People in Business, Dec. 9 – New Jersey Herald

Rebecca Kesselman has joined Century 21 Geba Realty in Sparta.

“I am so pleased to have ‘Becky’ join our company,” said Donna Geba, broker/owner. “She is professional, intelligent and a pleasure to work with. She is perfectly suited to sell real estate in Sussex County.” Kesselman and her family relocated from Connecticut to Sparta about 12 years ago after extensively searching for a town that they felt a connection with. They fell in love with the beauty of Sparta and the rest is history. The tight-knit community and the overall friendliness of the town drew them in.

Before pursuing real estate she was involved in volunteering with Sparta school activities and the sports teams her sons were active in. As her children grew she’s been able to spend time volunteering with the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice as a hospice volunteer; the Church Mouse Thrift Shop, located at the Sparta United Methodist Church; the Manna House soup kitchen in Newton; and the Project Self-Sufficiency Food Pantry in Newton.

“My Sussex County community is important to me and being able to give back to others in need of help is what I enjoy,” Kesselman said.

“Becoming a real estate agent seemed like a natural next step coming from a family also in the real estate business where the example of following ‘The Golden Rule’ of treating others the way you would want to be treated was taken to heart.”

The one of many things she loves as a real estate agent is being able to work with clients and build a lasting relationship for years to come. She enjoys connecting with first-time home buyers and seeing the excitement in their eyes as they embark on this first experience as well as a family looking to downsize and find their new perfect home in the next chapter of their life.

Century 21 Geba Realty is located at 23 Main St., Sparta.

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Ursula H. Leo, a partner with Sussex County law firm Laddey Clark & Ryan LLP and chair of the firm’s Employment/Labor Practice and Government Services Groups, taught a course on “Bias and Discrimination” as part of the Labor and Employment Law Certificate course offerings by the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.

Among the topics she explored were the legal definitions of disability, legal requirements of reasonable accommodation, what constitutes disparate gender and race treatment, and issues of concern to union representatives.

Leo is the current attorney for the Town of Newton, Green Township, Stanhope Borough and the Lafayette Township Land Use Board. She represents individuals and developers in their applications before planning and zoning boards and various government entities. 

Named as a Super Lawyer Rising Star since 2010, Leo was also honored as one of Sussex County’s “20 under 40” and was named a 2014 Leader of the Bar by the New Jersey Law Journal.

Laddey, Clark & Ryan is a law firm with more than 15 attorneys practicing from an office in Sparta. The firm was established in 1989.

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Max Custer and Robert Surovich, Lakeland Bank vice presidents, commercial loan officers, recently received the NJ Bankers Emerging Leader Rising Star Award. Custer and Surovich were selected by NJ Bankers’ independent judges to receive this award for exhibiting the characteristics of true leaders.

Custer joined Lakeland Bank full time in 2011 as a junior credit analyst, advancing his career to his current position. As a commercial loan officer, he is responsible for cultivating and maintaining comprehensive banking relationships with business professionals in a variety of industries.

Focusing on both the commercial real estate and middle market sectors, his daily tasks include generating new commercial loan opportunities for the bank which can be complemented with other bank products and services.

“It is a sincere honor to be recognized by NJ Bankers as an Emerging Leader Rising Star,” Custer said. “There is no shortage of talented young bankers across the New Jersey marketplace and to be acknowledged amongst them is a significant accomplishment. I am truly thankful and gracious to be recognized for the hard work I have put in over the last seven-plus years.”

Surovich joined Lakeland Bank in 2012 as a senior credit analyst. As a commercial real estate loan officer, his primary responsibility is to generate new commercial loans for the bank, which includes a variety of products such as mortgages and lines of credit.

Surovich is also responsible for handling the banking needs of all of his relationships, which encompasses products on both the lending and depository side of the bank.

“To be recognized as a ‘Rising Star’ in banking by NJ Bankers is truly humbling and an award I am honored to accept,” Surovich said. “To be selected for this award amongst my colleagues in the industry is truly special and is a reminder that hard work and dedication does pay off. I am grateful for all the opportunities that Lakeland Bank has given me during my tenure and look forward to building on the foundation that I have received here to continue to validate this wonderful distinction.”

Lakeland Bank is the wholly owned subsidiary of Lakeland Bancorp Inc., which has $5.6 billion in total assets. The bank operates 50 branch offices throughout Bergen, Essex, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Union counties in New Jersey, and one in Highland Mills, N.Y.