Debra DeSena was named Associate of the Month for the Ridgewood office, a Marron Gildea & Donohue spokesperson announced today. 

“Debra has had a very positive impact on our office,” said Aloysius Donohue, a partner with the firm. “She is an extremely serious and professional agent but at the same time Debra enjoys her work so much that she always looks like she is having fun.  This type of attitude is contagious and it is why both her clients and colleagues enjoy spending time with Debra.”

Debra is a Bergen County native, and currently lives in Ridgewood with her husband and two children, who both attend Somerville Elementary School.  Prior to entering the real estate business, Debra worked for a prestigious Manhattan Law Firm. She feels that having worked on real estate deals in both a legal and a sales capacity gives her a unique perspective and an advantage in today’s competitive marketplace.  Debra is very active in community events and spends a lot of time volunteering at Somerville School.  Her family is also very involved in various sports programs here in Ridgewood where her husband volunteers as a little league coach.

DeSena seems to be very proud of the fact the she earned the prestigious Associate of the Month award within a few months of joining the firm.  She says she was a bit intimidated her first day because everyone at Marron Gildea & Donohue seemed to be so technology oriented. “I knew I was a good agent before I joined Marron Gildea & Donohue but the training here has really enabled me to kick my business up to another level - or two,” says DeSena.  She says some of the newer agents have helped her with technology and she has returned the favor by sharing advice and tips on negotiating and making sales presentations.

For current information on the Ridgewood real estate market contact Debra DeSena at 201.445.8880.  If you are interested in learning more about a career at Marron Gildea & Donohue please contact Aloysius Donohue at 201.445.8880.

Marron Gildea & Donohue Names Kathy Lops Associate of the Month

“This is the second time Kathy has won the Associate of the Month award and she has been with us less than a year,” said Aloysius Donohue, a managing partner at the firm. “Kathy’s success does not surprise me one bit.  She works hard, she is always upbeat and she has a thorough knowledge of the local real estate market.”

A native New Englander, Kathy attended Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.  Upon graduation, she pursued a career in sales and marketing at leading financial institutions across the globe, from Boston and New York to Sydney, Australia. Kathy frequently draws on skills learned in the corporate world in her work as an effective real estate professional.

Kathy and her husband have lived in Ridgewood for nearly a decade and have two elementary school-aged children. She is an active member of numerous community organizations as well as the public school system.

Lops seems to take the awards and accolades in stride and prefers to credit her company, clients and coworkers for her success.  “The management and agents here really work as a team and they have helped me so much since I joined the MGD family,” said Lops.  “I’ve also been lucky to work with some incredibly wonderful clients who continue to refer their friends and family to me.”  Lops says the market continues to be challenging but notes a recent upswing in the number of clients looking at homes and making offers.   She is looking forward to a busy Spring.

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LOPS NAMED MARRON GILDEA & DONOHUE NOVEMBER ASSOCIATE OF THE MONTH

Priscilla “Bitsie” Reynolds Joins Marron Gildea & Donohue’s Ridgewood Team

JENNIFER HENDERSON JOINS MARRON GILDEA & DONOHUE

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Allendale Resident, Jennifer Henderson, joins Marron Gildea & Donohue’s rapidly expanding Ridgewood office.

“We are very excited to have Jennifer on board,” said Aloysius Donohue, a managing partner at the firm.  “Jennifer is a seasoned and dedicated real estate professional with in-depth local market knowledge.  We expect her to be a top performer in our Ridgewood office for years to come.”

Before entering the real estate profession, Henderson worked in Human Resource Management for several Fortune 500 companies including Pernod Ricard USA, Altria, CitiGroup and Avon Products.  She has a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Fordham University and a Masters Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.  She is also active in fundraising efforts in support of the local community.  Jennifer chairs an annual golf tournament that raises money for several local charities including The Journey’s Program (a not-for-profit bereavement program of Valley Hospice); Hope with Heart and several scholarships at Northern Highlands Regional High School. 

Henderson says the highest compliment she can receive is when past clients refer their friends and colleagues.  Obviously, referrals help Henderson grow her business but more importantly she says is the fact that these referrals confirm the great amount of trust her clients place in her.  

Henderson is committed to managing every transaction, from contract to closing, with the utmost dedication and professionalism.   

Henderson says her success in real estate has been driven by her understanding of the market, her ability to manage and cultivate strong working relationships, and her desire to obtain great results for her clients.  Using her negotiation, communication and interpersonal skills, she is able to provide her clients with a unique real estate experience. 

“I am a pretty confident person and I have always known I would be successful in real estate,” said Henderson.  “So when some of my colleagues moved to Marron Gildea & Donohue I was a bit skeptical.  I figured I would succeed based on my own skills and work ethic and wasn’t sure that changing firms would affect my career much - if at all.  However, now that I am part of the Marron Gildea & Donohue family I see what a positive impact a steady stream of leads, a cutting edge training program and a vibrant upbeat environment can have on my sales pipeline - and my overall business outlook.”

As a 23 year resident of Northwest Bergen County (formerly of Upper Saddle River, Franklin Lakes and Ridgewood), Jennifer has developed an expertise in her core market area.   She now lives in Allendale with her husband, Tom, and two young children, Abigail (4) and Jack (1).

Kathy Lops was named November Associate of the Month for the Ridgewood office, a Marron Gildea & Donohue spokesperson announced today.  

“Kathy is already an excellent agent and she gets better every day.  She goes the extra mile to find the exact specifications of her clients’ ‘dream home’ and then she doesn’t stop until she finds that perfect match,” said Aloysius Donohue, a managing partner at the firm. “It’s doesn’t hurt that Kathy is always upbeat and always smiling.  Her positive attitude helps put even the most anxious clients at ease.”

A native New Englander, Kathy attended Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.  Upon graduation, she pursued a career in sales and marketing at leading financial institutions across the globe, from Boston and New York to Sydney, Australia. Kathy frequently draws on skills learned in the corporate world in her work as an effective real estate professional.

Kathy and her husband have lived in Ridgewood for nearly a decade and have two elementary school-aged children. She is an active member of numerous community organizations as well as the public school system.

Lops attributes a good deal of her success to the culture at Marron Gildea & Donohue and the multi-faceted training programs that the company offers. She also says she has benefited greatly from the firm’s lead distribution program.  “I receive high quality leads on a regular basis and this enables me to spend less time prospecting and more time working on my client’s behalf,” said Lops.  “In fact, a client that was referred to me by my manager had an offer accepted just last week.”

Marron Gildea & Donohue is a full-service real estate firm with offices in Ridgewood, Saddle River and Ho Ho Kus. For current information on the local real estate market contact Kathy Lops at 201.445.8880.  If you are interested in learning more about a career at Marron Gildea & Donohue please contact Aloysius Donohue at 201.445.8880.

47 (and counting) Portly Realtors are Each Putting up 50 Bucks to See Who is the Biggest Loser…and Help Out Their Favorite Charity

I entered a similar contest last year that was associated with Ridgewood Dad’s Night and had mixed results.  In other words, I was a big loser but not the kind of big loser I wanted to be.  This contest has a charity component so I am banking on this aspect to give me some extra motivation.  The winner’s charity will receive the contest pot which currently stands at $2350.

I am playing for the Pediatric Epilepsy Center at Beth Israel Medical Center.  Epilepsy is a disease that gets very little publicity and also, unfortunately, very little funding.  Below is a quote taken from noted epilepsy activist and Hollywood director Jim Abraham’s testimony before Congress on the subject of the lack of epilepsy funding and its affect on children.

“I will not burn my time by repeating the inequity you can clearly see, however I will comment on it by saying that until you’ve seen your own child’s eyes go dead and roll back in her head as she drops to the ground, until you’ve watched your own child slowly fade into retardation, one painstaking day at a time, until you’ve seen your child decay from a drug reaction, or, you’ve buried your own child after she drown in her bathtub after a seizure, you can’t possibly appreciate the cruelty of this disparity [in funding for Epilepsy vs other diseases].”

Consider these facts:

• Roughly the same number of people die every year from epilepsy related causes as from Breast Cancer - yet Epilepsy receives a tiny fraction of the funding that is given to Breast Cancer.
• More Americans have epilepsy than muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease combined.
• Of the roughly 181,000 new cases diagnosed each year, 75% will be children.

This is a charity that is near and dear to me because my son Luke has a severe form of Epilepsy called Doose Syndrome. He is one of the lucky ones.  His seizures have been controlled for years due to the help of God and a  brilliant doctor at Beth Israel named Stephen Wolf. I still can’t bring myself to say Luke “had” Doose Syndrome, as in the past tense, even though he has been in remission for years.  I have this irrational fear that saying that the ordeal is over will somehow bring it back.  Luke is doing extremely well but so many children who suffer from Doose Syndrome and other forms of epilepsy are not.  I try to raise awareness of this horrible disease and its pitiful lack of funding whenever I can - but probably not as much as I could or should.

Ok, time to get off my soapbox and onto the scale.  Below is my initial weigh-in number.  On February 1, 2009 whoever has the largest percentage weight loss wins.  Click here to learn more about the contest which was set up by Jay Thompson.

Click Here to Dontate to the Epilepsy Foundation