The Mission of the Kent County Chamber of Commerce is to serve, represent and be the leading advocate for the business interests of its membership in ways that enhance the environment of the business community and quality of life and well being of residents and visitors.

7/07/11

Membership & Marketing Committee Meeting

7/14/11

EXECUTIVE BOARD 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

LORETTA LODGE

PRESIDENT

DOUG CAMP 

The Investor's Friend

TREASURER

DIANE BRANDT 

CNB Bank

PAST PRESIDENT

KEN COLLINS 

WCTR Broadcasting, LLC  

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

REBECCA BLIZZARD 

Eastern Shore Tents & Events

DAVID BOWMAN 

PNC Bank

BOB GREENWALD 

East Coast Storage

JON HANLEY 

Hanleyman Services, LLC

JIM RICH 

Inn at Huntingfield Creek

JIM ROSS 

Chester River Health System

BILL RUCKELSHAUS 

Coldwell Banker Chesapeake Real Estate

JAY SILCOX 

David A. Bramble, Inc.

KATIE WARRINGTON 

Horizon Organic Dairy

DAVID WHEELAN 

The Chestertown Spy

LANSING WILLIAMS 

Washington College

Summer is in full-swing and I hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Here at the Chamber we are awaiting the arrival of the 2011-2012 Kent County Chamber Business Directory.  As soon as it arrives, a copy will be available at the Chamber office for each of our members.  Additionally, the Directory is handed out at the Visitors Center in downtown Chestertown, by the Department of Tourism & Economic Development, and at the Chamber Booth at various events held throughout the year in the County.  The Directory is the perfect way to get your name out there to local businesses, residents of Kent and surrounding counties, as well as those relocating to our area.

On the Legislative front, the Legislative Committee has met and a Legislative Survey has been distributed to each of our members.  The survey included nine key issues of importance to local businesses.  Our members have been asked to rank them in order of importance to them.  This information will be used by the Legislative Committee in discussing areas of business concerns when meeting with the Kent County Department of Economic Development and any subsequent meetings with our elected officials.

We want your voices to be heard about what issues are important to you!  So please take the time to complete this very brief survey and return it to me at kentchamber@verizon.net no later than this Friday,

July 8.  If you need a copy of the survey, please let me know. 

Our Chamber committees are always looking for engaged members who can bring fresh ideas and alternative points of view.  So if you have an interest in, or talents that could be beneficial to any of our Committees, Education, Legislative or Membership & Marketing, please contact me.  We would welcome your input.

Lastly, if you are interested in hosting a Business After Hours event, please contact me.  We are currently looking for hosts for the months of July and August.

As always, we appreciate your support of the Chamber.

Loretta

Loretta

Loretta M. Lodge

Executive Director

Welcome New Members 

The following businesses have recently made an important investment in their future and a significant commitment to the Community by joining the

Kent County Chamber of Commerce.

  _________________________

Against the Grain, A Bread Company

203 High Street

Chestertown, MD  21620

410-778-3333

www.atgbreadco.com 

Hours:  Tue - Sat 6:30 AM - 2:00 PM

Sun 8:00 AM - 2:00  PM 

Baking bread is part science and part artistry. Mix these with passion and the bread produced rises to another, almost ethereal level. Bread artist Doug Rae began his love of bread making as a child and has pursued his love and followed his dream all his life.

Rae recently opened his European Style Bakery, 'Against the Grain' in Chestertown.

Rae spends his time producing Artisan Bread at 'Against the Grain'  using quality ingredients and long fermentation time much to the delight of his loyal customers and fans.

~~~

Lemon Leaf Cafe by JR

117 S. Cross Street

Chestertown, MD  21620

443.282.0004

thelemonleafcafe@hotmail.com 

Famous for their Cream of Crab Soup and true Maryland Crab Cakes, using only Maryland Crabs, the goal at The Lemon Leaf Cafe is to serve their customers with fine, home-style cooking made with the freshest ingredients, and to add that special touch with some of their own special sauces, mustards, spreads, dressings and marinades .  Their warm, friendly environment will keep you and your family coming back for more.

Their motto

Shore to Please!   

~~~

Mid-Shore Pro Bono

216 East Dover Street, Building 300

Easton, MD  21601

Tel 410.690.8128  |  Fax 443.385-0210

Email: info@midshoreprobono.org

www.midshoreprobono.org 

Mid-Shore Pro Bono, Inc. provides access to free or reduced-fee legal services to qualified litigants in civil matters and is dedicated to serving the citizens of Kent, Queen Anne's, Caroline, Talbot and Dorchester counties.

Mid-Shore Pro Bono Inc., was established as a pilot project in July 2005 to address the need for increased pro bono legal representation in the Mid-Shore region. Its formation is the result of the Local Pro Bono Committees from Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's and Talbot Counties joining efforts with the Circuit Courts from these counties to effectuate each of their respective Pro Bono Plans.

Mid-Shore Pro Bono Inc., is the first regional pro bono referral agency in the State and the only pro bono referral agency located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Mid-Shore Pro Bono, Inc. is dedicated to providing free or reduced fee legal services to low income families on the Mid-Shore.

Please join us in welcoming our newest

Chamber members!

Chamber Member News & Events  

_________________ 

East Coast Shredding & East Coast Storage 

to Sponsor

Relay for Life Fund Raiser

Live/Silent Auction

Please donate goods or services to help.

This year East Coast Shredding and East Coast Storage are teaming up to raise funds for Relay for Life in support of Kent County's American Cancer Society.  We are planning an open-house on September 16th. We will be holding a live / silent auction during this event to raise funds for this great cause. We are asking for any items as donations that will go toward the auction. Please offer services or money to help. We are in need of some great items to auction like: baskets, night out on the town, professional paintings, or any other items.

Your donation and all proceeds go to benefit Relay for Life and Kent County's American Cancer Society. These contributions will go a long way to help cancer patients in these areas:

·         On call dietitian

·         Hope Lodge

·         I can Cope

·         Look good... Feel better

·         Man to Man

·         Patient Advocates

·         Reach to Recovery

·         TLC Catalog

·         Wigs

Thank you for your support of this wonderful charity and in helping us to reach our first years fund raising goal. If you would like to donate please call Kathy at 410-810-2533.

 ~~~~~   

Photo by Kevin Hemstock

Benchworks lauded as 'better with less'

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot awarded Benchworks, a local marketing firm, with a Better With Less award, June 16 during a visit to Chestertown. Franchot presented the award to Thad I. Bench, Sr., President and CEO of the firm, at the headquarters at 860 High Street.

After presenting an attractive trophy to Bench, and posing with staff for a group picture, Bench and Franchot sat down together for a discussion of the local operation.

Franchot starter his Better With Less Tour in April. According to a press release, more than100 nominations were received for the award, given  to one business in each county, that "achieved economic success while using fewer resources, identified new market opportunities in the current economic climate, used innovation to operate more efficiently or strengthened local communities by providing vital services or opportunities for success."

According to its website, Benchworks "specializes in the design, production and launch of complete branding services."

In February, Bench was honored as "Business Leader of the Year" by the Kent County chamber of Commerce.

For more about Benchworks, see their website at  www.benchworks.com  

- Article by Kevin Hemstock, Kent County News, Thursday, June 23, 2011

 ~~~~~

Marylanders Encouraged to Attend Statewide

'Cycle Maryland' Events

Then Submit Photos to Enter Contest

Baltimore (June 23, 2011) - Governor Martin O'Malley recently unveiled the 'Cycle Maryland' initiative as a way to showcase the many benefits of recreational cycling in Maryland. O'Malley encouraged Marylanders to attend 'Cycle Maryland' events now through October 9, 2011.

Participants are invited to post pictures of the events at www.Facebook.com/CycleMaryland or www.Twitter.com/CycleMaryland to be eligible to win a $250 VISA gift card. The contest is co-sponsored by the Maryland Office of Tourism and the Maryland State Highway Administration.

"The selected events for 'Cycle Maryland' showcase Maryland's cycling diversity," says Margot Amelia, executive director of the Maryland Office of Tourism. "From family-friendly recreational rides on newly opened rail trails to highly competitive long-distance road races, these routes take visitors on an up-close and personal journey through some of the most scenic landscapes in Maryland."

In addition to the June 18th kick-off on the Cross Island Trail in Queen Anne's County, six other 'Cycle Maryland' events are scheduled:

·    July 9, 2011 - The Greatest Bicycle Tour of the Historic C&O Canal, an annual fundraising event to benefit the San Mar Children's Home in Boonsboro, MD. Billed as an event with "no hills, no headwinds and no cars," this "ride at your own pace" event is fully supported. Registration and a minimum of $450 in pledges are required for those riding the entire 184.5 miles of the C&O Canal towpath over four days.  

·    August 13, 2011 - Ride to See: A Bicycle Tour of Kent County begins at 6am and offers four routes ranging between 15 and 100 miles in length. Riders will pass through historic villages and picturesque countryside along the Chesapeake Country National Scenic Byway. Registration fees benefit the Galena Lions Charities.   

·    September 17, 2011 - Saint Mary's Century, previously known as the Southern Maryland Amish 100, offers a traditional 100 mile, 65 mile or 35 mile course over a flat to rolling hills terrain. Rest stops incorporate historic attractions such as Historic St. Mary's City, Maryland's first settlement, and St. George's Island, a tiny sliver of land that the British used as a base during the War of 1812 from which to raid local shipyards and river plantations.  

·     October 1, 2011 - Anacostia Trail Opening, this Bladensburg event opens the two-mile missing trail link from Bladensburg's Waterfront Park to the Maryland /District of Columbia line thus joining the park to the trail network along the Anacostia River Tributary System. This Chesapeake Bay Gateways  Network site was once a thriving Colonial port and later played a pivotal role in the War of 1812.  

·    October 9, 2011 - Tour du Port, a fully-supported tour ranging from 12 miles to a metric century (63 miles) in length, begins at Baltimore's Canton Waterfront Park and winds through twelve of Baltimore's historic neighborhoods, waterfront areas and beautiful city parks. Riders will traverse streets where, 150 years ago, Civil War soldiers marched.

Additional information on the 'Cycle Maryland' initiative may be accessed at www.cycle.maryland.gov 

About Maryland Tourism

The Maryland Office of Tourism is an agency of the Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts within the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. Visitors to the state spent nearly $13.7 billion on travel-related expenses in 2009. During 2009, the Maryland tourism industry also generated close to $1.6 billion in state and local taxes and provided more than 134,000 jobs to Maryland residents.

  ~~~~~

 Update From the Maryland Chamber of Commerce 

 Legislative and Special Session Update 

~~~ OUR SPONSORS ~~~

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Atlantic Broadband

CNB

SILVER

David A. Bramble 

Chester River Health System 

Horizon Organic Dairy 

The Peoples Bank

Washington College

BRONZE

Affinity Business & Technology Solutions

Sears Hometown Store - Chestertown

ShoreToBeFun.com

WCTR Broadcasting, LLC