Chamber News  April 2012
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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 EVEN
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Chamber Board Meeting
Thursday, April 12, 201212:00 P.M.Chamber Office
Post-Session LegislativeWrap Up Breakfast
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
8:30 AM
Heron Point
501 East Campus Avenue
Chestertown
Business After Hours Thursday, April 19
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
K&L Services
609 High Street
Chestertown
New Members Breakfast
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
8:30 AM
Heron Point
501 East Campus Avenue
Chestertown
1st Annual Regional Mixer Wednesday, May 16, 2012
5:30 to 7:30 PM
Todd Performing Arts Center
Chesapeake College
Wye Mills, MD
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LEADERSHIP
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EXECUTIVE BOARD
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
LORETTA LODGE
PRESIDENT
DOUG CAMP
The Investor's Friend
VICE PRESIDENT
DAVID BOWMAN
PNC Bank
TREASURER
DIANE BRANDT
CNB Bank
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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.
KATIE WARRINGTON
Horizon Organic Dairy
LANSING WILLIAMS
Washington College
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From the Executive Director Greetings! People do Business with People they Know, and we want people to get to know YOUR BUSINESS! Business at all levels is built on relationships and the Kent County Chamber of Commerce provides you with the opportunity to build business relationships, as well as make new business contacts. Chamber partners are the voice of business that shapes and molds our community, keeping the economics of the Kent County healthy and prosperous. We have several events coming up that will afford you the opportunity to develop and/or renew those relationships: The Post-Session Legislative Breakfast will be held on Tuesday, April 17 at Heron Point. You will hear directly from the 36th District Legislators about what has transpired during this year's General Assembly and how it will affect your business, including a Q&A session. This event is open to the public. On Thursday, April 19, there will be a Business After Hours networking event co-sponsored by K&L Services (Winner of the 2011 Environmental Awareness Award) & the National Music Festival, at K&L Services, 609 High Street in Chestertown On Tuesday, April 24 we will be holding our annual New Members Breakfast also at Heron Point. This event allows all of our new members to introduce themselves and their businesses. At the same time, it gives long-time Chamber members an opportunity to meet our newest members and exchange ideas. This breakfast is also open to the public.
Details on these events can be found later in this newsletter.
Another upcoming networking opportunity is the 1st Annual Regional Mixer to be held on Wednesday, May 16th at the Todd Performing Arts Center at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills. Here you will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with, not only business leaders from Kent County, but also from our surrounding counties of Queen Anne's, Talbot, Caroline and Dorchester - a great way to expand your circle of contacts. So mark your calendars!
On another note, I would like to thank Bob Ampula of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) for his recent presentation on the demographics of Kent County at the Chamber-sponsored breakfast last Wednesday.
Bob has compiled data primarily from the 2010 U.S. Census and created a comprehensive, but concise picture of where Kent County will be in terms of population, age, income, employment, housing, education and health by the year 2015. He has created the same type of presentation for Queen Anne's and Talbot counties as well. If you're interested in having Bob do a presentation, please contact me at the Chamber.
Lastly, I want to let everyone know about the Chamber's 2012 Scholarship being offered to a deserving high school senior who resides in Kent county, attends one for the high schools within the county limits, and has been accepted into a college. For 2012, the Chamber will award one scholarship in the amount of $750. Further details can be found later in this newsletter. Remember the Kent County Chamber is in Business for Business. Mark your calendars and join us for these upcoming events and keep in mind,you get out of your Chamber membership only as much as you put into it.
Loretta
Loretta M. Lodge
Executive Director
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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
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Human Resources Management
Rosemary M. Martin - Owner
203 Main Street, P.O. Box 6
Betterton, MD 21610
Tel 410.348.3148 | Fax 410.348.3149
HRM@atlanticbb.net
HRM provides full service advisory, consulting, program design/implementation, and on-site management services to facilitate the recruitment, motivation and retention of an organization's valuable human capital assets.
SERVPRO
Deanna Miller
P.O. Box 500
Hebron, MD 21830
Tel 410.749.2221 | Fax 410.749.2245 We specialize in the clean up and restoration of residential and commercial properties after a fire, smoke or water damage. We also mitigate mold and mildew. Upper Shore Regional Council
Doris S. Mason - Executive Director
122 N. Cross Street
Chestertown, MD 21620
Tel 443.282.5607 | Fax 866.571.2637
The Upper Shore Regional Council is a regional planning and development organization serving Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne's Counties. We exist to foster and support the physical, economic and social development of the region.
Please join us in welcoming our newest
Chamber members!
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Chamber Events
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Chamber Office, 122 N. Cross Street, Chestertown
The meeting is open to all members. Please contact Loretta at 410/810-2968 or
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Kent County Chamber of Commerce
Legislative Wrap-Up Breakfast
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
8:30 A.M.
Heron Point
501 East Campus Avenue
Chestertown, MD
Tickets:
$10.00 Members
$15.00 Non-Members
Come Out and Meet Your Legislators
Get an update on recent legislation and learn how it affects
YOU and YOUR business!
Deadline for Reservations: Tuesday, April 10
RSVP to Loretta at 410/810-2968 or kentchamber@verizon.net
or online at www.kentchamber.org
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Business-After-Hours
Thursday, April 19, 2011
5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.
Hosted by
David Keating of K&L Services
Winner of the Environmental Awareness Award for 2011
&
The National Music Festival
609 High Street
Chestertown, MD
410-778-0241
Come out and find out what David has done with his business to protect our environment and what the National Music Festival is all about!
Members: Free of Charge
Non-Members: $10.00
RSVP's Appreciated
410.810.2968 | kentchamber@verizon.net
kentchamber@verizon.net
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You're Invited! The Kent County Chamber of Commerce New Members Welcome Breakfast Tuesday, April 24, 2012 8:30 A.M. Heron Point 501 East Campus Avenue Chestertown, MD 21620 You will have the opportunity to introduce yourself and your business, and network in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere $10.00 Members $15.00 Non-Members RSVP by Friday, April 13 to: Loretta Lodge Phone: 410.810.2968 Email: kentchamber@verizon.net Online: kentchamber.org 
Kent County Chamber of Commerce Your leading advocate for business in Kent County |
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KENT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
2012 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
The Kent County Chamber of Commerce will offer a scholarship to a deserving high school senior who resides in Kent County Maryland, attends one of the high schools within the County limits and has been accepted into a college of his/her choice.
For 2012, the Chamber will award one scholarship in the amount of $750.
The applicant must meet the following criteria.
- Be a resident of Kent County Maryland
- Be a graduating senior
- Attend one of the high schools within the county limits
- Have been accepted into college
- Have an overall GPA of 2.5 non-weighted on a four point scale
- Involvement in clubs and community activities preferred but not required.
- Have worked for a local business during his/her high school years - strongly recommended.
Attachments required:
- A copy of the acceptance letter from college
- A copy of transcript
- Three letters of recommendation; school, community leader,and/or business owner
- Short essay about your future plans (1 page, double spaced, between 250 - 300 words)
Finalists' application packages will be reviewed by the Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Committee.
Application packages can be obtained by contacting the Chamber office at 410.810.2968 or kentchamber@verizon.net .
Applicants should send or deliver their completed application package to the Kent County Chamber of Commerce at 122 N. Cross Street, Chestertown, MD 21620 by May 1, 2012.
Questions should be directed to Loretta Lodge, Executive Director, Kent County Chamber of Commerce at 410-810-2968 or kentchamber@verizon.net
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Chamber Member News & Events
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Children's Fund Established
A letter from the Chair: I want to bring the efforts of the newly formed Children's Fund to your attention. The goal of the Children's Fund is to be ready to help local children (and their families) who are facing serious illness, as soon as they learn about the illness. As you may remember, in the past our community has supported "Crabs for Craig", "A Day for Emily", "TEAM Keith", etc., and we are now helping "Darren's Dream". The challenge with each of these situations has been and is the lag time between learning about the need and mobilizing the community to generate support. The Children's fund will be an ongoing fund (soon to be a 501c3), will build a budget with donations, and will exist solely to help local children when their need arises. ALL donations go directly to the families in need - Children's Fund is a volunteer organization with expenses underwritten. We are very excited about being able to help our community's children and their families in this way. We would welcome donations and support from local businesses. Please feel free to contact me at 410.708.6800 or sara@ctdevents.com. Many thanks in advance! Sara England Cunningham Chair, Children's Fund |
Willow Construction, LLC Announces Addition of
James Keitt and Matthew Esham as Project Managers
in New Pocomoke City, Maryland Office
For Immediate Release (Easton - March 2012)
Willow Construction is pleased to announce the addition of Jim Keitt and
Matt Esham at the company's new Pocomoke City office. Jim and Matt join
Willow after spending 33 years and 14 years, respectively, at Mervin L.
Blades & Son, Inc.
Jim and Matt will be responsible for projects on the Lower Shore of Maryland
and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. They both have extensive experience with
Design/Build and Pre-Engineered Metal Buildings.
The company is headquartered in Easton, Maryland, has a Southern Delaware
office in Georgetown, Delaware and a Northern Delaware office in
Middletown, Delaware.
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It's Not Us! "BBB" Phishing Emails Are Back.
They're at it again! Phony emails bearing the BBB name are bombarding in-boxes across the country and right here in Maryland. The recent attack on consumers and businesses led the FBI to issue an alert this week about the recurrent scam. Like many financial institutions and government agencies, BBB's visibility and reputation for trust makes us an ideal vehicle for scammers. Consider that bbb.org receives over six million visits every month; this makes us an attractive decoy for fraud and malicious activity.
We recommend that all domain owners set up a sender policy framework (SPF) and set their spam filter to use it. "Using the SPF standard helps fight spam and phishing attacks by allowing your email servers to verify whether an email is legitimate.
Microsoft offers a simple, four-step process for setting up an SPF: www.microsoft.com/mscorp/safety/content/technologies/senderid/wizard/.
There are two authentic BBB email addresses that should be whitelisted:
- @bureaudata.com (for complaints)
- @greatermd.bbb.org (for local correspondence)
If you receive an email saying that your business has a complaint filed against it with BBB, there are several things you can do to authenticate it:
- Look for typos, grammatical errors, etc. in the text that could indicate it originated overseas.
- Check to see who it says it is from. Complaints go out from the local BBBs, not from the headquarters office. If you "whitelisted" the two addresses above, this may eliminate your problems.
- Hover your mouse over the link to see if its destination is really a bbb.org address.
- Copy and paste the link into Notepad (not Word). Notepad does not support html, so if the link is a fake bbb.org address, the real link will show up.
Note - an authentic email from BBB will always:
- come from your local BBB - not the Council of Better Business Bureaus or a BBB from another state.
- the from email address is baltimore.xx@bureaudata.com. The "xx" will be replaced with your BBB complaint contact person's initials.
- the email will include a secure HTTPS link to the complaint details.
- complaints are never sent as attachments.
The BBB system is working with federal law enforcement agencies to identify the perpetrator(s) of this fraud and has retained a deactivation company to help with those efforts.
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PhD Degree Information Night
Come find out about the newest degree option at the Eastern Shore Higher Education Center:
Doctorate of Philosophy in Instructional
Leadership for Changing Populations
Notre Dame of Maryland University
WHO: Sr. Sharon Slear from Notre Dame of Maryland
University will be making two presentations at 4:00 pm & 5:30pm
WHEN: Wednesday, April 4, 2012 (4:00pm & 5:30pm)
WHERE: Room HEC 110 in the Eastern Shore Higher
Education Center, located on the Chesapeake
College Wye Mills Campus
WHY: To give local professionals an option for obtaining
a PhD closer to home thereby saving time and money.
Who Should Attend?
Anyone with a Master's Degree who is interested in earning a PhD. This is NOT just open to educators.
For additional information, please call the Eastern Shore Higher Education Center at 410-827-5761.
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Do you have news about your business that you want to share with our readers?
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IN THE NEWS & AROUND THE STATE
Maryland Chamber of Commerce Legislative Report - March 29, 2012
Get up-to-date information on current legislative issues by clicking here.
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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 Damon Bradley at SCORE to get more information: windtryst04@aol.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!
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