Strictly Business

Retiring at 50: Could You Follow This Woman's Extreme Savings Plan?

Here's the story of Marlene Konkoly, who found creative ways to spend less and save more so she can retire at 50. This story is the first in our series about Extreme Savers.

Americans may be living longer, but their retirement plans aren’t keeping up. Which means people are living longer with smaller bank accounts. But Marlene Konkoly will retire at age 50. How did she do it? She contributes a whopping 45 percent of the gross annual income she earns as a procurement officer for an automotive finance company to her retirement—all while owning a home and remaining debt-free. Konkoly is actually well ahead of the retirement savings curve compared to many of her fellow Americans. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, fewer than half of Americans even know how much money they would need to retire. And nearly a third of employees who had access to a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k) did not participate…

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Strictly Business

Delegation Seeks to Give Fishermen Say on Squid

Jack Reed, Jim Langevin and Sheldon Whitehouse are petitioning for two Rhode Island seats on a fishery council.

Release courtesy the office of Senator Jack Reed. At 10:15 a.m. Thursday in Galilee, U.S. Senator Jack Reed will be joined by U.S. Representative Jim Langevin, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit and local fisherman in pushing for legislation to give them a seat at the table of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, a regional management board that establishes fishery management rules for stocks primarily caught in federal waters adjacent to the mid-Atlantic coast.  The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Fairness Act, which Senator Reed authored and will soon reintroduce in the U.S. Senate, and Congressman Langevin will introduce in the House, would add Rhode Island to the list of seven states with voting …

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Strictly Business

Washington Trust Promotes SK’s DiSanto

South Kingstown resident Kristen Di Santo has been appointed Executive Vice President of Human Resources by Washington Trust.

Release courtesy of Washington Trust. Washington Trust has announced that Kristen L. DiSanto, of South Kingstown, has been appointed Executive Vice President of Human Resources. DiSanto is responsible for leading all human resources functions, including staffing, training, organizational development and employee relations. In addition, she assists the board with executive compensation matters and SEC disclosures. DiSanto joined Washington Trust in 1994, and most recently served as Senior Vice President. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, DiSanto has a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication. She is also a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island. DiSanto serves on the …

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Strictly Business

Wakefield’s Griffin Named Surgeons’ Board President

The Rhode Island Society of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons names Wakefield’s James Griffin as its president.

Release courtesy of Regan Communications. The Rhode Island Society of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons is pleased to announce its newly-elected Officers and Board of Trustees. James Griffin, DO, of Wakefield, has been named president. Griffin earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology at SUNY at Cortland.  He then earned a D.C. degree from Cleveland Chiropractic College in Missouri.  Finally, he earned his medical degree from University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri. Griffin completed his internship at Union Memorial Hospital in New Jersey, and an internal medicine residency and an anesthesiology residency at Albany Medical Center in New York. He currently practices anesthesiology at South County …

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Strictly Business

Nom Nom Nom! It’s Restaurant Week!

It’s Restaurant Week! Expose your taste buds to entirely new sensations.

From today until Sunday, it’s officially Restaurant Week throughout most of South County! Actually, the week started on Friday, but heck, you probably didn’t need to know about Restaurant Week to go out then. Now that it is the start of a boring, soul-crushing, mind-numbing, lethargic, boring, tedious, sluggardly and boring work week, you especially need a fancy dinner to pep you up. The Narragansett Chamber of Commerce has collected menus and specials on its website. Already, 28 places have shared either menus or specials. Know of any others not on their website? Or, want to share a Restaurant Week experience? Please do so in our comments section!

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Strictly Business

Wakefield Books Celebrates 2nd Year

The independent bookstore is holding a 25 percent off sale to celebrate its second year of operation at the Wakefield Mall.

Release courtesy Bob Ryan of Wakefield Books. Wakefield Books opened two years ago this month as South County’s locally owned independent bookstore in the Wakefield Mall.   We want to thank our customers, so this weekend we are celebrating this milestone with 25 percent off everything in the store on Saturday and Sunday. There will be 75 percent off select titles from sections all around the store and 50 percent off selected bargain books. All remaining 2013 calendars will be just $1 each. Customers can also register to win our anniversary raffle, which will have multiple prizes including a locally-themed gift basket, gift certificates, and books. At Wakefield Books, we are very thankful for the support the community has given us to allow …

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Strictly Business

Koch Eye Associates Acquires Seacoast Eye Associates

The deal, backed by a Boston private equity firm, partners Koch Eye Associates with Seacoast Eye Associates.

Release courtesy Candescent Partners. Candescent Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, announced that its portfolio company, Koch Eye Associates, has acquired Seacoast Eye Associates, a comprehensive vision health company in Wakefield.  Seacoast joins Koch Eye Associates and Eye Health Vision Centers to form one of the largest vision health companies in New England with 13 locations and 335 employees.  Seacoast’s founders, Barry Wepman, MD, and Mark Deresienski, OD, partnered in 2000 after practicing independently for more than 20 years in South County. Seacoast physicians and team will continue to care for patients for many years to come.   Wepman said, “Partnering with Koch Eye Associates will provide us with more resources and …

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Casey's Closing, Rebranding for 2013

The landmark on Old Tower Hill Road will be flipping styles, to steak and seafood, starting in 2013.

Strictly Business

Black Friday and Small Business Saturday Sales – Updated!

We’ve added in some suggestions from Wednesday, but like that Thanksgiving turkey, we’re going in for seconds.

Patch wants to give small businesses a chance to post their hours and locations for Small Business Saturday in one place so local shoppers can find you. Just add your business name, address, hours, and telephone number in the comments below — and note some of the products you have. And hey, the deal totally applies to Black Friday as well! So don’t be shy. If you have a listing on the South Kingstown and Narragansett Patch Places Directory, you can also add that link to your comment so readers can easily find other info about your business. Don't have a listing? E-mail stephen.greenwell@patch.com and we'll set up a free listing for you. As I get comments and e-mails with deals, I’ll add them in to this article. So far: For more of Business…

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Strictly Business

Annual Mariner Marketplace This Saturday!

Get a bunch of crafts, jewelry, beauty product and arts shopping out of the way before Christmas, plus, more than $3,000 in raffles.

The second annual Mariner Marketplace takes place Saturday, Nov. 17 at Narragansett High School, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event features exhibits with fine art, and there will be vendors with crafts, jewelry, holiday wreaths and ornaments, and a slew of beauty products as well. In addition to all of the goods, there will be more than $3,000 worth of raffle prizes. More than 100 artists, vendors and crafters are expected. If you donate a toy to Toys for Tots, then you’ll also receive a free raffle ticket, which is always nice! For more information about the event, shoot an e-mail to Narragansett.pto@gmail.com.

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