BSPN - Bi-State Professional Networking

05/28/2026

We had the pleasure of listening to Jackie Jackie Allalouf from Where’s The Party?
🎉

From studying Earth & Geographic Sciences/Chemistry in college, to becoming a flight attendant ✈️, to building a thriving event staffing company founded in 2017- Jackie’s journey is anything but ordinary.

Growing up working in the restaurant industry, Jackie realized early on that she loved the fleeting interactions hospitality brought- making people happy, creating a great experience for them, and then watching them go on their merry way. 🍽️✨

While working events for another company, a client once asked her to staff an event herself and bring along a couple of servers. After the event, her friends received tips- but Jackie was told she wouldn’t, because she was “making money off her employees.”

That was the eureka moment Jackie needed. 💡

It became the spark that led to the creation of Where’s the Party?

From backyard parties to weddings 💍, pool parties 🏖️, country clubs, and private events, Jackie and her team help hosts actually enjoy their events instead of stressing over every detail.

Whether it’s serving food, keeping guests happy, managing the flow of the event, or remembering the little things most people forget, her team steps in seamlessly to make events run smoothly. 🍸🍴

If you’re planning an event and need reliable, professional staffing support, reach out to Jackie at Where’s the Party?

Here’s where to find Jackie-
🌐 https://www.wheresthepartyevents.com
Instagram- wheresthepartyevents
Facebook- Where's the Party? Staffing & Events
📞 (845) 641-0281
📧 [email protected]

05/14/2026

This week, we had a bit of a different kind of feature presentation.

Hal Keshner was the presenter.
Well, he didn’t present. He PERFORMED, and how!
He was not alone. 🎶

On piano: Hal Keshner
On drums: Tom Ossa
On guitar: Mitchell Kahn
On vocals: Sean Miller

To know more, hit play on the video below. Sound ON! 🔊

If you have an event and need a bringer of joy into the room, you’ve got to book him.

Here’s where to find him:

Hal Keshner
📞845-548-1896
📧 [email protected]

05/14/2026

Last week at BSPN, we heard from our President, Joseph Baratta from Joseph Baratta & Company Realty.

Joe shared his journey from working as a contractor to building Joseph Baratta & Company Realty into a thriving real estate business with over 140 active real estate agents working with his company. 🙌

What stood out most was his focus on people and leadership.

He spoke about how real estate is a people business- some team members are natural rainmakers and relationship-builders, while others thrive behind the scenes handling paperwork and operations. The key, according to Joe, is keeping people motivated, inspired, trained, and positioned where they perform best. 🤝

And Joe has also written multiple books!!

📚 Balancing Act: about building a life you actually enjoy while balancing family and work

📚 Get Off the Couch: inspired by health challenges in his family and focused on lifestyle and wellness

📚 I Know a Guy: about networking, relationships, and trust

All the books are available for purchase online.

Nobody better than Joe to be our President. 🫡

Here’s where to find him:
📍 Joseph Baratta & Company Realty, Tarrytown, NY
📞 (845) 323-1945
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barattaandcompanyrealty
🌐 https://www.josephbarattaandcompany.com

04/30/2026

For 20 years, our networking group (originally ProMetroNet, now BSPN) has held the same motto…we make business networking fun!

Special thanks to our friend and colleague Hal Keshner for his awesome performance at our weekly breakfast this morning!

04/28/2026

Tomorrow at Dominican University, the 4th annual Work Smart Business Bootcamp will be held. Keynote by John Catsimatidis at 9 am!

Tickets at https://worksmart26.eventbrite.com

John Catsimatidis will speak on Wednesday 4/29 at the 4th annual WorkSmart Business Bootcamp, via Zoom. Breakfast, speed networking and additional talks are sch

04/16/2026

From medical wards to marketing 🩺➡️📱

We had Anu Verma, a board-certified physician turned founder of Anew Socials, a small business that helps other small businesses with their social media marketing and branding.

Anu shared her journey from the world of medicine to building a business centered around helping small businesses show up online with clarity and confidence ✨ During her residency, she realized this was not the path for her, and made the decision to pivot.

She now applies that analytical and structured approach to business- helping owners identify what’s not working, clarify their messaging, and build a cohesive online presence that actually reflects the quality of their work 📊💡

Anu walked us through a recent project where she developed a full brand kit and guidelines for fellow BSPN member Wendy Padilla, My Books Keeper, highlighting how branding and social media marketing go hand in hand 🎯

This is where to find her:

🌐 Website- Anewsocials.com
📧 Email- [email protected]
📞Phone- (914) 200-3805
📸 Instagram- anewsocials
👍 Facebook- anewsocials
💼 LinkedIn- anewsocials

Video courtesy- Derrick Brooks

04/01/2026

We had the pleasure of hearing him speak at our last week’s meeting, and what stood out most was his journey and the heart behind his work-
Derrick Brooks.

Derrick is our group’s commercial real estate agent 🏢, and a proud Rockland County native from Nyack with a deep connection to the community. His early career involved hands-on, physically demanding work, which helped shape the strong work ethic and grounded perspective he brings into his business today 💪

Taking a leap of faith, Derrick transitioned into real estate with one clear goal:
to help people find not just a property, but a place that truly fits their life or business.

Today, as part of Joseph Baratta & Company Realty, Derrick works with clients across both residential and commercial real estate. Whether it’s helping a family find a home 🏡, guiding a business owner to the right location, or supporting someone in making a smart investment, he approaches every interaction with care, honesty, and local insight.

If you know someone who is:
• Looking for a commercial space
• Expanding or relocating their business
• Exploring real estate investments
• Or searching for a place to call home

Derrick is a great person to connect them with 🤝

This is where to find him:

📞 (845) 480-8254
📧 [email protected]
🌐 http://derrickbrooks.josephbarattaandcompany.com
📸 Instagram:

03/12/2026

His journey didn’t begin in media or publishing.

It started with bicycle repairs 🚲, followed by a job at a web development shop 💻. When that job eventually came to an end, he decided to take a different path and build something of his own.

Meet Tom Ossa.

Although Tom studied history 📚, he dove deep into learning technology and digital media, reading extensively and developing the skills needed to succeed in the field.

What began as RocklandWeb eventually evolved into Rockland News 📰, a platform dedicated to sharing local stories, events, and opportunities happening across Rockland County.

Over the past two years alone, Rockland News has published over 1,100 stories, generating more than half a million local page views each year, plus over a million social views annually 📈.

Today, the platform plays an important role in the community by creating awareness for local events, organizations, restaurants, and entertainment happening throughout the county.

Tom’s passion for the community also extends to initiatives like:
• Rockland Music Fest 🎵
• Rockland Events, highlighting entertainment happening across the county
• Rockland Shopping, showcasing more than 400 local stores

Tom also hosts the Rockland Podcast 🎙️ and is the author of two books:
• How to Program Your Life
• 30 Days to a Better Brand

👉If you’d like to get in touch with Tom and his team, or learn more about Rockland News and their work in the community, you can find them here:
https://rocklandweb.com/go/

03/05/2026

This morning we heard from Mitchell Kahn of Hunter Financial Advisors, Inc. 📊

Mitchell spoke about the importance of understanding risk tolerance when planning for retirement and investment strategies. Everyone’s comfort level with risk is different, and making investment decisions without understanding that can lead to unnecessary stress or uncertainty later.

He shared how he uses a powerful assessment tool called Nitrogen, which helps quantify a client’s acceptable levels of risk and reward. 📈 This allows Mitchell to better align investment portfolios with each client’s financial goals, expectations, and comfort with risk.

The goal is simple: take the guesswork out of financial planning and help clients make informed, confident decisions about their future.

If you’d like to connect with Mitchell:
📞 Tel: 914-366-8000 ext. 103
📠 Fax: 914-366-8001
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.hunterfa.com

📸 Photo credit: ISO Rockland

Thank you for sharing your insights with us, Mitchell! 🤝

02/13/2026

This week we had Rob Young from State Line Notary join us and share how he supports real estate and estate planning signings as a mobile notary. ✍️📄

Rob makes the process quick and seamless- handling signings at the table, scanning documents on the spot, coordinating with title companies, and dropping everything off once approved. 📑

He also spoke about the future of notarization, including plans to expand into Remote Online Notarization (RON) in NY and NJ, offering greater convenience, flexibility, and security. 🔐💻
Rob can also coordinate directly with attorneys via email for a smooth process for everyone involved.

Rob is focused on expanding his work with real estate, estate planning, immigration, and family law attorneys, including international cases- without being limited by location. 🌍

Thank you for sharing your time and expertise with us, Rob! 🤝

Getting your douments notarized was never this easy!

If you’d like to reach Rob, here’s how-

📞 Phone: (845) 418-3486
🌐 Website: https://statelinenotary.com
📸 Instagram: statelinenotary