Memorial Day - Remember Those That Have Given So Much

For those living in NJ, I'm sure most of you will agree, that it seems there is never enough time in one day. We're always on the move, running about all the time. Whether it's from one job to another, to baseball or soccer practices, to the grocery store for a "few" things, or whatever else it may be, you can say that most of our cups are "over"filled.

That's why it's very understandable that every now and then we tend to forget somethings along the way.

Coming from a military family, I'd like to remind you that we are celebrating Memorial Day this month. This is a day each of us should remember and reflect upon, and not because of the big sales at the mall.

We need to remember all those that have given so much for this country and those that have given the ultimate sacrifice.

We also need to remember all those young men and women that are still in the Middle East, away from their loves ones.

Keeping with this subject matter, I'd also like to mention that you should keep your eyes open for a new HBO series that should be showing around this time next year. HBO is currently filming a 10-part mini-series called "The Pacific". The series was created by the same team that created "Band of Brothers" and executive producers of this project include Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. It's the stories of three Marines battling in the Pacific during World War II.

What's also very special about this series, is that a member of the GreatNJ.com family, Jon Seda, portrays one of those 3 Marines. Jon takes on the role of Medal of Honor receipient, John 'Manila' Basilone.

John 'Manila' Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal. After his unit of 15 men was cut down to 3, Basilone was able to hold off over 3,000 Japanese troops. Amazing.

Life moves fast, but REFLECT & RESPECT all those that have given so much this Memorial Day.

- Rich

GreatNJ.com Family - Helping NJ's Youth

Hello all.

This may be a shameless plug for my family members, but it's definitely one that should be shared and noted.

On Friday, April 11, 2008, I could not have been more proud of my brother, Ed Rowbotham, who was awarded and recognized by the Vision Latina Organziation for his hard work and dedication to the community and children of Passaic.

For nearly 1o years, Ed has been the Health and Social Services Coordinator at Passaic High School. His primary role is to link students with any agencies that will help reduce or eliminate any economic, psychological, or social barriers to their graduation. Those from an inner city, like Passaic, truly know how difficult that can be.

Prior to that, Ed helped develop the city’s first mentoring program through the United Passaic Organization. Through his hard work and dedication, the Sink or Swim Program was recognized by county and state officials as a model program that could be replicated throughout the state.

Upon graduating from Passaic High School, Ed went on to earn a Bachelors of Arts and Master of Public Administration Degree from Rutgers University. In addition, he also holds a Substance Awareness Certificate from Kean University and is in the process of completing his Administrative Certification at Montclair State University.

Ed is a dedicated husband, father, son, brother and friend. Always working to better our NJ community and our kids, it was great to see him get the recognition he deserves.

Unfortunately, sometimes there are those that work for smaller organizations that are not in the public's eye, that dedicate countless hours of time and efforts and don't get recognization they deserve as well.

Therefore, I'd like to take some time to personally recognize another family member of mine, my sister, Lori Rowbotham.

Lori help develop a community program called Jr. Steps. For the past 6 plus years, Lori has helped mentor hundreds of NJ's youth. From discussions on real life issues (teen pregnancy, drugs, cultural issues, etc) to exploring new areas and avenues, the goal of Jr. Steps has been to show our youth that there is more than just the inner city style of life and basically that they are people that matter.

So a big kudos to my brother and sister but more importantly to my mom and dad, for instilling us all with good values. Reminding us that is always better to Give than Receive.

Keep up the good fight and keep our community strong.

Thanks for making your brother and the Rowbotham name so proud.

- Rich Rowbotham

Movie to See - Be Kind Rewind

Hello all,

I just wanted to let you in on a little film coming out this month called "Be Kind Rewind".

Most of the movie was shot in the fall of 2006 in Passaic, NJ. Plus, I'm very happy to say, most of the extras are from Passaic and part of the GreatNJ.com family, so I urge you to please check it out.

Here's the plot as per Wikpedia (http://en.wikipedia.org):

Jerry (Jack Black) is a junkyard worker who attempts to sabotage a power plant that he believes is melting his brain. But when his plan goes awry, the magnetic field that he creates accidentally erases all of the videotapes in a local video store where his best friend Mike (Mos Def) works. Fearing that the mishap will cost Mike his job, the two friends team up to keep the store's only loyal customer,­ a little old lady with a tenuous grasp on reality ­(Mia Farrow) from realizing what has happened by recreating and re-filming every movie that she decides to rent. The tapes are described as having come from Sweden as an excuse for higher rental fees and longer wait times. Jerry and Mike become the biggest stars in their neighborhood by starring in some of the biggest movies ever made, but soon get into trouble when it turns out their 20-minute duplicate films violate copyright law.

Go and check it out. You just might see someone you know!

Enjoy

GreatNJ.com's "Great American Express Giveaway" kickoff

While the bigger search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc, have multi-million dollar advertising budgets, we're on a very much different one here at GreatNJ.

We decided, rather than pay for print ads or online ads, why not take those funds and reward some of our supporters instead.

So, with that said, why not click on our contest icon on and enter your chance to win the GreatNJ.com "Great American Express Giveaway".

We are awarding a $250.00 American Express Gift Card for first prize. A $100.00 American Express Gift Card for second and a $50.00 American Express Gift Card for third. Why not enter and give it a shot.

Also, if you'd like, be sure to sign up for the GreatNJ.com mailing list. Believe me, we are very anti-spam and won't send you junk emails. We usually only send mailers out when updates have been made to the GreatNJ.com website or for big announcements.

Also, why not sign up for our ClickOutCancer.com mailing list as well. We have set that website up with our friends at More Than Friends (http://www.mtfcares.com/). All we ask is you visit the site daily and click on the "Click Out Cancer" button. All monies generated are donated to charity at the end of the year.

Last year, we raised $730 for the American Cancer Society and $730 for More Than Friends organization. Our goal is to $2500. Please stop by.

Take care and best of luck to all!

PoliticiansNJ.com Officially Launched

Rowbotham & Associates officially launched the newest website in its GreatNJ.com Network, PoliticiansNJ.com.

PoliticiansNJ.com is a simple directory of all State & Federal political representatives for New Jersey. It contains their names, political party affiliations, the area(s) they represent and a link to their respective websites which contain their contact information. An events page, polls page, and link to register to vote is also provided on the website.

"I think it's necessary to have a nice simple listing of all of NJ's political representatives in one place. The idea came to me when I was helping my nephew with his school report. We were up all night trying to find the information he needed. We were jumping website to website and many of those websites contained outdated information.", said Rich Rowbotham, President of Rowbotham & Associates and founder of PoliticiansNJ.com, "I knew if I was having problems finding this kind of information, I'm sure there are a lot of others having the same difficulty. So, I decided to put PoliticiansNJ.com together in hopes of making it faster and easier for others to find what their searching for. Plus, there is contact information on all of their respective websites, just in case you want or need to contact your representative directly."

This is a HUGE election year my fellow New Jerseyans. I would definitely recommend you visit PoliticiansNJ.com and see who your representatives are and let them know how you feel.

Take care and remember to vote!

- Tony

GIANT Hearts prepare for the "Snow Bowl"

The buzz is in the air, as we all prepare to watch "BIG BLUE" (from NJ, I may add) take on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday, Feb 3rd, in Super Bowl XLII. The trash talking has already begun. The food & wings preparations are being taken care of. Those that love to watch the new Super Bowl commercials or are in any office pools, wait in anticipation. This is going to be a great one!

However, I'd like to let you all know about an upcoming event, even more important than the Super Bowl.

On Feb 9 & 10th, there will be a flag football tournament held in Giant Stadium, in East Rutherford, NJ. Registration is open for the "New York Football Giants Snow Bowl Flag Football Tournament" to benefit Special Olympics New Jersey.

The six-on-six, light blocking format, guarantees three games played on the legendary field of Giants Stadium.

Competitive Division games will be held on Feb 9th, while the Recreational Dvision games are set for Feb 10th.

Here's a chance of a life-time to live out a childhood dream and play in Giants Stadium. A $100 deposit is required to participate in the event.

For more information and to learn how to register, please contact Diane Paraskevas at dp@sonj.org or visit the website at http://www.sonj.org

Best of luck to you and GO BIG BLUE!

Happy New Year To All

Myself and the staff at GreatNJ.com would like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy 2008!

We had a great year last year and will continue adding more features to the site in 2008, please visit us often and as always, if you have some ideas you'd like to share, we'd love to hear them.

All the best
- The GreatNJ.com Staff