Spotlight
Kenneth J. Malagiere is owner of Narsiccus Florals in Toms River NJ. They are a Wedding, Event and Everyday Florist.
Ken became owner of Narcissus Florals in 2005, taking over the family business after graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University in the same year.
Ken became involved with Lin’s Linens after working with Liz Balogh, director and president of Lin’s Linens, who was a customer of Narcissus Florals in her other design capacities. They clicked right away and as Narcissus is passionate about many charitable causes, they were open to opportunities to become involved with organizations whose missions the company can support.
Ken says that “bringing beauty and comfort to those who are experiencing tremendously challenging life moments is a mission that I feel is important for any business in our position to support. We have the creativity, product and means to give back
in this small way. It is truly our pleasure”.
Today he leads a design team at Accents by Narcissus, a wedding and event florist on the Jersey Shore and recipient of the 2010 Brides Choice Award. Notably, Ken and his team at Narcissus have been featured in several industry publications including, Floral Finance, Retail Florist and Flowers and Profits.
Ken continues his work as an artist, business owner and concerned citizen while annually completing many commissioned works. Presently, he also serves as President of the Board of Director of the Garden State Philharmonic, and holds board positions on The Wroxton College Advisory Council of Farleigh Dickinson University, Ocean County College Foundation, The Toms Ricer-Ocean County Chamber of Commerce, and The Jersey Shore Business Network, Inc. Other memberships include: The National Political Science Honor Society, SAF Society of American Florists, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County Friend of the Board, and Kiwanis Toms River Day Break. He is an Honorary Commander of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
Presently, Ken lives in Toms River with his loving husband Jonathan and ferocious dog Jax. He is enthusiastic about fine art, golf, and spending time with his friends, family and fabulous husband. Together they travel often, live well and laugh as much as possible.
October 11, 2014 in Spotlight by admin
The Pink Ladies group was started in 2011 in the NJ South district for Sherwin Williams. It is composed of 13 ladies that have varying positions inside the company. They range from sales reps, store managers, assistant managers, coordinators, and decorative product specialists. They began the group as a support system for the women in the district. A place to go for help or ask “that stupid question” without being hesitant. Their mission is to network with local companies and organizations to give back to the local community as much as possible. They also participate in events such as The Color Run and Polar Bear Plunge. Although small, they are a tight-knit group that also branches out to the women’s groups in metro-New Jersey and western New Jersey.
They heard about Lin’s Linens in a meeting with their boss while discussing their women’s leadership group and the organizations they potentially wanted to help. Their boss filled them in on the type of work that Lin’s Linens does and the people that would benefit from it. They thought thought that it was a prefect organization to put the “Pink Lady” efforts into! Although they are a smaller group of women, they wanted to make certain their time could be maximized to help as many people as possible. Lin’s Linens was a perfect match because their company has a very small presence of women, so the fact that 8 ladies could donate their time to affect one very deserving woman was the best reward they could ask for. They also have many women interested in the design process that Lin’s Linens does from start to finish, so the experience was very educational for our group. The Pink Ladies support everything Lin’s Linens does because it is personal, realistic, and has such a strong impact on local people who are not as fortunate as others may be. Thank you for including us and we look forward to the next project!
April 29, 2013 in Spotlight by admin
Crafty Cat Creative for Good
Karaoke Cat is a DJ and Karaoke DJ company. Karaoke Cat was established by Cat Chez, hence, the company name. Cat has always had a passion for the arts, and music has always captivated her heart. Cat always states, “singing is a great form of therapy”. What’s a world without music? Back in the mid 1990’s Cat experienced her first karaoke night in Kentucky on the Mississippi River. She knew then this was something that she would want to have in her life! At the time of her travels she was busy in the sewing industry demonstrating special sewing techniques. When she settled down, Cat started her own business doing karaoke in the Tri-State area. All the arts matter to her, as she spends a lot of time designing and costuming as well as singing and entertaining.
Lin’s Linens entered her life by chance when they were in search of a replacement DJ for their yearly fundraiser, and Cat was thrilled to be able to oblige them. Cat tries to give back whenever she can and does many fundraisers each year. Lin’s Linens touched her heart and even offered designing assistance whenever they need. There was an instant bond between Cat and Lin and the entire Lin’s Linens family, and immediately she was welcomed in.
Cat lives in Sussex County NJ, after growing up in California and moving here when in her mid 20’s. She is married to a wonderful trumpet-blowing musician and they have 6 children between them both. Cat has 2 step children, Travis 32 (the son she never had) and Jessica 25, who has also brought into the world 2 grand children, Nadia 3 and Karina 1.5. Cat gave birth to 4 daughters of her own, Morgan now 23 and a teacher, Michelle 26 a nutritionist and chef, Marie 28, a nurse, and Meika, 32 a store owner with her husband Warren, in Jersey City called “Another Man’s Treasure” an chic little vintage store on Grove Street. Meika is now juggling her store with her baby, Biba Harlow May, and Cat is excited to be not only Grandma, but the number one baby sitter.
Beyond Cat being an avid singer and DJ, she traveled the country teaching sewers and craftspeople the fine art of being artistic with fabric, as well as ways to make sewing simple. Cat comes from a family full of inventors; both her father and sister have invented amazing products for sewing and embroidery! In the late 1990’s you could catch Cat on the Home Shopping Network demonstrating her sister Clare Rowley’s Creative Feet and also some of her father’s products which are now being manufactured by her brother John Rowley.
With all her experience she finds herself dappling in every aspect of design and home improvement. She has plumbed, done electrical, roofed and more. But her biggest passions come from costuming and interior design. Cat has costumed many plays from pre-school all the way up to college. Cat and her sister Clare are working on a new project called Fabrically Speaking. Although Cat was not present for the sizzle roll, the plan is to add Cat to the show as well. Cat hopes to incorporat Lin’s Linens into the show as well.
Cat plans on staying apart of the Lin’s Linens family and looks forward to sharing her talents with the great organization she feels privileged to be apart of.
September 14, 2012 in Spotlight by admin
Tom Walsh, a Barnegat NJ resident, is owner and master carpenter of Tom Walsh, Inc., which deals with all phases of carpentry from simple renovations to building new homes from the ground up. Thirty-three years ago Tom started working in construction after school. This led to union work and eventually operating his own business. Tom has been involved in building from custom interior and exteriors to custom homes here and abroad.
Tom heard about Lin’s Linens through Liz Balogh, one of LL’s board members. He worked with Liz in the past on other interior design projects. “I have great respect for Liz and her work. Liz told me about Lin’s Linen’s mission and I share the belief that a person can heal better if their environment is conducive to healing”. Further, Tom says he believes “it is important for a woman to have a place where she can go and feel special and comfortable especially if she in the fight of her life. Lin’s Linens provides a woman with a sanctuary where she can heal”. This isn’t a foreign topic for Walsh, whose son was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. His son is fine today, cured, and the Walsh family is extremely grateful. Tom related that one of the first things the family did when they found out about his cancer was renovate his room. “My wife and I met with his doctors and were told he would be spending a good amount of time in bed. We installed new carpet and painted the room. We bought a bigger bed and made the room cheery. We have had a lot of great people come into our lives and help us through our situation and we want to pay that forward”.
Tom is married to Kelly, whom he calls “the saint”, and has 5 children ages 23, 22, 17, 15 and 10. Walsh counts boating, fishing, playing drums, swimming, and driving his wife crazy among his many hobbies and interests.
September 13, 2012 in Spotlight by admin
Mark McStay is a New Jersey certified electrician with Electric Miracles, INC and works with Lin’s Linens to make wonderful things happen in the rooms we transform for our Program Sisters. Mark McStay is a talented and experienced electrician; he works in residential, commercial, and industrial settings. He makes things brighter all over the state and specializes in unique jobs: interior lighting, service upgrades, ceiling fans, landscape lighting, pools, as well as Christmas lighting. McStay joined our team because he “thought it was a great cause and wanted to contribute”.
McStay learned about Lin’s Linens from his girlfriend who heard Liz Balogh speak at a function she attended. She told Mr. McStay how she wished she could do something to help Liz’s cause, and he told her she could, that he would be happy to donate his time and skills to a project that needed an electrician and that she could be his helper. Within a few days he was asked to help renovate a room for one of our Program Sisters.
“The room had high cathedral ceilings with an old fan and some really bad fluorescent lighting. Together with Liz’s design skills we changed the fan and replaced the florescent lights with some very nice track lighting. The room was transformed into a beautiful room of tranquility. I have been in my own business for 23 years and this was one of the best experiences I have been a part of. I truly felt as though I helped to make a difference.”
July 25, 2011 in News, Spotlight, Testimonials by admin
