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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.
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Upcoming Chamber Events
| Business After Hours
November 10
5:00 - 7:00 P.M. Host: Champion Realty
Chamber Board Meeting
November 10
12:00 P.M. Membership & Marketing Committee Meeting November 10 3:30 P.M.
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LEADERSHIP
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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
Champion Realty, Inc.
JAY SILCOX
David A. Bramble, Inc.
KATIE WARRINGTON
Horizon Organic Dairy
DAVID WHEELAN
The Chestertown Spy
LANSING WILLIAMS
Washington College
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From the Executive Director
Greetings,
Can you believe it?! It's the first of November. Summer is over, we are well into fall, and we've had our first snow (kind of) already. With the holidays just around the corner, we are busy here at the Chamber office planning for our upcoming events including the Holiday Gala in December, the Annual Excellence in Business Awards planned for January 27 and the Legislative Breakfast, also to be held in January.
We have also begun working on our annual 2012 Chamber of Commerce Kent County Map to published in January. The map is distributed throughout the county and region to visitors and businesses, as well as to those who are interested in moving to Kent County and want to know more about the area.
Advertising opportunities in the map are available at very reasonable rates and they have a shelf life of anywhere from one year to 18 months, with print runs in the thousands. Ad sizes, rates and order forms have been sent to all of our members. If you would like to advertise in this widely distributed publication, please give me a call or send me an email at the Chamber office.
Our October Business-After-Hours was graciously hosted by Sandeep Thakrar and Angela Farrell of the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites. We had a nice turn-out with great food & drink and...some very nice door prizes. A big thanks to both of you and your staff for a very enjoyable evening!
I want to remind everyone of our upcoming Business-After-Hours on Thursday, November 10, which will be hosted by Champion Realty at 1002 Washington Avenue in Chestertown. In keeping with the Thanksgiving spirit, admission to the event is two canned goods for donation to our local food pantry.
If you have not attended one of these functions, try and take some time to join us. These events are one of the great benefits of Chamber membership. You have an opportunity to meet face-to-face with potential customers and let them know firsthand about your product/service(s). And, because they've met you in person, they are more likely to do business with you. Remember to bring your business cards!
In the meantime, if you know of someone who could profit from the benefits of Chamber Membership, tell them about us and have them give me a call.
Loretta Loretta
Loretta M. Lodge
Executive Director
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Welcome New Members
The following business has recently made an important investment in their future and a significant commitment to the community by joining the
Kent County Chamber of Commerce.
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A-Shore Out Bail bonds
100 N. Liberty Street
Centreville, MD 21617
Tel 410.810.2688 | Fax 410.758.6659
www.ashoreoutbail.com
At A-Shore Bail Bonds of Centreville, MD we understand the immediate need for attention in these troubled situations and work with each individual personally to provide the best service and produce the most favorable results. Since we are centrally located in Centreville, we can get to you, and get you out FAST, no matter where you are.
Learn More About A-Shore Out Bail Bonds:
* Bail Bonds Questions - Answers to your questions about our bail bond services * Warrant Services - We'll walk you through an arrest warrant so you don't
have to go to jail * Wanted Fugitives - Help us find fugitives in the area
We proudly serve all Maryland communities, including Anne Arundel, Annapolis, Elkton, Cecil, Dorchester, Cambridge, Kent, St. Mary's, Somerset, Princess Anne, Talbot, Wicomico, Salisbury, Worcester, Snow Hill, Centreville, Chestertown, Annapolis, Snow Hill, Glen Burnie, Leonardtown, Easton and Ocean City.
Contact A-Shore Out Bail Bonds today at 410-758-2688 to secure your release or the release of a loved one with fast, reliable and discreet service. Please join us in welcoming our newest Chamber member! |
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Chamber Events
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Kent County Chamber of Commerce
Board Meeting
Thursday, November 10 , 2011
12:00 P.M.
Chamber Office, 122 N. Cross Street, Chestertown
The meeting is open to all members. Please contact Loretta at 410/810-2968 or kentchamber@verizon.net if you plan on attending.
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Kent County Chamber of Commerce
Membership & Marketing Committee Meeting
Thursday, November 10, 2011
3:30 P.M.
Chamber Office, 122 N. Cross Street, Chestertown
If you are interested in becoming an active member of this committee, we would welcome your participation! Please contact Loretta at 410/810-2968 or kentchamber@verizon.net
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Chamber Member News & Events
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DEMOGRAPHICS AND
WHAT THEY MEAN TO YOUR BUSINESS
The local SCORE chapter will be presenting a report and analysis on the demographics of Kent County based on the 2010 census. This presentation will also include a depiction of the customer spending profile of county residents.
Presentations will take place at the following locations and times.
Kent County Commissioners Meeting
Tuesday, November 15 6:00 P.M. 400 High Street Chestertown, MD 21620
Chestertown Town Council Meeting
Monday, November 21 7:00 P.M. 118 N. Cross Street Chestertown, MD
These demographics can have a great impact on your business. So if you are interested in their importance and what they mean to your business today and how they will affect your business in the future, please plan on attending one of these presentations. |
The Mainstay & Lemon Leaf Cafe
to host Festival Information Gatherings Dear Friends,
We have an exciting opportunity to bring the National Music Festival (a two-week summer classical music/orchestral training festival) to Kent County. To learn more about the Festival, you can visit www.nationalmusic.us - and come to one of our events next week (see below). The 2011 Festival, which debuted in Floyd, Virginia, brought 113 musicians from 15 countries and 26 U.S. states to perform 25 concerts in 14 days. The 90 apprentice musicians (young college-level professionals on the cusp of their careers) attended on full scholarship and had their housing provided. The Festival's economic impact on the tiny town of Floyd was approximately $170,000 (not including money spent outside of Floyd county by tourists who had to stay outside the county because of a shortage of lodging options).
We would like to relocate the Festival to Kent County, my home, and we need your help to make this happen. Please help us spread the word and bring the Festival to Kent County for many years to come!
We will be hosting two gatherings next week for people to come learn about the Festival. They are open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend. Our artistic director and conductor, Richard Rosenberg, and I will give a presentation about the Festival: what it is, what it does, why it exists, what it will take to bring it to Kent County, and what it can do for Kent County. Following the presentation, attendees are encouraged to mingle and discuss the Festival over a glass of wine. The gatherings will be:
- Monday, November 7 at 5:30 PM, The Mainstay in Rock Hall (5753 Main Street)
- Tuesday, November8 at 6:00 PM,, the Lemon Leaf Cafe in Chestertown (117 S. Cross Street)
(There will be complimentary wine following the presentation.)
RSVPs are not required, but are appreciated.
We wish to heartily thank Tom McHugh of the Mainstay and JR Alfree of the Lemon Leaf Cafe for their generosity in hosting these events.
Please help us spread the word by forwarding this email to your contacts, posting on Facebook and Twitter, and telling your friends. Thank you!
Feel free to contact me anytime by email (caitlin.patton@gmail.com) or phone (540-525-6296) if you have questions about the National Music Festival.
See you next week!
Caitlin
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Caitlin Patton
Arts and Nonprofit Administrator, Writer, Violinist
Executive Director, National Music Festival and The Phanos Project
www.caitlinpatton.com
www.nationalmusic.us
540-525-6296
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Mid-Shore Pro Bono
Honors Attorney Volunteers
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Left to right, Mid-Shore Pro Bono 2011 Award recipients Kevin Joyce and Christine Joyce, representing the law firm of Joyce & Associates; Judge Karen M. Jensen; attorneys Chris McGrady, Jimmy Persels and Peter Cotter; with Executive Director Sandy Brown and Board President Jesse Hammock.
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Mid-Shore Pro Bono, Inc. Providing Access to Justice Throughout the Mid-Shore 216 East Dover Street, Bldg. 300 Easton, Maryland 21601 410-690-8128 www.midshoreprobono.org PRESS RELEASE Mid-Shore Pro Bono (MSPB) recently honored the volunteer attorneys who enable the organization to assist low-income residents of five Mid-Shore counties with civil legal matters. Its annual Pro Bono Awards Reception was held on October 27 at The Milestone in Easton, hosted together with Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence.
Executive Director Sandy Brown and Board President Jesse Hammock presented plaques to the Mid-Shore Pro Bono award recipients, along with citations from local legislators.
Joyce & Associates received the Law Firm of the Year Award, recognizing a firm that has materially improved the delivery of legal services to financially disadvantaged residents of the Mid Shore. The firm has provided more than 280 hours of free or reduced-fee legal services through Mid-Shore Pro Bono since January. Hammock noted that MSPB had received repeated compliments from clients whose cases have been referred to Joyce & Associates for the firm's "attention to detail, their thoroughness and their willingness to go the extra mile to ensure adequate representation."
Young Attorney of the Year honors went to Peter Cotter. Since moving to the Mid Shore this past spring, when he was still awaiting notification of passing the Maryland bar exam, Cotter has donated more than 50 hours of service to MSPB's legal clinic in Easton. He has contributed numerous additional hours assisting other attorneys and staff on legal cases and administrative issues, while also finding time to serve as an assistant football coach at Easton High School.
Recognizing the work of an individual who not only accepts clients for pro bono representation, but also actively assists MSPB in expanding its work and accomplishing its mission, attorney Jimmy Persels received the Volunteer of the Year Award. A volunteer at the Easton clinic since July 2010, Persels helped expand its reach into Queen Anne's County, serving as the resident attorney at the clinic established there. He also was commended for providing countless hours of support for the staff on administrative and non-legal matters.
The Attorney of the Year Award is presented to a lawyer demonstrating exceptional contributions to the public good not only by accepting cases, but by the highly professional resolutions of those cases for the clients and legal system. Chris McGrady was honored for his work in expanding the Bankruptcy Court's Debtors Assistance Project (DAP) to the Mid Shore. Few local attorneys were qualified in that area of the law when DAP was introduced. McGrady was the first attorney from the western shore who volunteered to come to Easton each month to staff the project.
More than a year later, McGrady continues to assist DAP clients while also accepting direct referral cases from MSPB. "His dedication to our program has enabled us to offer bankruptcy assistance that was not before available to the population we serve," added Hammock.
At the reception, Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence presented its own awards to the Caroline County District Court; attorneys Michael-Anne Mundy and Richard S. Phillips; Clerk Dawn Cordrey and Legal Assistant Lynn M. Wefelmeyer; and State's Attorney William H. Jones.
The two organizations jointly recognized the Honorable Karen M. Jensen, Circuit Court Judge in Caroline County, with their Above & Beyond Award. Presented to an individual whose contributions have been exceptional, it recognizes work that ensures the growth, visibility and accomplishment of both agencies' missions.
Jensen was commended for her understanding of the dynamics and devastating effects of domestic violence and support for the two organizations' efforts to assist its victims and others who cannot afford legal services. "Her constant encouragement of the organizations," said Hammock, "and her willingness to reach out to all persons in the legal field on behalf of those organizations, clearly go above and beyond to ensure that the programs succeed and grow."
In addition to the award recipients, Brown thanked all of the Mid-Shore Pro Bono volunteer attorneys for their contributions to the young organization's rapid growth and success. She noted that they had donated over 2500 hours of free legal services to the community during MSPB's latest fiscal year, assisting more than 500 clients in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's and Talbot counties.
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Willow Construction
Receives
Excellence in Construction/STEP & Safety Awards
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Andy Cheezum, Mike Hiner and Scott Ditman, from Willow and Faith Tennent with ABC.
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Chamber Member Receives
Excellence in
Construction/STEP Awards
 | | Andy Cheezum, Mike Hiner, Mark Winstead (all with Willow), Glenn Worgan (Delaware Valley Development), Scott Ditman (Willow) and Faith Tennent (ABC). |
PRESS RELEASE
Excellence in Construction/STEP & Safety Awards
Associated Builders & Contractors Chesapeake Shores member Willow Construction, LLC wins STEP and Excellence in Construction award honors.
Annapolis, MD, October 11, 2011: ABC Chesapeake Shores honored the best in the construction industry at the annual Excellence in Construction, STEP & Safety Awards Ceremony on Thursday, September 29, 2011 at the Doubletree Hotel in Annapolis. Willow Construction, LLC was a stand-out company having earned a number of awards including a Gold STEP award for 2011. ABC's National Safety Training and Evaluation Process, known as STEP recognizes the efforts of ABC members that strive to achieve effective safety practices at their firms and provides contractors with a tool to objectively evaluate their safety programs, policies, procedures and training. In addition, Willow Construction, LLC earned a Safety Award in the category of General Contractors between 80,000 and 159,999 man hours.
Willow Construction, LLC was also honored with the Excellence in Construction award in the Residential Multi-Family category for the Calvert Heights Apartments project. Located in Chestertown, one of the oldest towns in Maryland, Calvert Heights Apartments was originally built in the 1970s and was in quite a state of disrepair at the commencement of the project in October 2009. The project consisted of razing 7 buildings including removal of asphalt, concrete curbing and sidewalks which was recycled by the contractor. Green building practices were utilized throughout this project. Willow Construction took what was once a dilapidated eye sore and transformed it into 41 living units with affordable housing for families in the Chestertown Community. The architect designed each townhouse with it's own unique characteristics and feel with a historic rustic appeal. Willow Construction received many accolades from the owners, DHCD and from the community.
ABC Chesapeake Shores would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Willow Construction, LLC for serving as an exemplary member of our association and our community. Congratulations!
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IN THE NEWS
&
AROUND THE STATE
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 Disaster News Loans for Homeowners, Renters and Businesses of All Sizes SBA Disaster Assistance - Field Operations Center- East - 101 Marietta Street, NW, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA 30303 Release Date: October 31, 2011 Contact: Michael Lampton Release Number: 12 - 104, MD 12836/12837 Phone: 404-331-0333
Kent & Queen Anne's Counties included in Disaster Area For Private Non-Profit Organizations in Maryland Eligible for Disaster Relief from Hurrican Irene ATLANTA - The U.S. Small Business Administration adds Baltimore County and Baltimore City as eligible areas for disaster assistance and reminds eligible Private Non-Profit Organizations (PNPs) of the Nov. 15 deadline to submit disaster loan applications for physical damage in Maryland. These loans are available as a result of a Presidential disaster declaration for Public Assistance resulting from damages caused by Hurricane Irene that occurred between Aug. 24 and Sept. 5, 2011.
PNPs located in the following counties that provide non-critical services of a governmental nature are eligible to apply: Baltimore, Baltimore City, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles, Dochester, Harford, Kent, Queen Anne's, Saint Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, Worcester. Examples of eligible non-critical PNP organizations include, but are not limited to, food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers and colleges.
PNPs may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. The SBA may increase a loan up to 20 percent of the total amount of disaster damage to real estate and/or leasehold improvements, as verified by SBA, to make improvements that lessen the risk of property damage by future disasters of the same kind. Economic Injury Disaster Loans are also available to PNPs to help meet working capital needs, such as ongoing operating expenses regardless of whether the entity suffered any physical property damage.
Interest rates are as low as 3 percent with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition.
Disaster loan information may be obtained by calling the SBA's Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Applications can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is November 15, 2011. The deadline to return economic injury applications is June 18, 2012.
~~~~~ New Minority Leaders Chosen for Maryland Senate ANNAPOLIS, Md. - A Maryland Republican state senator says his party has chosen new Senate leadership. Sen. David Brinkley said the state's Senate Republican Caucus chose Sen. E.J. Pipkin, R-Cecil, to be the new minority leader on Tuesday. Pipkin had been serving as the Republican minority whip. He's moving into the minority leader position after Sen. Nancy Jacobs, R-Harford, stepped down from the position to consider running for other offices. Sen. Edward Reilley, R-Anne Arundel, was chosen to be minority whip. Kathy Snyder, CCE, President/CEO Maryland Chamber of Commerce 60 West Street, Suite 100 Annapolis, MD 21401 (410) 269-0642 x130 (301) 261-2858 x130 Fax (410) 269-5247 ksnyder@mdchamber.org www.mdchamber.org |
Chamber Information
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- E-Blasts - Broadcast E-Mail Service Now Available!
The Chamber now offers an E-Blast service to all of our members. In an effort to help you build your business and get your message out efficiently and cost effectively, the Chamber office will send an email specifically on your behalf to all Chamber members and non-members who have signed up for our mailing list. This is an excellent way to announce new products, services or events. As a Chamber member, you can take advantage of this service at a very reasonable cost of $25. Please contact the Chamber office for further details.
- SCORE (Senior Core of Retired Executives)
Invites retired executives to become counselors for new and existing local businesses. Contact Bart Stolp at SCORE to get more information: bartstolp@gmail.com
- Help Us Help You. Keep Your Business Information Current!
Please remember to contact Loretta in the Chamber office if you have any changes or updates to your business contact information. We want to keep all of our members' information current.
- 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
The following businesses are participating members.
Please support these businesses!
Salon (be sure to bring your business card)
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Article Headline
Know your target audience. Who are your most important customers, clients or prospects, and why? Know what is important to them and address their needs in your newsletter each month. Include a photo to make your newsletter even more appealing. Inserting a link in your article lets you track which topics attract the most interest.
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Article Headline
Know your target audience. Who are your most important customers, clients or prospects, and why? Know what is important to them and address their needs in your newsletter each month. Include a photo to make your newsletter even more appealing. Inserting a link in your article lets you track which topics attract the most interest.
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