Chester River Health Foundation's Annual Sporting Clays Tournament

Raised $11,000 for New Vital Signs Monitors

The eighth annual John E. George Memorial Sporting Clays Tournament was held on Sunday, October 17, 2010, at Hopkins Game Farm in Worton, Maryland. This year's tournament, sponsored by David A. Bramble, Inc, raised about $11,000 and boasted 78 shooters. Of the 78 participants, eight women represented the top ladies, 17 men represented the veterans/seniors, and six youths represented the juniors.

Shooters were scored according to 100 targets. Bob Bell won overall with a score of 95, followed by runner-up Carter Stanton who scored a 93. In the veteran class, Billy Worm came out on top. Ryan Bell was the winner for the junior participants and Dee Orr won for the top ladies. The first place team consisted of Steve Pittman, Don Kagle, Carter Stanton, and Buck Kennard.

Shawn Norduff won the featured prize, a Remington 1187 (Camo) Sportsman Super Mag Waterfowl Shotgun (valued at $1000). Each participant was automatically entered in the drawing for the shotgun. Twenty-six Lewis class prizes were awarded; the prizes included a $500 landscaping package, 100 gallons of home heating oil, and $100 gift cards to various local restaurants.

The proceeds directly benefit Chester River Hospital Center's devoted nursing staff in the form of nine portable vital signs monitors. These monitors are also part of forward planning within the hospital's new technology. As the hospital moves toward total wireless communication, these monitors will allow quick transfer and storage of vital patient information.

The Chester River Health Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization, which raises funds that steward the future of health care excellence for the people served locally by the Chester River Hospital Center, Chester River Manor, and Chester River Home Care & Hospice.

Cloverland Dairy/Bayside Foods brought a team of ten from Salisbury, Maryland and boasted an impressive score.

25th Anniversary Celebration of Local Hospice Services

Lawn Party and Wine Auction Raises $5,000

Chestertown, MD - November 9, 2010 - The Chester River Health Foundation celebrated 25 years of locally available hospice services with a lawn party and wine auction on Sunday, October 24, 2010 from 3:00 pm until 6:00 pm, at historic Brittland Manor, just outside of Chestertown.

The event raised about $5,000 between donations and the wine auction. More than 100 attended and 42 bottles of wine were donated. The wine auction accounted for $2100 of the total funds raised.

One bottle of wine, valued at $750, was a 1975 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. This bottle in particular went to Connie Godwin, a member of the foundation board. Sixty years ago, this exact wine was served at Godwin's wedding. Godwin said winning this bottle in particular made the experience "extra special."

The Chester River Health Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization, which raises funds that steward the future of health care excellence for the people served locally by the Chester River Hospital Center, Chester River Manor, and Chester River Home Care & Hospice. To learn more about how you can support Chester River Health System, please call the Chester River Health Foundation at 410.810.5661.

(L to R), BettyJo Embert, Gail Rowlings, and Katie Davis, Chester River Home Care and Hospice Employees, enjoyed the lawn party with Karen Roth and John Harper, of Roth & Harper, Inc,

Becky Schulkowski Joins Chester River Hospital Center as Director of Pharmacy

Chestertown, MD - October 25, 2010 - Chester River Hospital Center is pleased to announce that Becky Schulkowski, Pharm.D, has joined the staff as director of pharmacy. In this role, Schulkowski will oversee daily operations of the pharmacy and will work with an interdisciplinary team to provide healthcare services that result in positive clinical outcomes.

Schulkowski began working towards her doctor of pharmacy in 1996 at University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the pre-pharmacy program. In 2002, she graduated magna cum laude with her Doctor of Pharmacy from University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. During her education, she traveled to St. Louis, Missouri to complete her residency and completed a six week rotation in Thailand. Most recently, she has worked as clinical coordinator, pharmacy services at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. She is a registered pharmacist, as well as a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist. "I'm proud to become a part of a 75 year tradition, and also proud to be a part of a health system looking to enhance its services and programs for the community. I feel like Chester River Hospital is poised to do so much," commented Schulkowski.

Schulkowski is a native of Chesapeake City, Maryland. She looks forward to getting away from the busy city life and returning to the Eastern Shore, where much of her immediate family lives. She, her husband, and two children are in the process of moving to the Eastern Shore.

According to a survey conducted by the American Independent Business Alliance, locally-owned businesses outperformed average retailer sales during the 2009 holiday season.  Independent retailers with active, long-term "Buy Independent/Buy Local" campaigns reported 2% stronger holiday sales than those in cities without such campaigns. 

In an effort to help bring similar results to our local economy this holiday season, Chesapeake Bank and Trust Company is pleased to introduce the new "Spend Local Stay Local" gift card program.  The program was designed as a marketing and educational initiative to encourage local citizens to think local first when it comes to making purchases or engaging businesses for services.  The "Spend Local Stay Local" gift card will work only at participating local, independent businesses and retailers.  Gift cards may be purchased at Chesapeake Bank and Trust Company's High Street location or at select businesses that choose to keep an inventory of pre-loaded cards.    

Retailers who opt to take part in the program will be added to the "closed-loop network," and can accept the card for payment as they would a Discover Card transaction.  There is a one-time enrollment fee of $10 to help offset the cost of printed brochures and window decals to be provided to participants, but there are no other fees or obligations associated with the program.  Any profit generated by the gift card program will be donated to local non-profit organizations. 

James M. Anthony, President and CEO of Chesapeake Bank and Trust Company, has reported that over 250 gift cards have been ordered by local business owners to be given to employees and customers this holiday season.  If you would like to accept the gift card, buy a gift card or learn more about the program, visit the website www.chesapeaketrust.com/Spend_Local, send an email to spendlocal@chesapeaketrust.com or call 410-778-1600.

• Member-To-Member Benefit Program

This program allows any Chamber member to offer discounts on their products and services

to other Chamber members and their employees.  Even if you do not offer a discount to fellow members, as a Chamber member, you may take advantage of the discounts offered by other members.

 Don't miss out!  Sign up for this program today.

Call Loretta at 410/810-2968 or email at kentchamber@verizon.net

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Maryland Chamber of Commerce
Business Day in Annapolis
January 25, 2011
Governor Calvert House
58 State Circle
Annapolis, MD 21401
Get Directions
8 a.m.

Join hundreds of business leaders in Annapolis on Tuesday, January 25, to preview the legislative session and promote a strong pro-business, pro-jobs agenda to the State's elected leaders.

Attend Business Day in Annapolis to:

• Preview the 2011 General Assembly session with the legislature's most influential leaders.
• Promote the Business Agenda.
• Interact with your elected officials.
• Network with hundreds of Maryland business leaders.

The Governor and the Maryland General Assembly's presiding officers and minority leaders have been invited to outline their agendas for the 2011 session. Following the briefing, attendees can join together and visit their lawmakers to discuss the issues most important to their businesses.

For a more information and a complete agenda, click here.

Register Today!
Registration is $65 for Maryland Chamber members ($75 after December 28) and $100 for nonmembers. Register online or contact Kristen Solis at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 ksolis@mdchamber.org.

Maryland Chamber Legislative Update

With Election Day behind us, it's time to shift our focus to the 2011 Maryland General Assembly session. Lawmakers convene in Annapolis on January 12, 2011, but Maryland Chamber staff has been working through the interim, advocating pro-business interests before numerous commissions that have been set up to study issues like business taxes, health care reform, and more.

Below are a couple legislative updates, along with details about a series of free legislative briefings we are scheduling around the state. We hope you find the updates helpful and will plan to attend one of our upcoming briefings.

Combined Reporting Update
The Maryland Business Tax Reform Commission voted 13 to 4 yesterday to recommend that the General Assembly not implement combined reporting for corporate income taxes at its 2011 session. Combined reporting, which would have significantly altered methods and levels of corporate income taxes, was one of the most hotly debated issues before the Commission during the past two years. The Maryland Chamber, along with many other businesses and business groups, argued that combined reporting would make Maryland's tax laws less competitive, cause massive shifts in business tax liability, and needlessly increase the complexity and uncertainty of corporate taxes. Ultimately, the Commission agreed that now was not the time to be considering major tax changes.

Although we will certainly still see legislation introduced every year to propose combined reporting, the Commission's action is a significant victory for Maryland businesses and signals that the administration and legislative leaders will not support this issue in the near term. We thank Delegate Kumar Barve of Montgomery County for his leadership in making the motion to defer consideration of combined reporting, Governor O'Malley and legislative leaders, and the many businesses and business organizations that collectively worked over the past two years to help promote a competitive business tax structure in Maryland. We also thank Maryland Chamber State Taxation Consultant Karen Syrylo, CPA, who represented the Chamber on the Commission.

For more information, contact Ron Wineholt at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

Health Care Council to Hold Hearings
The Governor's Health Care Reform Coordinating Council is wrapping up its first year of work to identify state actions that are necessary to implement the new federal health care law. At a hearing this week in Annapolis, the Council received staff recommendations on major health care issues that must be addressed next session, as identified by the six workgroups of the Council. The Maryland Chamber has focused its attention on the health insurance exchange workgroup, since the General Assembly is likely to create an exchange at the 2011 session. The Council will hold four public hearings around the state to solicit input on its draft recommendations. See a list of the hearings and draft recommendations here.

Contact Ron Wineholt for further information at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

We Want to Hear From You
Every Maryland employer, regardless of size, industry or location, is impacted by the decisions made in Annapolis. As we map out our strategy for the 2011 session, we want to hear from you. We are planning a series of briefings around the state. Please plan to attend one of these sessions. Someone from our public policy team will provide an overview of the 2011 Business Agenda and answer any questions you may have. We also want to learn what issues are most important to your business and talk about how we can keep you better informed.

Here is a list of scheduled briefings. They will all run from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Gail Lemke at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or glemke@mdchamber.org. Space is limited at each location so early registration for these free events is requested.

November 30

Prince George's County - Legislative Briefing hosted by Betty Buck of Buck Distributing, 15827 Commerce Court in Upper Marlboro

December 1

Montgomery County - Legislative Briefing hosted by Bill Folkerts of QIAGEN, 19300 Germantown Road in Germantown

December 2

Baltimore City - Legislative Briefing hosted by Buddy Emerson M&T Bank, 25 S. Charles Street, 25th floor in Baltimore City

December 7

Howard County - Legislative Briefing hosted by Nate Beil of KCI Technologies at their Maple Lawn Office, 8161 Maple Lawn Blvd., Suite 150 in Fulton.

December 9

Baltimore County - Legislative Briefing hosted by Frank Strueber of PSA Financial, 11311 McCormick Road, Suite 500 in Hunt Valley

December 10

Charles County - Legislative Briefing hosted by Les Gooding of All American Harley Davidson, 8126 Leonardtown Road in Hughesville