The New Jersey Bankers Association recently installed a new slate of officers for its 2024-2025 fiscal year, including Patrick Ryan of First Bank as chair, Craig Montanaro of Kearny Bank as first vice chair and Elizabeth Magennis of ConnectOne Bank as second vice chair.
Ryan said he is eager for the opportunity.
“I’m very excited for the coming year as chair of the New Jersey Bankers Association,” he said. “This is an exciting and challenging time in our industry.
“NJBankers is in a great position to help member banks navigate these turbulent waters. And, more importantly, the association can help drive meaningful change as we move forward. We have an amazing team of leaders at the association. I’m proud to have this opportunity to do my small part to help the industry grow and prosper in the next year and beyond.”
Ryan is the founder, director, CEO and president of First Bank, and is responsible for the strategic direction and overall performance of the company. Since the bank’s inception in 2008, it has grown to 26 locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida, with $3.59 billion in assets and 288 employees.
First Bank has been named one of S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Top 100 Best-Performing Community Banks in the nation for record growth and profitability.
Montanaro is the CEO of Kearny Bank. He was appointed to serve on the board of directors of Kearny Financial Corp. and the board of directors of Kearny Bank in 2010. He joined Kearny Bank in 2003 when Kearny acquired West Essex Bank, where he served as chief operating officer. He was appointed CEO of Kearny Financial and Kearny Bank in April 2011.
Magennis is the president of ConnectOne Bank, the bank subsidiary of ConnectOne Bancorp Inc. ConnectOne is a leading commercial bank, with over $9 billion in assets, serving the New Jersey, New York and South Florida markets.
Magennis holds over 30 years of experience in the banking industry. As president of ConnectOne, she is responsible for the growth, function and strategic direction of the bank. She joined ConnectOne Bank in 2006 and has played an integral role in growing the company to a top-performing bank with industry-leading metrics.
Steven Klein, chair and CEO of Northfield Bank, will serve as immediate former chair.
In addition, new members serving on the NJBankers board of directors for the 2024-2025 year include:
Atlantic County Democratic Chairman Michael Suleiman wants Joe Biden to remain in the race and is calling on other New Jersey Democrats to reaffirm their support of the president for a second term.
“The corporate media and political elites want to dump President Biden because they’ll benefit from the chaos. Regular folks I talk to outside of the political bubble are sticking with Joe, and so am I,” Suleiman said. “Democratic primary voters overwhelmingly voted for the Biden-Harris ticket, and the wishes of our rank-and-file members should not be cast away.”
Suleiman was elected delegate to the Democratic National Convention on the Biden slate in the June 4 primary; he is obligated to vote for Biden on the first ballot if the president is nominated.
“Growing up in Atlantic County, I learned that we don’t abandon our own. As a family, we stick together and tough it out,” Suleiman said. “That’s why I’m reaffirming my support for President Biden.”
He wants the Democratic congressional delegation and county chairs to publicly state their support of the president.
“Let’s show the nation that New Jersey Democrats are united behind Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” he said.
July 7 (UPI) — A wildfire burning in a New Jersey state Park is 75-percent contained officials said Sunday. It has scorched more than 4,000 acres since Friday.
Fire officials said the extreme heat and rugged terrain is making full containment a challenge.
“It’s hot. I think it’s roughly 94 degrees,” New Jersey Forest Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly said Friday. “Humidity’s up so a lot of wear and tear on the firefighters.
“The fire is burning in a very rugged area of the Wharton State Forest. A lot of it is inaccessible to motorized vehicles and our fire equipment,” Tom Gerber, incident commander of the NJFFS said Friday.
The so-called Tea Time Hill Wildfire was started by fireworks on July 4th and detected by the U.S. Forest Service about 9am the next day.
“A fireworks device lighted inside the forest ignited the fire late Thursday, July 4,” the NJFFS said in a Facebook post.
No structures are currently threatened, the Forest Service said. The NJFFS had previously reported that a residence and hunting club were threatened and park police evacuated Batona Campground as a precaution. A few local roads and trails were also closed. No injuries or damaged structures had been reported as of Sunday.
“On average, 1,500 wildfires damage or destroy 7,000 acres of New Jersey’s forests each year,” the NJFFS said.
In 2023, wildfire burned more than 18,000 acres of forest in New Jersey. The NJFFS responded to more major fires than they had in more than 20 years.
Authorities say a fast-moving forest fire that has burned thousands of acres in southern New Jersey is now 65% contained.
The blaze in the Wharton State Forest was reported early Friday. Officials believe it began in the area of the Batona Campground in Tabernacle, which was evacuated as a precaution.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said Saturday that the blaze has now burned an estimated 4000 acres (1618.74 hectares), but they report having made “substantial progress” in containing the fire. Officials said crews were monitoring and improving containment lines and conducting burnout operations in pockets of unburnt fuel.
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