The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Inside Press

What Is The Best Advice You Ever Received?

by RONNI DIAMONDSTEIN AND ILLUSTRATED BY NAAVA KATZ

Steve Biren

“Be easy on the people, but hard on the issues.’ This advice has served me well in my careers as a ‘rocket scientist’ engineer and an intellectual property attorney and has been revived in retirement as I administer several social media groups. So many people today have it backwards; they argue and call each other names, and then wuss out when it comes to discussing the issues. The best way to approach the difficult issues of the day, in my opinion, is to have a vigorous discussion on the merits while treating each other with dignity and respect.”

Steve Biren is a long-time Chappaqua resident. Now retired and widowed, he is as an editor for The Examiner, a docent for the Pray Museum, spends time with his Chappaqua family, and plays golf and tennis.

Dana Dince

“The best advice came years ago during yoga shavasana. While we all embraced stillness and the summer breeze through the open studio windows and doors, the teacher said, ‘Allow Peace.’ Unexpectedly, I burst into tears on the mat. The weight of years of absorbing life’s challenges stoically hid a deeper craving for inner peace. Those two words changed me.”

Dana Dince has been a SPED Teaching Assistant at Bell for 17 years; co-runs the Bell Green Bulldogs Club featuring Hydroponics, Bell (traditional) Gardening and Sustainability; and works with the PTA as a school administrator and coach for the 2025 Science Olympiad.

Elissa Weinhoff

“The best advice I’ve gotten is to do your absolute best in whatever you are doing.”

Elissa Weinhoff has been married to her high school sweetheart Greg for 30 years and has three sons Nate, Spencer, and Ben. She owns Sugar Hi in Armonk with her twin sister, is a first responder at Armonk Fire Department, and has been an EMT for over 10 years. Her passion is saving lives and helping people in her community.

Stacey Winnick

“The best advice I ever received was my father’s adage: ‘Roll with the punches.’ Ed Winnick was the youngest of six boys growing up in the depths of the Depression. He served in WW2 and exhibited a mental toughness perfectly captured by his advice to take life as it comes. When I didn’t get into my first college choice, I was devastated, but his words rang true. I got an appointment with the admissions director, took two summer classes, and was finally accepted. ‘Roll with the punches’ is my mantra: a reminder of my father and life’s trials and tribulations.”

Stacey Winnick is a vintage clothing and sustainability influencer. She appraises and blogs on antiques on her Instagram “Turn your Cutter into Cash” and serves on the Briarcliff Sustainability Advisory Committee.

Mother’s Day Tribute to Local Mompreneurs

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Celebrating Power Moms: Local Mompreneurs Turned Dreams into Reality

This Mother’s Day, we honor 4 incredible women who balance motherhood and entrepreneurship with unwavering determination. In our local communities, a group of empowering moms have turned their passions into thriving businesses, proving that with hard work, resilience, and creativity, anything is possible. Join us as we celebrate their inspirations, challenges and successes in this special tribute to mothers who dared to dream big. – Elise trainor

Hip-Kid’s, Trisha Kallman, Chappaqua Momprenuer

Your Business

Photo By Carolyn Simpson

As my three boys grew older, I considered what it would take to open my own store and how such a venture would impact my life. I envisioned creating a vibrant retail space that not only offered beautifully curated clothing and gifts but also prioritized ethical manufacturing, and ways that brands give back. It was important to me that hip-kid would also feature our own unique in-store giving back initiative involving our community, with “The Giving Wall” and “Lemonade Stand…for a cause”, supporting various charities.

Your Inspiration

With three kids, I wanted to ensure I wasn’t working too far from home, given the demanding schedule of running a retail store. Initially, I hadn’t planned to carry toys, but when two local toy stores were closing, it felt like an opportunity. I am deeply grateful to the residents of Chappaqua and the surrounding towns for their unwavering loyalty. While there are more convenient ways to shop, they truly understand the importance of supporting local businesses.

Work/Family Challenges

This type of business doesn’t exactly allow for clocking out at the end of the day. Most evenings, I would spend working long hours at home after my kids were in bed. I’ve been fortunate to have an incredible team over the years, which has allowed me to be present for my kids’ activities, appointments and other important moments.

Mompreneur Rewards

Opening hip-kid has allowed me to meet so many incredible people. Many of my customers have become close friends, and some have even joined the team. The joy and energy that fill the store when customers walk in is such a rewarding experience. It’s also been truly fulfilling to have offered jobs and internships to individuals with disabilities over the years. This is something that is close to my heart.

I’m also so grateful for the trust my customers place in me when it comes to coordinating gifts both personal and corporate. It feels amazing every time someone comes in and refers to hip-kid as their “happy place” – I love hearing that!

Future Plans

We’re thrilled to be celebrating our 10th anniversary this summer! It’s been an incredible and fulfilling journey over the past decade. To mark this milestone, we’re refreshing our look with a new logo and website, making the online shopping experience even more seamless and enjoyable. As part of this update, we’ll be highlighting specifically how our brands give back, prioritize sustainability, use eco-friendly materials, and support ethical working environments. Every effort, big or small, makes a difference.

Sugar Hi’s, Elissa Weinhoff & Hilary Assael, Armonk Mompreneurs

Your Business

Sugar Hi is a destination sweet shop. We are a bakery, candy, ice cream and chocolate store. It’s a happy place for kids and adults! We also offer super fun kids’ birthday parties in our private party room.

Your Inspiration

My twin sister, Hillary, is a talented cake designer who was making cakes out of her home for 20 years. She wanted to take her cake business to the next level and open up a bakery in Armonk. I agreed to be her partner. I was a substitute teacher in Byram Hills at the time as well as a volunteer EMT at Armonk Fire Department. It took about a year of planning and we opened Sugar Hi in October 2017. It has been a hit since day one!

Work/Family Challenges

Our biggest challenge was the long hours we worked for the first few years. We were open seven days a week and we were there from open to close. At the time, our kids were in high school, and we didn’t see them much. It was especially difficult around holidays as we worked even longer hours. It has gotten much better since we have amazing employees whom we trust and work very hard. Holidays are still difficult because it’s all hands-on deck, but we are a well-oiled machine.

Retail, especially the food business, is notoriously a revolving door of employees, which is challenging. We invest a lot of time and money into training managers and our teenage employees with the hopes they will stay. Without a consistent staff, running the business can be difficult. Our excellent team makes all of the difference.

Mompreneur Rewards

The most rewarding part of being a mompreneur is how proud we are of our business. We have worked so hard and been great role models for our kids. We have shown them that hard work and determination pays off. Sugar Hi has been a family affair! All of our kids worked at Sugar Hi in high school. During the pandemic, our kids and husbands worked with us around the clock. That was a difficult but rewarding time. While most families were in lockdown, our family was making people happy with cakes and treats! We were busier than ever delivering birthday and anniversary cakes, cookies, balloons and gifts.

It is also rewarding owning a shop in the town you live in. We know so many people in our community, and they have supported our business since we opened. We love being a part of their happy occasions by providing them with their celebratory cakes. We really enjoy our customers and strive to give them a truly happy experience.

Future Plans

Great news! Sugar Hi Boca is opening in 2025! Our plan for the future is to open many locations because everyone needs a “Sugar Hi”!

Repose’s, Mary Breen, Pleasantville Mompreneur

Your Business

Repose began in NYC in 2019, pivoting to virtual care during the pandemic before finding a new home in Pleasantville in 2022. Our vision has always been to create a warm, intentional therapy practice attuned to our clients’ needs. We recently expanded back into NYC with a beautiful Union Square office and are now reimagining our somatic studio which was once fully virtual.
In Pleasantville, our boutique space at 351 Manville Road includes therapy rooms and an intimate studio for small-group movement and stationary practices. We specialize in therapeutic yoga – yin, nidra, restorative, breathwork, and sound baths – designed to regulate the nervous system and support emotional processing. As stress, anxiety, and isolation reach all-time highs, we’re honored to offer our community a space for true restoration.

Your Inspiration

Repose was born out of a deep desire to make somatic therapies the gold standard in mental health treatment. I’ve spent nearly two decades as a trauma therapist, but my deepest understanding has come from my own experiences. I know what it is to carry deep grief and to mistake the tension in my body for a sense of control.

The trauma-focused modalities that have shaped me – EMDR, Somatic Experiencing™, breathwork, and restorative yoga – changed the way I understood healing, both for myself and for the people I work with, which is why they’ve become the foundation of our work at Repose. These practices offer powerful pathways to transformation, but at its core, it has always been about helping people come home to themselves. It felt natural to bring something I value so deeply to the community that has given me so much.

Work/Family Challenges

Balancing the demands of running a business while showing up for my family and friends is no small feat! The emotional weight of holding space for clients, leading a team, and building something with integrity doesn’t just disappear at the end of the workday – I’ve had to learn, that I can’t pour from an empty cup. Creating structure, setting boundaries, and allowing myself the same care and restoration I offer to others isn’t just important – it’s necessary.

Mompreneur Rewards

It’s deeply fulfilling to show my children what it looks like to build something meaningful from the ground up. They see the dedication, the passion, and the challenges – but also the joy of creating something that truly helps people. The flexibility to be present for them while pursuing my calling is something I never take for granted.

Future Plans

We’re excited about expanding our somatic offerings beyond psychotherapy, deepening our presence in NYC and growing into Connecticut, where many of our therapists are licensed. We envision Repose continuing to evolve, where therapy and embodied practices come together in a way that feels natural, intuitive and transformative.

FRANKENSTEIN-THE MOVIE SCORE Comes to the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center March 22

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FRANKENSTEIN-THE MOVIE SCORE is a Production of Friends of Chappaqua Performing Arts Center

Grammy-nominated composer Michael Shapiro’s FRANKENSTEIN-THE MOVIE SCORE with live orchestra will be performed by the New Chappaqua Orchestra under the direction of the composer at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, 480 Bedford Road, Chappaqua, New York 10514 (info@chappaquapac.org) on Saturday night, March 22, 2025 at 8 p.m.  Doors open at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are available at https://chappaquapac.org/

The classic early sound horror film Frankenstein starred Colin Clive and Boris Karloff (in his breakout role as the Monster) and was directed by James Whale.  The hit movie Frankenstein is largely credited with saving Universal Pictures from bankruptcy, breaking all box office records during the Depression era. However, the film was produced prior to through composed film scores being typically used (indeed King Kong in 1933 was the first film to have a full film score).

In 2002, Michael Shapiro composed an orchestral film score for the classic film Frankenstein and was premiered by The Chappaqua Orchestra at the Jacob Burns Film Center played simultaneously with the movie.  Since its premiere in Pleasantville, the score has been performed in one of its four versions (chamber orchestra, full orchestra, wind ensemble, and opera) worldwide over 65 times from St. Petersburg, Russia, Milan, Italy, Bergen, Norway, Trier, Germany, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester, UK, to performances all over the United States and Canada, including the opera version premieres at the Los Angeles Opera and Atlanta Opera and the wind ensemble version by the Dallas Winds at the Meyersohn Symphony Center. 

The Chappaqua performance, under the direction of composer Michael Shapiro, will be the first time the score has been played in Westchester in over ten years.

Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center Announces New Board of Directors Chairperson

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HHREC new Board of Directors Chairman, Daniel Weinreb

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center  (HHREC) has elected Daniel P. Weinreb as their Board Chairperson. Weinreb is a Principal at Paragon Realty Group LLC, a real estate company based in Westport, CT that specializes in acquiring and developing retail and commercial properties.  Weinreb will serve a three-year term effective January 1, 2025.  He has been serving as a board member since 2005, and succeeds Michael Gyory, who served as Board Chairperson since 2021. Gyory will continue to serve as Vice Chairperson of the HHREC Board.

Weinreb is the son of a Holocaust survivor, Bernie Weinreb, who escaped from the Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania in 1943, fought with the Partisans, and eventually came to live in America in 1947. 

Reflecting the responsibilities, lessons and core values instilled in him by his father, he has, for over 25 years, helped spearhead a Yom HaShoah program designed to educate and enlighten the congregants and children , on behalf of his synagogue, the Jewish Community Center of Harrison; the Community Synagogue of Rye; KTI Synagogue of Port Chester; and Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester. He is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and has lived in Purchase, NY for the last 36 years with his wife, Wendy.

“I am who I am because I am the son of a Holocaust survivor.” said Weinreb. “Nothing has had as important an impact on me as the fact that my father lived through what he did and managed to survive the Holocaust. Along with my mother, he instilled in me the basic understanding of good and evil, what is important – and what is not.  I am truly honored to be elected as the new Board Chair of the HHREC and look forward to continuing working with our talented, diverse, and dedicated Board members. I especially want to thank Michael Gyory, Joseph Kaidanow and Millie Jasper for all their inspired work as well as the leadership they provide.  Rising antisemitism and hatred continue to remind us all how important the work of the HHREC is and, together with our Board, staff, and supporters, we will continue to carry on our mission – to teach the lessons of the Holocaust and encourage students to stand up and speak up for dignity and respect, and against prejudice and bigotry.”

“It has been a tremendous privilege to be Chairperson of the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center for the past four years” said Gyory. “I look forward to working closely with Daniel and HHREC to share the lessons of the Holocaust, genocides and human rights crimes to teachers and students in Westchester County and the greater Hudson Valley area.” 

Weinreb previously served on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Center of Harrison and is a past Chairman of the Real Estate Executives Division of UJA. He and his wife Wendy were among the initial volunteers who worked with Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center to help with fundraising and the development of community awareness activities. They were also founding members of the Parent’s Advisory Council at the Children’s Hospital. 

About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in White Plains New York that serves schools, synagogues, colleges, churches and civic centers in Westchester and the greater Hudson Valley area. The HHREC Mission is to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. HHREC works with teachers and students to help schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum. Since 1994, the HHREC has brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights violations to more than 3,000 teachers, and through them to thousands of students. For more information visit www.hhrecny.org call 914.696.0738 email info@hhrecny.org

 

 

Start the New Year with a New Career at Club Fit!

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If you’ve pondered a career in the world of fitness, a golden opportunity awaits you!  You’ll also have a chance to meet your own fitness goals while helping others do the same.

Here’s how: Join a growing team that’s passionate about fitness, wellness, and making a difference in the community!  Club Fit is hiring, and hosting a Career Fair to find talented individuals to join in shaping a healthier future.

The Career Fair is happening in two locations on two consecutive Saturdays:

January 18th at Club Fit Jefferson Valley & January 25th at Club Fit Briarcliff. Each fair will take place from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.

You can anticipate exploring your potential to fill a wide variety of Open Positions:

These include:

  • Personal Trainers, Fitness Coaches, and Group Fitness Instructors
  • Receptionists, Café Workers, and Childcare Workers
  • Massage Therapists
  • Lifeguards & Swim Instructors
  • Basketball Coaches

Club Fit requests that you complete the prescreen form to secure your onsite interview, and kick off a fulfilling career in 2025: https://www.clubfit.com/career-fair-rsvp/