Emails of Appreciation for the House Tour

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email from Christine Burton, Superintendent of Millburn Township Public Schools:

From: Christine Burton <christine.burton@millburn.org>
Date: May 9, 2017 at 7:03:18 PM EDT
To: Melanie Rosenbaum <Melanie@realshorthills.com>Cc: Jennifer Sowa <jennifer.sowa@millburn.org>, Nancy Dries <nancy.dries@millburn.org>

Melanie,
Thank you for all your hard work to bring the event to fruition. It is a great deal of work to bring everything together for a very
important fundraising effort!
All the best,
Christine
P.S. I will look to get you information for the summer admin. meeting needs as we finalize our planning.

The Superintendent, well the Superintendent came to the Preview Party!  So kind because she had limited time needing to get to a School Board Meeting in the town in which she lives.  She's the President of that School Board!  I'm serious!  So she showed up early to the party, I was running around setting up last minute details, it was funny!   I offered her a drink (with no bar tender there yet), I offered her some food (with the food not yet served), and I offered to take her coat (but she was still holding it when someone went to snap a photo).  I'm not even sure if she toured around the house!  lol  Regardless, it was so nice of her to attend and appreciated her support for the cause.

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email from Jennifer Sowa, Director of Special Services with Millburn Township Public Schools:

On May 9, 2017, at 12:21 PM, Jennifer Sowa wrote:

Melanie,
It was a wonderful event and I enjoyed myself. Thank you for all you do to support the district and our
students with ASD!
Jennifer

Jennifer is the new Director of Special Services.  I seriously believe we are in good hands, and the district is fortunate to have her in this role.  I love how interested she was in the house tour, and of course she was thrilled to learn the funds raised from it were for her to decide on additional parental and professional development programs.   

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email from Victoria Carter from Weichert:

On May 6, 2017, at 6:30 PM, Victoria Carter <victoria@victoriacarter.com> wrote:

Melanie,
Thank you for your hard work and coordinating such a fantastic and meaningful event. It was our pleasure to participate and we are
glad that it was as successful as it was!
Best,
Victoria

Victoria F. Carter
Broker/Associate
Weichert Realtors
505 Millburn Avenue
Short Hills, N.J. 07078
973.220.3050 mobile
www.victoriacarter.com

Seriously a gracious realtor!  With one phone call, a brief description of the philanthropic event, Victoria's response was lovely, warm and welcoming.   She happily confirmed her participation, and graciously made a generous donation.   Thanks Victoria!   

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email from Tom Wragg of Wells Fargo:

On May 8, 2017, at 4:25 PM, Tom.Wragg@wellsfargo.com wrote:

Good Afternoon, Melanie –

I’d like to thank you for getting in touch with me so I could participate in the house tour this

weekend – it was really fun!...it looked like the people who went on the tour had a really nice

time and that they all saw some incredible houses!

I’d love to do this again next year if you are planning to do this again –

Best,

Tom

Tom Wragg

Mortgage Consultant

NMLSR ID 785390

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage | 190 River Rd | Summit, NJ 07901

MAC M6153-031

Tel (908) 608-2213 | Cell (917) 796-7621 | Fax (866) 731-9203

I have not even met Tom yet!  Seriously, surrounded by rock star professionals.

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Architectural and Real Estate House Tour in Short Hills

Dr. Christine Burton, Superintendent; Melanie Rosenbaum, Tour Organizer
and Nancy Dries, Communications Coordinator

The 5th Annual Architectural and Real Estate House Tour Preview Party in Short Hills, benefiting Millburn Township Public Schools and promoting Autism Awareness took place the weekend of May 6th with many in attendance at 12 Ferndale Road in Short Hills. The location of this year's preview party was a modern new construction 10,000 sq ft house that was on the actual tour on Saturday, May 6th from 1-4pm. This particular home has been described as a Simonian Rosenbaum Architects "Falling Water moment" (Frank Lloyd Wrights most famous house).

Melanie Rosenbaum, KW & Stephanie Mallios, CB

Elan Bitan, KW

Jill Bray, PPSI

The day of the tour, six homes were hosted by the following listing agents: Arlene Gonnella and Victoria Carter of Weichert, Stephanie Mallios of Caldwell Banker, Jill Bray of Sotheby's, Melanie Rosenbaum and Elan Bitan of Keller Williams. The tour consisted of 3 new construction homes and 3 historic Hartshorn homes. Tour participants received treats, giveaways, and even a light lunch from Tom Wragg of Wells Fargo and Jon Lamkin of Guaranteed Rate.

Victoria Carter, Weichert

Arlene Gonnella, Weichert with 
hosting homeowner, Chai Gray 

Bruce Engler

The Ferndale house was a fantastic place to throw the Preview Party, and so perfect to create a chance to raise some money for Millburn Township Public Schools. The new Director of Special Services, Jennifer Sowa will be deciding how best to utilize the funds raised for the District. The mutual objective is to further support educators and parents alike; the goal is to provide parental and professional development programs to ANYONE in the district who wishes to participate.  

Director of Millburn Township Special Services, Jennifer Sowa

Several Important District Administrators attended the Preview Party to support the event.  Key figures such as, our very own Superintendent, Christine Burton; Director of Special Services, Jennifer Sowa; Communication Director, Nancy Dries;  Secondary Special Services Supervisor, Brent McGuinness; School Psychologist, Dr. Christopher Mesopotanese; Behaviorist, Catherine Benedetto; LDTC, Leslie Blitz (my son's case manager) just to name a few.  It's a true testament  to the supreme community within our schools, with individuals whom provide an outstanding commitment to excellence for our children.

Exceptional District Special Services Professionals

Last year, a portion of the fundraising efforts went to Autism NJ, who provided four full grants to attend their official state two day conference.  Some of the district professionals who attended include the school psychologist, a district behaviorist, and a self-contained classroom teacher. In the past, many of our school's professionals were only able to attend the conference for one day, however these same employees wrote me a note indicating that they came back refreshed and full of ideas for all of the students (not just the special education students). 

To date the fundraiser has raised more than $30K for the cause spreading Autism Awareness throughout our community educating individuals. The  disorder affects 1 in 41 children in New Jersey.  Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects a person’s social communication and interaction. Individuals with ASD also have restricted and repetitive behavior, interests, and activities. These challenges can significantly impact their quality of life. Individuals with ASD may be more likely to have seizure, gastrointestinal, sleep, and anxiety disorders as well.

Autism New Jersey is the largest statewide network of parents and professionals dedicated to improving lives of individuals with ASD. This nonprofit organization is committed to providing information, education, awareness, and public policy work to NJ’s autism community.

Brynn Alberici, Special Events & Community Relations Manager with Autism NJ

From the bottom of my heart, I'm touched and grateful, by the community involvement and support with this philanthropic effort.

For more information on the Architectural and Real Estate House Tour and how to participate, please see the link. 

For more information on the Department of Special Services of Millburn Township Public Schools, please see the link. 

For more information on Autism NJ, please see the link.