The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

The Inside Press

William Beecher, Jr., Owner Beecher Funeral Home

by

“I am a 2nd generation Funeral Director who grew up and worked closely with my father in the Funeral Business. It is one thing to have your father at home with you but certainly another to work with him. A different bond is forged and a professional mutual admiration of him being your father, co-worker and boss is established. It is not a situation shared by many and I would not have traded those years for anything. As Father’s Day approaches I reflect on those years and remember all the times we spent together. He passed away in 1988 which seems so long ago, but I now share my time in the Funeral Business with my son, Billy, who represents a 3rd generation of Flooks servicing families for many years to come! Happy Father’s Day to all!”

Bruce Schoenberg, Owner, Oasis Day Spa

by

Harry, Bruce, Marti, and Stella Schoenberg at Yankee Stadium.

“Oasis specializes in positive energy and healthy living. Everything we do here revolves around making you feel better inside and out, from the very real, numerous health benefits of massage, to sending you out with a glowing face after a relaxing facial. And when you feel good about yourself it manifests itself in ways that are not only beneficial to you personally; when you approach people with a positive, refreshed attitude, it radiates and affects those around you. Happiness is contagious!”

Eve Spence and Linda DeMase,  Partners, Auntie Penny

by

Eve Spence’s dad Alvin Raphael with family on the occasion of Eve’s brother’s bar mitzvah.

“When I was a little girl, my father would take me every Saturday to our neighborhood toy store and buy me something. I was a tomboy so I almost always chose a Pinky ball. I knew that that ball would bring the two of us together as we played catch in the front of our house for hours on end. I lost my dad the year I became a teenager.

My business partner Linda also lost her father when she was in her early teens. For each of us, it was a defining moment in our lives. As the youngest in each of our families, our relationship with our fathers was pure mutual adoration. Linda’s father was an accomplished artist, so it’s clear that’s where her creativity and talents come from. My father loved kids. He would pile my sibs and me, along with some neighborhood friends in his work van and take us all for ice cream.

Linda DeMase’s dad, Giovanni Annunziato

For Linda and I, owning Auntie Penny gives us the opportunity to revisit that time in our lives when our fathers were present, loving and protecting us, a time when nothing was better than a trip to the toy store with your dad.

For me, every day is like those Saturdays long ago. And yes, we sell Pinky balls. In fact, we’ll be giving out free Pinky balls to the first 25 kids who come in with their dads on the Saturday before Father’s Day!”

Licia Mikulicic, Owner,  Step in Style

by

Licia’s parents, Joseph and Gabriella Francolla, dancing at their granddaughter Angela Malone’s wedding.

“I was visiting Angela who lives in Chappaqua approximately a year ago when I noticed the town didn’t have a real shoe store. My son-in-law James said: “Why don’t you open one?” So I did! I think I got my confidence from my dad; he was always so supportive of all three of his kids, including me. He guided us to make the right decisions. He also taught me about hard work. He was a chef on the night shift at Stage Deli in New York City for 25 years. My mom was also amazing; she took care of all of us for so many years and just missed her 100th birthday when she passed on March 18.

I miss them both a lot. I think they’d have been very proud of me opening a store here. I do think they are telling everyone from up in the sky, “Take care of her!”

Financial Whiz Andrew Samalin Keeps it Positive

by

Plans for his firm’s Memorial Day festivities were uppermost on Andrew Samalin’s mind when we sat down to discuss “positivity” for this issue.

Last year, the activities at King Street’s “old Crown House,” home of the award-winning investment advisory firm Samalin Investment Counsel, LLC, drew a few hundred people, and this year it’s going to be even better, Samalin said. Think face painting, balloon animals, cotton candy and more. Most of all we are lucky to have Maurice the Magician (who in his words, “is the best magician in his price range!!!”)

In part, Samalin is simply preserving the tradition of the former Crown House owners, but with two young ones of his own (Matthew, 6 and Talia, 4) he has his own special incentive! “It’s great for little kids,” noted Samalin. “It’s tough to be in a bad mood while eating cotton candy…” noted Samalin, who bought and renovated the Crown House in May 2010. The project was featured in the New York Times and highlighted Samalin’s ability to focus on a positive outcome in a difficult environment.

Great too are the accomplishments at Samalin which manages $130 million in client assets custodied at Fidelity Investments, with underlying client net worth of about a ½ billion, according to Samalin, who has been named in multiple arenas as one of the country’s Top RIAs. He developed the “BridgeProcess,” a proprietary wealth management process “by which we look to manage three essential goals: risks, returns, and income.” His firm’s success, he said, revolves around its ability to expertly address these essential tasks with its clients.

“Our market niche is attorneys and their clients; we offer unbiased,
fee-only independent financial analysis and management without any corporate agenda.” If the financial crisis taught us anything it’s that advice may not reside solely in the providence of corporate behemoths; rather, it’s between people. Samalin noted that virtually everyone has blind spots in life, be it professional, personal or financial. “Our clients hire us to identify and help them find those financial blind spots, and manage through them.”

A strong focus at the firm is in the arena of divorce financial planning. He views his role as helping couples both understand their assets and income so that they can knowledgeably assess them, and in doing so, minimize the stress in the divorce process. In divorce, he noted, there’s frequently a financial knowledge disparity between the money and non moneyed spouse. “We help bridge that gap so that both parties come out feeling protected. It’s a delicate process but can radically change the outcome,” he said.

“Our goal is to help them achieve a positive financial outcome both pre and post divorce,” Samalin noted. “We are all faced with circumstances that we might prefer to be different; it’s how we hold and manage through them that makes all the difference.” In the interim, cotton candy and snow cones on King Street on Memorial Day is positively a great choice.
– Grace Bennett