CHAMBER NEWS  SEPTEMBER 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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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!
It is hard to believe Labor Day has come and gone and with it the official end of summer. OK... so it's not the official autumnal equinox, but summer vacations are over, kids are back in school and even here at the Chamber things are beginning to pick up again.
You should have received your 2012-2013 Kent County Chamber of Commerce Directory by now. Please use this as your primary source for business goods and services and support our hard-working members. If you need additional copies for yourself or your customers, please contact me at the Chamber office and I will see that you get as many as you need.
Coming up on First Friday, September 7, the Chamber will be celebrating the grand openings of two local businesses.
At 4:30 PM, we will be having a Ribbon Cutting for Chestertown RiverArts at their newly renovated space located in the arcade of the Alexander Building at 315 High Street in downtown Chestertown. Chestertown RiverArts is the joining of two long-term art communities, the Chestertown Arts League and the Chester River Artworks. The new location features an expanded Gallery Space and gift shop, as well a new large, airy and bright classroom.
Then at 5:30 PM we will be having a Ribbon Cutting at Flow Salonspa's newly renovated space at their new location at 305 High Street. Stop in and see the mix of old and new features that has created such a beautifully relaxing and welcoming space for their customers.
Unfortunately, our host for the September Business-After-Hours has had to cancel. So we are looking for a host for this month's event. Sponsoring a Business-After-Hours Mixer is an excellent opportunity to showcase your business, meet prospective clients, and build relationships with other business people. The Chamber advertises your mixer with an invitation e-mail to the Chamber community and on the Chamber website. Give me a call or send an email if you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity.
Coming in October, the Chamber has invited top Mid-Atlantic Economist Anirban Basu to speak at Washington College. He will examine the state of the current economic recovery from the perspective of labor, financial, housing and other key markets. He will place special attention on the economic performance of Kent County and the Eastern Shore region, and will provide an economic forecast for the year to come. More information about this event will be sent out in the near future.
And don't forget about the Job Fair, "Hiring Our Heroes" on October 2 from 1:00 - 5:00 PM hosted by the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce at the Talbot Community Center. If you are a business that would like to participate at no cost to you, but your time, please contact Al Silverstein at asilver@talbotchamber.org. If you are an individual in the job market, bring your resume! More details about this event can be seen later in this newsletter.
I hope everyone had a great summer and I look forward to seeing many of you at these upcoming events.
Loretta
Loretta M. Lodge
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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 _________________________ GREAT OAK MANOR A Chesapeake Bay Waterfront Inn Jennifer Donisi, Innkeeper Bernd Duerrmeier, Propietor
10568 Cliff Road
Chestertown, MD 21620 Tel 410.778.5943 | 800-504-3098 (Toll Free)
info@greatoakmd.com www.greatoakmd.com Gale A true Manor House, Great Oak Manor has twelve well-appointed guest rooms on twelve acres along the shore of the Chesapeake Bay ~ ~ ~ Kent Youth, Inc. Jillyn Coleman
7582 Quaker Neck Road
Chestertown, MD 21620 Tel 410.778.1370 | Fax 410.778.1732
jcoleman@baybroadband.net www.kentyouth.com Kent Youth, Inc. is a privately owned, non-profit charitable organization that provides a residential facility and a broad spectrum of outreach services for teen-aged boys and their families from the communities of Maryland in order that they may learn to make better life decisions, and further, to deliver these services by developing unique programs for each youth to facilitate growth toward responsible, self-sufficient adulthood and reintegration into the community. As a primary care agency for the Department of Juvenile Services, Kent Youth, Inc. fully recognizes and adopts into its goals and objectives the mission of the Department of Juvenile Services - To provide a variety of programs and services that reflect the most creative, effective, and efficient us of resources at the least restrictive level of care consistent with public safety. ~ ~ ~ LEWES MARKET Hassan Mahmood & Mahmood Mirza
840 High Street
Chestertown, MD 21620 Tel 410.778.1356 Proudly serving Chestertown and Kent County since 1998, Lewes Market carries a full line of wines, beers, & spirits (domestic and international). We also offer an ATM, Lotto, cigarettes and cigars. We are located at 840 High Street in Chestertown. Looking for something special? Just give us a call at 410-778-1356.
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Please join us in welcoming our newest Chamber members! |
Membership & Marketing
Committee Meeting
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Chamber Office
122 N. Cross Street, Chestertown
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Friday, September 7
4:30 P.M.
Chestertown RiverArts
Alexander Building Arcade
315 High Street
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Friday, September 7
5:30 P.M.
Flow Salonspa
305 High Street
Chestertown, MD
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Chamber Board Meeting
Friday, September 13, 2012
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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Host Needed!
Business-After-Hours
Tentative Date: September 20Please contact the Chamber if you would like to sponsor this event.
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NEWS FROM & FOR CHAMBER MEMBERS
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Do you have news about your business that
you want to share with our readers?
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Character Counts! Kent County Fundraiser
55" LG Flat Panel LED HDTV
$5.00 for one ticket/$10.00 for three tickets.
Drawing date: September 15, 2012.
Tickets are also available through The Scotties Shoe Store in Chestertown, school offices, and kent.charactercounts@gmail.com
Good luck! and thank you for supporting our non-profit organization.
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Kent County Public Library
in Search of Board of Trustees Candidates
Interest forms are now being accepted by the Kent County Public Library Board of Trustees for citizens who wish to serve on the Board of Trustees. The form is available on the Library's website at
http://www.kentcountylibrary.org/documents/BoardApplication.pdf
or at any Kent County Public Library location.
Completed forms can be sent to kcpltrusteesearch@kent.lib.md.us
or mailed to:
Kent County Public Library Board of Trustees
408 High Street
Chestertown, MD 21620
DEADLINE: September 15, 2012
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August 28, 2012
Kent Youth, Inc.
PO Box 58
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-1370
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Betsy Durham
410-708-4786
SAVE THE DATE: Holiday Shopping Galleria returns to Kent County
Kent Youth, Inc. and Shared Opportunity Service (SOS), two Chestertown organizations that serve youth and their families, are once again partnering to present a fundraising Holiday Shopping Galleria to be held Friday October 12th, 2012 and Saturday October 13th at the Kent County Community Center in Worton, Maryland.
Building on the successes of last year's Galleria, the event will feature returning vendors including the gourmet foods of All Things Olive; fantastic jewelry, unique women's accessories and clothing by Leslie Jewett Designs and One Stop Kids Shop from Malvern, PA. Vendors joining the Galleria for the first time include the fantastic Wackadoodle's Toy Shop from West Grove, PA., and Ellen Allen Annapolis featuring men's gifts, handbags and home decor. Shopping opportunities for your holiday gift lists will abound with vendors offering pet toys, children's clothing, fine art, carvings,stationary, scarves and much, much more.
A Patrons' Party will be held from 5 - 8 PM on Friday October 12th. Preview shopping at our vendors, an extensive silent auction, raffle, cash bar and hors d'oeuvres provided by Jeff Carroll Catering will highlight the evening. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door.
The Galleria will be open for shopping on Saturday October 13th from 10 AM to 4 PM.General Admission is $5 at the door. A cash lunch cafe provided by Fishwhistle will also be available. Sponsorships and advertising opportunities in the Galleria handbook are available for this fundraiser. Contact Holly Bramble at dor@dmv.com for more information. For further information and tickets to the Patrons' Party visit www.kentyouth.com or call 410-778-1370.
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IN THE NEWS
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AROUND THE STATE
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From August 30th Baltimore Business Journal on-line
Maryland tax revenue $230M more than expected in fiscal 2012
Baltimore Business Journal by Ryan Sharrow, New Media Editor
Date: Thursday, August 30, 2012, 12:59pm EDT
Maryland closed its latest fiscal year with $14.3 billion in general fund revenue, reflecting a 1.6 percent increase over projections.
Comptroller Peter Franchot's office, however, said that the fiscal 2012 data show ongoing weakness in the state's job market and the fund balance should be saved - not spent.
The general fund revenue came in $229.7 million above the state's forecast. Total general fund revenue for the year ended June 30 was up 5.3 percent compared with $13.5 billion in fiscal 2011.
Sales and use taxes grew over the year to more than $4 billion.
Income taxes increased 7.1 percent year over year $7 billion - 1.7 percent higher than estimates.
But Franchot's office said wage growth in Maryland is "barely keeping pace with the rate of inflation." In a statement Thursday, he urged Gov. Martin O'Malley and Maryland General Assembly to put the fund balance toward the state's rainy day fund.
"I am satisfied and relieved that the state of Maryland exceeded our modest revenue projections," Franchot said. "However, these revenue figures serve as a snapshot of an economy that remains exceedingly fragile, and they remind us that we must proceed on a prudent financial course in the months ahead."
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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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