into a high-rise building in his life,” she said. “He got on a bus every day and put on a tie and jacket to work (with her) in downtown Los Angeles and he helped me with a Super Bowl bid. He did research. We worked on the Olympic Torch Relay.

We had all these events we were bidding on.

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“It’s in my blood; it’s not unusual for me to be doing multiple projects at the same time,” And when he went back to being a senior in high school, he said, ‘Mrs. McGraw, I just want to thank you because now I know there’s a job in sports if I don’t make it playing basketball.’

So that’s how Dare to Dream started. I thought if I could just reach one student with this information, let’s do a big program and invite all the kids from the school districts to come.”

McGraw and Tug moved back to the area, and she held the initial Dare to Dream program at Temple in 2003. “We had over 1,600 kids participate in the first program, and I had all the pro sports teams come out and all the TV stations and radio stations and all these (related) fields came out for the kids,” she said. “We filmed people in their jobs and showed them the behind-the-scenes jobs, whether it was the Eagles or Comcast Spectacor or others.”

Added McGraw, who is trying to raise money to fund this year’s program, which is free to students: “There are so many jobs out there that kids aren’t aware of—there’s operations, there’s marketing, there’s finance, there’s player development. I put three boys through college myself, and I know that a lot of high school students have no idea what they want to go to college for…..This gives them an idea of the kind of jobs and the kind of education they need for it.”

In the past, the program has been held at Temple, St. Joseph’s, and Neumann in Aston, PA. McGraw wants to add workshops to the new program. “And I’m hoping to add Dare to Dream programs in other industries like healthcare, technology, and culinary arts,” she said.

All of which begs a question: Does Diane McGraw ever get any sleep? ________________________________________

pressive list of celebs, such as Joan Rivers, Robert Duvall, and Cliff Robertson. McGraw was the behind-the-scenes person who negotiated the deal to get the event on the USA Network.

The tourney benefitted the Astoria Motion Picture and TV Center Foundation and launched McGraw into her career in sports.

For five years, she produced tennis matches in New York, bringing in some of the sport’s marquee names.

McGraw later ran celebrity tennis tourneys in Holland and Germany for two years—bringing in the casts of then-popular TV shows like Dallas, Hill Street Blues, Dynasty and Cheers— to raise money for the Queen Wilhelmina Cancer Foundation.

Her reputation as a sports/celebrity producer was gaining momentum.

In 1989, she produced the first United States

OVER THE YEARS, while working for the Philadelphia Sports Congress, McGraw helped bring many sporting events to the city—such as NHL and Major League Baseball all-star games, a soccer exhibition between the United States and the U.S.S.R. that helped kick-start the U.S.’ successful World Cup bid, and several U.S. Olympic and NCAA championship events.

Her past is filled with eye-opening accomplishments. While serving as executive assistant for the Screen Actors Guild in Astoria in 1978, she helped bring movie production back to New York City, and she created the “I Love New York Pro-Celebrity Tennis Tournament,” featuring stars such as John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Vitas Gerulaitis, along with an im-

Diane wouldn’t let him because he would have to miss school.

McGraw with tennis legend John McEnroe

men’s national soccer team exhibition against the U.S.S.R., drawing 43,356 at Franklin Field and demonstrating that the U.S. had the interest to host a World Cup, which it did in 1994.

McGraw worked for the Philadelphia Sports

“I belong there.”

Diane McGraw’s husband, Tug, died in 2004, but she says in a matter-of-fact tone that the one-time Phillies star relief pitcher is “still around.”

spending almost an hour in the team’s clothing/ memorabilia store at the ballpark, the stands had emptied. Most fans were on their way home.

Even though he had died four years earlier, Diane said in a recent interview, “I will tell you that Tug was here when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series.”

Diane and Matthew sneaked down on the field; she wanted to take a commemorative photo of her son on the mound.

She gets teary-eyed recalling that, at the time the Phillies won the title in 2008, she was living and working in Louisville. “We watched the World Series in Kentucky when they won and the kids were going crazy,” she said.

Her middle son, Ian, planned to drive from Kentucky to Philadelphia for the parade. “And Matthew, who was only 10 or 11 at the time, said, ‘Mom, can I go with Ian to the parade?’ ”

“And when he went to bed that night and I checked on him, the poor guy was crying,” McGraw said. “He said, ‘Mom, you don’t understand. I BELONG there.’”

Diane changed her mind. She and Matthew boarded a plane the next day and flew to Philadelphia. They worked their way to the championship ceremony at Citizens Bank Park, where, earlier in the series, Tim McGraw—the actor/superstar singer who is Tug’s son from a previous marriage—placed some of his father’s ashes on the pitchers’ mound.

Matthew wore his No. 45 jersey—the number worn by his dad—and people asked to get photos taken with him when they learned he was Tug’s son. After the memorable championship ceremony and after

“We get there and Cole Hamels is being interviewed by a woman on NPR,” McGraw said. “She turns around and it was Donna McQuillan, my next-door neighbor growing up. “She says, ‘Oh my God, Cole, do you know who this is? This is Tug McGraw’s wife, Diane, and their son, Matthew.’

Cole and Matthew And Cole Hamels starts tearing up because he’s remembering that Tug had some presence there for them.”

Diane asked Cole if she could take a photo of him and Matthew on the mound.

“It would be my honor,” Hamels said. “And as were standing there, this other young woman walks up with a film crew.”

Matthew was interviewed by the crew. Diane McGraw was later sent a 2008 World Series tape of the championship run, “and it ends with Matthew,” she said. “And if you remember, when we were in Kentucky, Matthew said, ‘I belong there.’ Tug brought him up here.

“Tug is looking after us.”

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Congress from 1988 to 1994, during which time she prepared bids for the 1992 NHL AllStar Game; the 1993 Navy-Notre Dame college football game; and the 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. She also did work to keep the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia by creating a city-wide festival and annual gala to accompany the historic matchup.

She served as president of the Orlando Area Sports Commission in 1994 and eventually became the first female chairman of the National Association of Sports Commissions, which now represents more than 600 cities across the country. ________________________________________ AFTER SPENDING TWO YEARS in Orlando, McGraw moved to Los Angeles and led the country’s first sports and entertainment commission. Among her accomplishments: Helping lure the Grammy Awards from New York to the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Tug, who married Diane in 1995 and died in 2004, deserves a lot of the credit, she said.

In Santa Monica, Diane McGraw met with Michael Greene, who was then the head of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Greene, according to McGraw, was upset

“I moved to New York when I was 21 to get into acting. I found out my real talent wasn’t in front of the camera, but behind the scenes.” with Los Angeles “because someone made a comment that the Grammys didn’t bring economic impact to the city. So he was furious with the city and didn’t want to deal with anyone there.” Hence, his conversation with McGraw wasn’t productive until he asked if she was related to a famous McGraw.

“I said, ‘Yes, I’m Tim’s stepmother,” she said of the actor and country-music superstar.

“No, I’m talking about Tug,” Greene said, revealing the pitcher was once his favorite player and that “I named my dog Tug after him.”

That set things in motion. A few years later, after the Staples Center was built, the Grammy Awards relocated to L.A. Two years after Tug’s death in 2004, McGraw returned to the industry and headed the highly successful Greater Louisville Sports Commission. She later became the executive director of travel, tourism and film for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a two-year stint that ended in 2015, when the administra-

tion changed over.

Working behind the scenes wasn’t always at McGraw’s forefront. She had another dream when her maiden name was Robertson and she was growing up in Ridley Park.

She wanted to be an actress.

“I used to do skits on the old Mike Douglas Show,” McGraw said about a TV program that was filmed in Philadelphia in the 1960s and 1970s. “When a co-host would come on, they would call me, and I would do these little comedy skits or whatever. I later did some modeling and I thought, ‘I’m an actress.’ I moved to New York when I was 21 to get into acting.”

That changed over the years.

“I realized I had a knack for producing and organizing,” said McGraw, who has three boys—Christopher, 34, and Ian, 33, from her first marriage, and Matthew, 21, from her marriage to the former Phillies relief pitcher. “I found out my real talent wasn’t in front of the camera, but behind the scenes.” n

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THE CIGAR GUY _____________________________________________

BY SAM KRAFT

Sponsored by The

Smoking Dog

H. Upmann Nicaragua by A.J. Fernandez Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra • Binder: Corojo 99’ • Fillers: Nicaraguan and Dominican

A.J. FERNANDEZ has been very busy blending. Being one of the most sought after men in the business, A.J. has collaborated with multiple cigar manufacturers to craft specialty cigars. His name is on a Romeo y Julieta, The Hoya De Amistad by General Cigars, a Montecristo, The Kudzu by Southern Draw, and several others. This time, Altadis Cigars has called him back to contribute to one of their oldest cigar labels, H. Upmann. Just like all of A.J.’s previous collaborations, the newest H. Upmann is blended with Nicaraguan tobacco, as opposed to being dominated by Dominican leaf. A.J.’s cigars tend to have a lot of flavor to them, but never an overabundance of strength. His H. Upmann follows that same mold.

Once lit, the H. Upmann Nicaragua emerges with a sweet barnyard flavor. It is grassy and earthy with only a slight amount of black pepper. Chocolate and coffee notes are also detectable. After an inch of ash, the cigar gains some nut characteristics and smooths out.

The earthy flavors still remain, and the smoke is reminiscent of whole grain bread. The cigar is pretty consistent from the second third to the last third. It trucks onward, only becoming slightly more bitter towards the end of the stick. It should also be noted that the construction and burn of this H. Upmann is flawless.

A.J. knows how to blend a cigar that pleases both beginners and veterans. He consistently releases both flavorful and quality stogies. The H. Upmann Nicaragua by A.J. Fernandez measures up to those expectations. It is delicious and affordable, with very few flaws. n

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MEN & WOMEN OF THE YEAR HONOREES JerseyMan and PhillyMan Magazines are proud to recognize those in our area who demonstrate the rare combination of business excellence and dedication to community service. These Man & Woman of the Year candidates will be honored at our 4th annual Unmasking the Legacy event, held on November 8, 2018, where a portion of ticket proceeds will go to the winner’s designated charities.

John Murabito is the President and Founder of RE Business Solutions (formally Ribbons Express, Inc.). John was born and raised in South Philadelphia by two hard working parents who instilled great work ethics in him.

John attended high school at Saint John Neumann in Philadelphia and while he was there he started working at Shields Business Machines.

After graduating he continued to work at Shields where he worked his way up the ladder. After many years of successfully building relationships with clients and learning all aspects of the business he decided to start his own company, and launched Ribbons Express, Inc. in 1988 in the basement of his parent’s home in South Philadelphia. John’s small business moved from the basement to a thriving business with multiple locations, to their current headquarters in Cherry Hill, NJ. RE Business Solutions has been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the Delaware Valley Murabito is the Vice President and co-founder of the Johnny M Foundation. It was his vision along with his former wife Patti, to ensure their son’s memory lives on and helps other children along the way.

John has enjoyed actively working with several charities including For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation and the Ronald McDonald house in Camden, NJ. Both organizations are near and dear to John’s heart and have been the recipients of some of The Johnny M Foundation’s efforts.

John is supporting The Johnny M Foundation for JerseyMan/PhillyMan’s 4th annual Unmasking the Legacy event.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Violeta Yas is a bilingual meteorologist for Telemundo62 and NBC10.

Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina and raised in North Jersey, Violeta joined the Telemundo62 team in January of 2014. She attended Rutgers University, New Brunswick, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies, with a minor in Spanish. She later graduated from Mississippi State University with a Certificate of Broadcast Meteorology.

Violeta began her weather career in 2010 as a bilingual broadcaster for AccuWeather. Violeta has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, ABC World News Now, The Big Ten Network, Fox Sports, Telemundo Atlanta, ZBM-TV, and various other Spanish networks across all of Latin America. The opportunity to forecast weather for a wide range of viewers, countries, climates and topographies in two different languages on a daily basis, really established and honed Violeta’s interest in weather, and how it affects people globally.

An active member of the community, Violeta is very involved in mentorship on a personal level, and in connection with the Institute for Women’s Leadership program at her alma mater, Rutgers University. She is also a strong supporter of The Boys & Girls Club, having participated as a child.

When the weather is not threatening, she loves writing, watching sports or scary movies, playing basketball and snowboarding.

Violeta is supporting Boys & Girls Club of Philadelphia for JerseyMan/PhillyMan’s 4th annual Unmasking the Legacy event.

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THE ENTREPRENEUR COACH _______________________________________________________________________________

BY JOHN HOPKINS

Buying PredictAbility ™

A Moneyball for the Business Owner

P

HILLY IS ONE OF THOSE GREAT AMERICAN SPORTS TOWNS that love their teams even when they lose. And Philly teams were losing —a lot. Until 2018!

Villanova emerged as the 2018 NCAA champs, and the Eagles won the Super Bowl in February 2018. The Flyers made the playoffs—first time in a long time. The Phillies, in the dumps for three years, are contenders for first place in the National League East. The 76ers ended 2017 in the cellar, but made it to the playoffs in 2018.

LUCK OR DESIGN? What explains the high tide of performance in Philadelphia? An epidemic of good luck—at long last?

To quote the legendary Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers, “Luck is the residue of design.” We know that the 76ers budgeted $3 million in 2017/2018 for a team of researchers in a data analytics program. We also know the other winning Philly teams are investing in human data analytics.

SABERMETRICS The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) was founded in 1971, and in 1977 baseball historian-statistician Bill James published his first annual Baseball Abstract, which analyzed teams using a statistical approach he called “sabermetrics” in honor of SABR. In 2003, journalist Michael Lewis published “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game”, which detailed how the Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane used sabermetrics to build a high-performing team on a lowperforming budget. A 2011 film adaptation, Moneyball, brought the concept to an even bigger audience.

Sabermetrics—Moneyball—brings design to luck by replacing ignorance with data, darts with data, if you will. It uses the statistics each

player’s performance generates over time to create very specific profiles that can be used to assemble, develop, and coach a team not in the hope of getting wins, but by statistically increasing the probability of wins. Using sabermetrics, Billy Beane acquired, developed, and coached players whose profiles predicted they would close precisely the performance gaps that needed to be closed to create wins.

Sport franchises are businesses on which livelihoods depend. They are also competitive enterprises in which athletes invest the very purpose of their lives. This makes winning an existential issue: To be, or not be? It is a version of the question World War II posed to the Americans we call the Greatest Generation.

A “SECRET WEAPON” THAT HELPED WIN WORLD WAR II Among them was Arnold S. Daniels. In 1942, the young man answered the war’s existential question by joining the Army Air Corps. Like all recruits into that elite branch, he was subjected to ten days of assessment tests. Most recruits hated it. Daniels was fascinated, and, after flying his quota of missions as an 8th Air Force bombardier, he teamed up with a psychologist to compile and analyze data on the effectiveness of the strategic bombing campaign.

sessment does not replace luck with certainty, but does displace chance with predictability.

In civilian life, he went on to develop The Predictive Index® (PI), which, over more than 60 years, has been continuously enhanced and refined into what I call moneyball for the business owner.

Examples of PredictableWorkplace Human Analytics: • Natural Needs

• Decision Making Style

• Natural Behaviors • Risk Orientation • Leadership Style • Stress Sensitivity • Selling Style • Common Traps • Communication Style • Coachability

“People are the Net Worth of the Company”

PredictAbility™

His bombardier experience had already taught him that successful missions were about more than aircraft and ordnance. They were about people! Each B-17 or B-24 was crewed by ten.

Each man had a different job, but all had to function as a team. With luck, a crew evolved into a team. Luck is important to an aircrew, but the Air Corps wanted design. Commanders needed predictability. The service sent Daniels to Harvard Business School to study advanced statistical methods and apply them to refining the human analytics of bomber crews.

Skillfully applied, PI enables owners and managers to select, recruit, and retain the best “athletes” for their organization and its unique needs. The various assessments PI generates can be used to guide recruitment, advance self-sustaining teams, and coach individuals to sustainable growth for themselves and for their entire organization. PI, when expanded into the practice of PredictAbility™ brings to today’s relentlessly dynamic and incredibly complex business environment what databased analytics brings to high-stakes sports: a predictable route to more wins. Today’s business owners and executives can do what the Army Air Corps did in the 1940s and bigleague sports are doing today. They can buy predictability! n

At the end of World War II, Daniels left the Air Corps, persuaded that data-based human as-

Want to learn more about PredictAbility?

Contact john@inspiritgrowth.com

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LegacyClub A social club

where business happens

We are proud to introduce you to our private business network n Do you want to expand your network in

Philadelphia and South Jersey?

n Do you want to create powerful connections

with other business professionals in the area?

n Do you want to attend exclusive networking

events once a month at local venues?

LEGACY CLUB SPOTLIGHT “Like most business owners today, the thing I need to manage most carefully is my time. As a Legacy Club member, I have the opportunity to meet with other high-level, like-minded executives in upscale locations that never disappoint. With the support of the JerseyMan/PhillyMan leadership, I have made many new meaningful connections, gained friendships and grown my client list.”

– John Vanderslice, President of Sandler Training

“ As with most professionals, business development is a critical component of my practice. It is part of the job, but it doesn’t always have to feel like “work.” That is one of the hallmarks of the Legacy Club. All PhillyMan/ JerseyMan events strike the right balance by bringing together skilled business leaders from both sides of the river in a productive, but highly enjoyable, environment. I’m grateful for the partnerships that I’ve developed since becoming a member.”

– Trevor J. Cooney, Esquire of Archer & Greiner, P.C.

To learn more about the Legacy Club contact Ken at: ken@jerseymanmagazine.com or call 856.912.4007

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Stephen Abbonizio, Synergetic Sound & Lighting Kathy Albanese, Independence Blue Cross Catherine Allen, M Financial Planning Services, Inc. Joe Allen, Sonitrol Matt Auterson, AnnieMac Home Mortgage Keith Baldwin, Spike’s Trophies & Awards Louis Barberio, Barberio & Rich Financial Services Greg Basile, TRU connect Suzanne Bauer, Inspira Health Network Steven Beagelman, SMB Franchise Advisors, LLC Paul Becker, DDP Roofing Services, Inc. John Bertino, The Agency Guy, Inc. Brian Bielawski, ARC Document Solutions* Marcin Bielecki, Capital One Bank Kimberly Biglin, PCH Technologies Matt Blatz, PCS* Ken Bode, Integrity Staffing Solutions Tony Bonanato, OceanFirst Bank Andrea Boscaglia, TD Bank Carrie J. Boyle, Boyle & Valenti, P.C. Al Branca, Rx Cut Michael Brookshire, Wells Fargo John Brophy, NJ Advance Media Scott Brown, Scott Brown Insurance Agency Kimberly Bryson, Girl Scouts of Central & Southern NJ Alexander Buzbee, Conner Strong & Buckelew Nickie Caccese, F.C. Kerbeck & Sons Sheri Caja, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Daniel Caldwell, Stout & Caldwell Taylor Campitelli, The National Kidney Foundation Louis Cappelli, Jr. , Camden County Department of Events Floyd Carl, Stifel Financial Corp.

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Dr. Thanuja Hamilton, Advocare Sharon Hammel, Republic Bank Berkley Harmon, Insperity Bob Harriett, Harriett’s Energy Solutions Whitney Harris, Heroic Public Speaking Jim Harte, J. Harte Associates LLC Catherine Heaman, Prelude Solutions Leor Hemo, Vantage Real Estate Services, LLC Chris Henderson, Wolf Commercial Real Estate John Herring, Liberty Bell Bank Matthew Hetrick, First Professional Brokerage Matthew Higgins, Advocare John Hiltwine, NJLS Robert Hoey, Janney Montgomery Scott Robert Hoey, Jr. , Janney Montgomery Scott Michael Holt, Holman Frenia Allison, P.C. John Hopkins, Inspirit Growth

LegacyClub Members Vince Ceroli, Ductz of South Jersey* Ren Cicalese, Alloy Silverstein Group Vincent Cieslik, Capehart Scatchard, P.A. Dr. TJ Citta, LegalShield Vince Cocciolone, Creative Visual Productions Jon Cofsky, whitepenny Larry Cohen, BCA Insurance Group Michelle Cohen, Union Home Mortgage Cheryl Colleluori, HEADstrong Foundation Pamela Collins, Oaks Integrated Care Trevor Cooney, Archer & Greiner P.C. Richard Corboy, Green Shoot Capital Peter Cordua, HBK CPAs & Consultants Tom Costello, RE Business Solutions Michael Craig, Pennworth Financial Services George Cressman, Jr. , Bohler Engineering PA, LLC Ray Cristofoletti, DURAND, INC. Joseph Cronin, The Cronin Firm James Crosby, Crosby & Co. Rob Curley, TD Bank Constance Curci, RE/MAX David Czarnecki, 215 Secure / CzarStar Security Justin Deal, PayDay Anthony DeGerolamo, DeGerolamo Financial Services* Roxanne DeHart, Foodwerx by Nicholas Caterers* Charlene Delia, Western Pest Services Nick DeRose , Legacy Treatment Services Sheri Desaretz, Looking Forward Coaching* Joe Devine, Kennedy Health Gary DeVito, Zarwin Baum Devito Kaplan Schaer Toddy, P.C. Chris DeYoung, DeYoung Financial Group Mike DiGilio, Academy Mortgage Devin DiNofa, Keller Williams Real Estate* Lia Domenick, Allstate John Dougherty, Wells Fargo Gerald Dorn, MeridianBank Pamela Downes, Downes Designs Jeff Drozen, Gaspar Insurance Joe Duncan, Pine Valley Investments Ken Dunek, New Opportunity Publishing George Duffield, National Integrity Doug Easlick, The Graham Company Donald Eichman, Alcom Printing William Emerson, Emerson Group Julia Emery, Peerless Business Advisors Carl Eppolito, Insight GTM Bill Evans, Liberty Fox Technologies Shana Fannon, Humanscale Philip S. Finocchiaro Jr. , Chiaro Construction Services Michael Fiore, The Income Experts Mark Fisher, Fisher Wealth Management Jerry Flanagan, JDog Junk Removal & Hauling Sean Flanagan, Always A Good Sign Ted Flocco, Ernst and Young Lauren Flounders, Fusion Employer Services* Steve Foreman, Financial Business Systems, Inc. Daphne Forte, DPM Designs, LLC* Marc Franzoni, Commonwealth Agency, Inc. Lynn Fraser, Emerson Group

Bryan Hornung, Xact IT Solutions Kristi Howell, Burlington County Chamber of Commerce Nicole Howell, Woodcrest Country Club Theresa Hrivnak, Indulgence Cupcakery Bryan Hughes, Total Technology Resources Daryl & Shari Hulitt, SharpLink Staffing, LLC Kenyon Hunter, Evolution Ave Group at KW Edward Hutchinson, Hutchinson Mechanical Services Tim Irons, T.C. Irons Insurance Mike Jaconelli, TAM Lending, LLC Jeff Jaskol, The Jaskol Group Philip Jaurigue, Sabre Systems, Inc. Keith Johnson, Laurel Lanes Larry Johnson, Total Traffic Control Lisa Joswick, Blackbook, LLC Kenneth Justice, KMJ INC. Abbie Kasoff, Say It With Clay Alex Kazmarck, Surf Mall Jessica Kiefer, Del Frisco’s Michael Kiernan, Earp Cohn P.C. Phil Kirchner, Flaster Greenberg Robert Kennedy, The Kennedy Companies Jeffrey Alan Kerstetter, Kerstetter Law, LLC Janine Kiriluk, Janine’s Bookkeeping Anne Koons, Anne Koons Real Estate Edward Labman, Santander Joe LaGrossa, McKella 280 Stephen Lang, HBK CPAs & Consultants Keith Langan, Surety Title Company, LLC Julie LaVan, LaVan Law William Lees, Jr. , New Life Properties LLC Roy Leitstein, Legacy Treatment Services Sam Lepore, Keller Williams Real Estate Tony Lepre, Lepre Energy Group Elizabeth Leska, Wells Fargo Brian Libby, Primepoint Josh Lignana, Spadea Lignana, Attorneys at Law Ryan Loro, Santorian Michael MacFarland, TD Bank Douglas MacGray, Compassion Advisors, LLC Brian Madalion, Insperity Adam Malamut, Malamut & Associates, LLC Matthew Malinowski, Corporate Source Mike Mamula, CSS Inc. Betty Maul, FrontEnd Graphics* John Mazzola - CREATIVE Financial Group John McAdam, Pioneer Business Ventures Lindsey McClaren, Ocean Prime Marla McDermott, The Walnut Club Meredith McGinnis, CFI Brian McGroarty, Core Title* Michael McGuire, Johnson, Kendall & Johnson Steve Meranus, EBE Events and Entertainment Frank Messina, All Risk Jeremy Messler, Jeremy Messler Photography, LLC Earl R. Miller, Mainline Private Wealth John Milne, Corporate Synergies Nick Mink, Guaranteed Rate Brian Minker, Able Technology Partners, LLC

Rosemarie Mohr, CAMBRiA Hotel and Suites Philadelphia Anthony Mongeluzo, PCS Ron Monokian, We Make It Personal by Joy’s Hallmark Harry Morad, Pine Valley Investments, LLC Kathy Morgan, Integrity Staffing Solutions Dan Morroni, Morroni Custom Clothiers Jeff Moser, Cordicate John Murabito, RE Business Solutions Charles Muracco, CLM Advisors Peter Musumeci, TD Bank Eric Myers, Riverfront Limousine Service Phil Naro, American Athletic Courts, Inc. John M. Nolan, Jackson Lewis P.C. Sandy O, Creative Juice Joe O’Donnell, Fulton Bank Lori O’Leary, O’Leary Counseling, LLC Michael O’Leary, Design Studio 312 Joe O’Malley, Stewart Business Systems Marc Oppenheimer, Parx Casino Damon Pennington, ATS Group, LLC Tom Peric, Galileo Communications, Inc. Ian Perler, STAR Real Estate Group, Inc. Devon Perry, VisitSouthJersey.com Jeremiah Phillips, Profound Sound & Video, LLC Jaime Picozzi, J2 Solutions* Emil Pilacik Jr., EMCO Technology, Inc. Carmen Pilone, M&T Bank Tony Plakis, ADP Frank Plum, Workplace HMC Inc. Bonnie Pollaci, Katz/Pierz, Inc. Josh Poli, Prelude Solutions Chuck Polin, The Training Resource Group Fred Poritsky, FZP Digital Casey Price, Price and Price, LLC Rachel Rau, City Abstract Mike Regina, Big Sky Enterprises, LLC* Matt Ribaudo, Body Science Media Edward Rivas, Cherry Hill Group Benefits Mike Rosiak, Weisman Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital Daniel Rosenberg, Daniel M. Rosenberg & Associates, LLC Jill Ross, Beneficial Bank David Rossi, CORT Andrew Ruhland, National HR Donna Sadwin, Design Studio 312 Guillermo Salas, The Salas Team, RE/MAX One Wendell Sammons, Wells Fargo Mike Schad, CMG Financial Derek Schaffer, American Financial Network Inc. Craig Schroeder, Commonwealth Proper Joseph V. Scorese, Firstrust Kevin Sentner, FEDWAY Jeremy Shackleford, WSFS Bank Jennifer Sherlock, Jenna Communications, LLC Michael Sherman, Vanguard Building Solutions, LLC Gary Shickora, Northwestern Mutual Bill Shipp, Downing Street Capital, LLC Eric Shugarts, Rx Cut Joe Silva, Kokua Technologies* Lisa Silveri, AGENCY Real Estate Partners, LLC Joe Simone, Regional Resources Energy Group Marc Sinkow, Synch-O Elizabeth Six, Republic Bank Nate Sklaroff, Cheltenham York Josh Smargiassi, Boomerang Andrew Smith, OSI Consulting Frank Sorrentino, Ardmore Toyota Jade Soto, Dave & Buster’s Philadelphia Briana Sposato, In Between Rivers Greg Star, CARVERTISE Lee Stokes, Compliance Services Agency Scott Tanker, Tanker Consulting Services Brian Tierney, Streamline Payroll, LLC Brooke Tidswell, Univest Megan Timber, Tao Architecture + Design Kenneth Toscano, New York Life Insurance Company Jordan Traenkner, Traenkner Building Services, LLC Jim Travis, UBS Financial Services Inc. Paul Tully, Eagle Wealth Strategies Les Vail, Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce* Nicolaus Valentino, Temple Sports Properties Ken Valles, The Capital Grille John Vanderslice, Sandler Training Alyssa Vargas, Keller Williams Real Estate Wendy Verna, Octo Design Group Jon Vogel, 215Marketing Josef Vongsavanh, Center City Photo Monica Walsh, Vantage Real Estate Services, LLC Robert Walz, Jr. , Calhoun Agency, Inc. Benjamin Watts, Liberty Bell Bank Bill Webb, Saratoga Benefit Services Jo-Ann Weiner, J.L. Weiner & Associates, LLC CJ Weiss, Seasons 52 John White, Peerless Business Advisors Andrew Whipple, Greentree Mortgage Company Christofer Wilhelm, Gateway Mortgage Group Rob Wishnick, Guaranteed Rate* Jason Wolf, Wolf Commercial Real Estate Wendee Yudis, WY Design Vittoria Zaslavsky, BB&T Bank Jim Ziereis, Tropicana, Atlantic City Jack Zoblin, Cory Communications

*JerseyMan/PhillyMan Ambassador

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JerseyMan • PhillyMan

’ chairman s club Jon Cofsky

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HBK CPAs & Consultants

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Contact ken@jerseymanmagazine.com or call (856) 912-4007 for more information • www.jerseymanmagazine.com

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WHAT WE WEAR

_______________________________________________________________________________

BY DANIEL R. MORRONI

The Possibilities of Sports Jackets

S

PORT JACKETS provide an excellent opportunity to showcase your personal style. When you’re designing your next custom sport coat, take time to consider a wide range of stylistic options, and you’ll create a sport coat that you love.

Custom clothing should be a joy to wear. It not only will fit perfectly but also can give you an emotional lift each time you wear it. For your next sport coat, consider light colors and bold patterns as well as the typical tans and blues. Brightening up your clothing can easily brighten up your mood.

Selecting a pastel plaid fabric for the jacket makes an eye-catching statement, especially if you choose one with several colors in the plaid. Keep to colors in the same color family if you’re looking to tone down the visual effect.

Sport jackets are great for weekends and events that call for style without the formality of a full suit. Dress them up by pairing them with dressy trousers, or dress them down by wearing them with stylish jeans and boat shoes.

For your next custom sport jacket, try something bold or bright, plaid or patterned. Remember that we’re here to help you find just the right fabric to create a look you love.

“Fashion writes in bold italics, while style whispers between the lines.”

– G. Bruce Boyer

Q&A ASK DANIEL

Question: I’m going on vacation, and need some suggestions for dressing better than the average tourist. Do you have any general recommendations for me?

Answer: Casualwear is a great opportunity to showcase your unique style and rise above the ordinary vacation-goer. Here are a few general suggestions.

Instead of flip-flops, try leather sandals or boat shoes. Choose tailored polo shirts over tee shirts. (If you do opt for tee shirts, wear solid colors instead of tees with sayings or graphics.) Leave the stretchy, athletic-style shorts behind and go with canvas, denim, or madras shorts. Choose light-colored khaki slacks or jeans instead of sweatpants. n 86

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@PCS_AnthonyM

TECH TIME

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BY ANTHONY MONGELUZO

iRestore: High Tech Offers Hope to the Balding Crowd

I have a friend who is mostly bald, and he always tells me that the lack of hair adds at least five years of age to his appearance.

Some bald guys laugh off the loss by claiming that baldness is a sign of higher testosterone levels. Not true. (Sorry!)

The bottom line, regardless of what people say, is that they will notice (at least silently) that you possess a good head of hair or that you sport a bald or thinning pate.

The good news for those who suffer from baldness is that there is a technological solution that offers hope.

You might wonder, why does an IT Geek like me care about a baldness cure. (I have a full head of hair—so far.) I love tech and gadgets that work, make life easier for us or are just “cool,” even if they’re not directly related to my IT business.

That’s why iRestore, which I mentioned on my recent Fox TV segment, seemed like a real winner. For many people, thinning hair is an issue of concern.

www.irestorelaser.com

T

HIS IS A QUESTION of perception and hair. Whenever you look at a guy who has a “good look,” what do you often think? “He’s got great hair.” And the negative side of that thought is, of course, “He’s going bald.”

Some people accept it, and others consider several alternatives.

One is a wig. That leaves you the subject of comments behind your back. “Is that a wig?” or even worse, “That’s not a very good wig.” In short, an untidy solution.

The other alternative, which is very expensive, is a hair transplant.

Then you’re in hock for thousands of dollars, and sometimes you need to keep returning for added “treatments.” iRestore is worth a look by any person (women lose hair too) who has thinning hair. Here’s what makes it exciting: • FDA OK. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the iRestore Laser Hair Growth System, and it is a “clinically proven at home solution for hereditary hair loss.” The best part is that you can use it in the privacy of your home, it’s noninvasive (no pain), and you won’t have to deal with side effects or take any drugs.

• “MIRACLE CAP.” The device works by stimulating and improving the scalp with a device that employs medical grade cold laser technology. You wear the device over your head (like a hat) for 25 minutes every other day. It shuts off automatically. You can wear it while reading JerseyMan or PhillyMan, or watching me on Fox TV. A little patience is required because you’ll start to see improvement in about three months.

• THE GUARANTEE. Here the perfect ending to this product. If it doesn’t work for you, iRestore will refund the entire amount including shipping costs. As they like to say, “There is no risk.”

My hair isn’t heading south yet, but if it begins to go, I’m in with iRestore. n As always, let me know your thoughts. I would love to hear your feedback, or if you would like to make a suggestion for a future article, reach out to me at Anthony@helpmepcs.com or on Twitter @PCS_AnthonyM.

ADVERTISE WITH US

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THE WINE

MAN

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BY ROBERT KENNEDY

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Wine Fraud: Buyer Beware!

RINK WHAT YOU ENJOY, regardless of the label or price point. It’s a mantra of mine, as many of my readers know. That said, to very sophisticated wine collectors, the labels and price points do become the reason for the purchase, and not necessarily the wine itself. Many of the wealthiest collectors rarely open and drink the world’s best of the best. It’s like art. It’s there to observe, assess, evaluate and soak in. When those extremely rare bottles of 1945 Clos St. Denis from Domaine Ponsot turned up at auctions in the past, those that had the means bid them up madly. As long as they weren’t opened, and simply went from cellar to cellar, they became like a great Matisse—at times very abstract.

The world’s biggest wine counterfeiter, and first to be convicted of wine fraud, is Rudy Kurniawan. Kurniawan hung in billionaire circles, duping them on forged wines that sold at auctions for hundreds of thousands believed to be authentic. (He once sold approximately $24.7 million of wine at one auction in 2006—the largest at the time.) That’s some expensive wines. Interestingly, he eventually was caught, not from someone with a sophisticated palate that could tell the difference, but from getting sloppy. Kurniawan was bottling some pretty good forged stuff, but selling it for many times that, so not surprisingly, that’s not what got him into trouble. Kurniawan went sideways when he produced a magnum of Petrus from 1921 when no magnums were ever available in 1921. The 1945 Clos St. Denis from Domaine

I don’t know one person that likes to get ripped off, regardless of the price point. So, how do we truly know the authenticity of a very high end purchase?

They are viewed, cellared, discussed and then resold. To the many who can afford the cost, it very much becomes an investment.

On very special occasions, when these beauts are opened, only the most discerning palate can truly know the difference between a bottle that’s as expensive as a Ferrari, and one that’s ten percent of that. (Robert Parker is one of the very few.) After all, taste is so subjective at this level that few can claim to be an expert on how they are truly meant to be. But unlike art, the real value is inside the bottle, and not front-and-center right there on the canvas. So, how would one know if the wine isn’t a fake if it’s rarely or never opened?

Ponsot I mention above? Laurent Ponsot’s family wasn’t in the wine business until 1982.

I don’t know one person that likes to get ripped off, regardless of the price point, nor the size of the wallet. When we view restaurant wine menus, we tend to look at what “values” there are. Some restaurants markup wines more than 300 percent, so we gravitate towards the ones that we know have good value. Obviously, this is somewhat different than not getting what we purchased, but getting ripped off, nonetheless. So, how do we truly know the authenticity of a very high end purchase?

Wineries now have anti-counterfeiting solu-

tions to confirm this. Chateaux Margaux uses three security systems for detection: Secure paint, bubble tag, and laser etching. By doing so, it makes it possible for the wine estate to cross check information. Another technology utilized by Chateau Lator is taking Near Field Communications’ chips (NFC) and embedding them on the backs of labels. These are very hard to detect, and a good way for wine makers to ID the wine’s authenticity.

ET ANOTHER METHOD currently being implemented is Radio Frequency Identification or RFID through smartphones. This is a tracking and tracing system that will allow the consumer to know the wine’s history from inception to purchase with a high degree of confidence.

As you see, some wineries, particularly the higher end French wine producers, are now taking steps to ensure confidence that the wine’s value is what it portends to be. It’s somewhat alarming that it needs to be this complicated, however.

We know wine has a tendency to coalesce people, bringing us together for wonderful conversations, great dining experiences, and a genuine-ness that creates lifelong friendships.

Yes, there’s a real science and mystery to wine and winemaking, added by its historical references, but we want and need to keep it simple.

My recommendation to not getting ripped off? Know what you’re buying by becoming educated on the winery, vintage and wine before making a higher end purchase. Do your homework and put the time into research before picking that bottle, especially if it’s an older vintage that will be laid down for years to come. By doing so, you can feel confident that what you just purchased is at a value you expect. There’s always a chance that you can get duped, as with Rudy Kurniawan’s very sophisticated clientele, but with today’s technology and some extensive investment in research, the probability of getting tricked will be minimal, and the assurance in value will be high. n

Y

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THE ENTHUSIAST ______________________________________________________________________________________________

BY ANDREW RYAN

The Strange Dreamscape of Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino “I hated it,”

said my drummer friend John, giving me his opinion on the new Arctic Monkeys album Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino. “The whole thing was way too slow.

I didn’t get it. There are no riffs!” he exclaimed before reminding me of some of our mutual favorite tracks from previous albums. “There’s more to life than riffs, John,” I offered in its defense. But I could see his point.

Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino. is not your standard rock album. The album feels more

like the score to a thoughtful James Bond movie than a typical Arctic Monkeys album. In fact, like the famous spy himself, the albums finest moments are those in which it leaves almost no trace of itself. With a few notable exceptions, this is not what you’d call “hummable” music. The lyrics are daunting and vague, its slow tempos and nighttime tone change suddenly and its tracks bleed together in a way that makes this record feel more like an artistic experience instead of a simple collection of unconnected songs. Think Pink Floyd’s Animals

rather than Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality.

“Master of Reality—now THAT’S a sick album,” John reminded me.

A loosely swooning concept album at its best and a droning cacophony of dissonant bass lines and stripped down drum tracks at its worst, Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino. is easily one of the most intriguing albums I’ve ever listened to. Even after my fifth listen-through I still can’t quite get a bead on it. It’s forgettable, but forgettable in the way you can’t remember a strange dream you’ve had only minutes afIllustration by Dan Dinsmore

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ter waking up, leaving only vague impressions and implanted feelings completely unfamiliar and unconnected to reality. And like a dream you’ve just forgotten, you would give anything to dive right back in to try and make sense of the curious experience.

In the interest of transparency, I must admit to being a fairly big Arctic Monkey’s fan ever since the release of their first album, Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not. Borrowing indie-rock cues from bands like The Strokes and injecting trace amounts of British Invasionstyle rhythm, Arctic Monkeys electrified the entire world of rock ’n’ roll by seemingly reinventing the wheel. While remaining heavily grounded in the familiar, the quartet somehow managed to literally invent a brand new genre of rock—one that still lacks adequately specific classification. The closest parallel I can draw to accurately describe the new sound they created would be to invoke the advent of the Fosbury Flop, a high jump technique popularized by American athlete Dick Fosbury in which, rather than straddling the bar face-first as most of his peers did, he would launch himself backwards over the bar, thus lowering his center of gravity, allowing him to jump even higher. Without violating any pre-existing rules, Fosbury changed the face of the entire sport, just as Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not managed to reinvent rock without ever straying outside the lines of the genre. In both cases, it would take true visionary thinking to uncover what was hiding in plain sight the entire time.

But that’s where Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino. differs from its predecessors. In many ways, this album does break the rules. Written largely on piano (rather than guitar), front man Alex Turner confidently explores brand new territory, channeling lounge singer vibes and electric piano-laden slow jams. And as my friend John was quick to point out, this album isn’t going to please everyone. This is an album for the jaded—for those who, simply put, have become somewhat bored with the current state of rock ‘n’ roll.

f you’re anything like me, you live and breathe rock music. You listen to some Zeppelin on your way to the office and Van Halen before going out on a Friday night. You pour through the “recommended for you” section of your Spotify account in hopes of finding exciting new bands almost every day. You even thought about changing the password on your laptop to “geddyleerocks2112” until you realized the dweeb at the Apple store would probably (and, let’s be honest, rightly) call you a nerd. And, if you’re anything like me, you’ve listened to so much rock ’n’ roll throughout your life that you’ve kind of heard it all before.

This is an album for the jaded –for those who, simply put, have become somewhat bored with the current state of rock ‘n’ roll.

There are only so many power chords you can listen to before everything starts to bleed into everything else. That new Queens of the Stone Age track reminds you of a Dead Weather song, which makes you think of an old Heart track which makes you think of Grace Potter and how her brand of blues-rock reminds you of a song from JET’s second album. Rock is not dead, but at times it can certainly feel like it’s exhausted. And that’s why Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino. succeeds.

If I can leave you with only one bit of advice it would be this: give this strange rock ’n’ roll album a try. I’m not going to go as far as to claim this album will reinvent rock music in any truly significant way, but what it will do is reinvent the way you think about rock music, even if only for a fleeting forty-one minutes. It

will challenge you in the way The White Album challenged Please Please Me. It will force you to consider a new perspective on the genre and question not only the current state of rock ’n’ roll, but where it will end up in five, ten, or fifty years time. You’ll hear things you aren’t used to and will perhaps even rattle your Wang Dang Sweet Poontang-honed sensibilities. It won’t answer any questions once it’s over nor will it hold your hand during the scary bits. It will force you to draw your own conclusions. And even if you end up hating it, you’ll only end up finding even more comfort in your old riff-heavy favorites.

But spend one night in Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino., and perhaps you too will discover there’s more than one way to make a truly fascinating rock album, and there just might be more to life than riffs. n

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SAY GERV?

Gervase Peterson was a cast member on the reality series “Survivor” and is an actor and entrepreneur. He keeps busy fulfilling personal appearance requests and speaking engagements across the country.

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BY GERVASE PETERSON

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ay Gerv? Our last child is off to college and now it’s just me and the wife. What are we supposed to do now?

– Chris, Woodbury, NJ

Chris, you’re finally going to be empty nesters. Congratulations! Yet it seems like you and the wife aren’t too happy about this. Let’s see, what can you do now? Hmmmmm. Oh, you could turn the kid’s room into a poker room or an in-home gym. You could walk around the house naked now that the kids are gone.

Or you could reconnect with the wife since it’s just the two of you now with no distracting kids around. Chris, you can do anything you want. That’s the beauty of your situation. I’m sure you’re going to miss the kids, but trust me, they’ll be back. They always come back.

So why not enjoy this new-found freedom you have. Start a hobby you’ve been dying to do.

Or just enjoy the peace and quiet. You and the wife have done your jobs. You’ve raised the kids right and sent them off to college. So, enjoy your kid retirement. And if you’re still unsure of what to do, come over to Burnz Cigars and have a smoke with me! _________________________________________ Say Gerv? My girlfriend’s family doesn’t like me, but she wants us to go away with them for a week on vacation. I don’t want to go, and she said that if I don’t go, it’s over. What should I do?

– Tommy, Bensalem, PA Tommy, that’s a tough decision you’re going to have to make. It’s easy for me, but tough

‘‘

I’m sure you’re going to miss the kids, but trust me, they’ll be back.

They always come back.”

for you. You should talk with your girl and let her know it’s uncomfortable for you to be around a bunch of people that don’t like you. You can deal with them in everyday life, but to be trapped with them for a week is too much. It wouldn’t be a fun vacation for you or for them either, with that drama going on.

Now I can see why your girl wants you to go, but until that drama can be settled or her family can treat you civilly, there’s no need for you to put yourself in that situation. That ultimatum though is the line in the sand. If she made this an ultimatum situation, you better believe they’ll be more of them coming your way every time you won’t do something she wants you to do. And that, my friend, is no way to live. _________________________________________ Say Gerv? I’m 50 years old and I’ve been dating a 25-year-old. My friend keeps telling me she’s too young and to date my age, but I really like her. Do you see a problem with this?

– Brian, Marlton, NJ Brian, I’ve dated some younger women, and my friend Maggie used to say the same thing to me. What do you have in common with someone younger than you? I told her we like to eat, we like to drink and we like to fool around. The building blocks of any relationship. She didn’t find that funny. Honestly, I don’t see a problem with it, Brian. You both are adults, you know the situation you’re getting into, and you like each other. As long as you’re open and honest with each other, I say go for it! And why do you have to date someone your age? Who wants to date someone with high blood pressure, arthritis and the gout? If you had those things in common you wouldn’t want to date that person. Look, in these crazy times, finding someone who loves you for your good and bad qualities, that’s a win. At the end of the day, we all just want somebody to love us for us, and if you find that person, they’re a keeper. n

Got a question for Gerv?

Send your questions to:

saygerv@jerseymanmagazine.com and look for his answers in the next issue!

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