CHAMBER EVENTS   

DATE:   February 21, 2014  

CONTACT: Carol D'Agostino, (410) 604-2319; carol@purplecatpr.com

ShoreVenture classes begin March 19 at Chesapeake College

WYE MILLS, MD - A good idea and passion often plant the seeds of a new business concept. However, the reality of successfully launching a new, sustainable business requires much more than mere enthusiasm. Fortunately for Eastern Shore entrepreneurs and business owners an intense arsenal of resources and knowledge are available through a 10-week course called ShoreVenture. The program is sponsored by the Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center (ESEC), Easton. Registration for the spring class at Chesapeake College is currently underway.

ShoreVenture is designed to provide guidance and support in a group-oriented environment, and is taught by actual Eastern Shore entrepreneurs. The course is based on the nation's leading entrepreneur training program called NewVenture, which was developed by the Kauffman Foundation. Classes will be held on Tuesdays from 6 to 9 p.m., starting March 19th and ending May 21. The fee of $295.00, and is 100% refundable upon satisfactory completion of the course. Register online at shoreventure.com. For more information, call (410) 770-9330.

For three recent graduates the course provided not only practical knowledge that could be implemented right away, but also support and technical know-how that they will use to sustain and grow their businesses.

For Barbara Reed, RN, administrator of a home health business in Chestertown called Loving Touch Home Care, LLC, the 10-week class was well worth the time for the plentiful resources as well as the networking opportunities. "For me the vision was there, but sometimes when I was in class listening I realized I may have done some things differently if I had taken the course sooner. The textbook we used in the class is on my desk and I refer to it often," she says. "For the way I learn it was the networking that was the best part for me. I not only had the benefit of taking the class with other people who were going through what I was, but my instructors and other resource people available to me through the course are helping me as I implement my business plan," she adds.

Classmate Mary Jeeter found the financial section of ShoreVenture to be most beneficial for her as she established Another Look, a consignment store in Denton. "I felt like I knew a lot going into the course, but I had no idea how to write a business plan. The financial part helped me out a lot," she says. "The class speakers helped bring all of the topic to life, and I found it helpful to get ideas from my classmates as well," she adds.

The biggest takeaway for fellow classmate Stacey Tibbitt of Easton, founder of Mini Messages, was the classroom experience and learning how to write a business plan. "Although the class was a huge time commitment I looked forward to attending class. The time flew by, and I enjoyed being around people who were doing what I was doing and going through what I was," Tibbitt says. "The class taught me that a business plan is not just for everybody else, but also very much a tool for me," she adds.

        ShoreVenture curriculum includes:

• Assessing the feasibility of a business idea and how that concept matches the participant's personal vision;
• Determining the appropriate steps for small business success;
• Defining target market and discovering competitive advantage;
• Identifying creative marketing tools, key issues and strategies for operating a viable business;
• Establishing appropriate cash flow projections and recordkeeping requirements; and
• Examining and discussing the problems and pitfalls frequently encountered when starting a small business.

For information on course content or the Chesapeake College spring ShoreVenture class, call ESEC at (410) 770-9330. Registration is underway.  

Founded in 2006, ESEC works to develop and enhance an entrepreneurial ecosystem on Maryland's Eastern Shore. ESEC provides training; services and programs to help business owners and entrepreneurs succeed by creating greater access to capital, including revolving and nano-loan fund programs. ESEC also offers educational programs that develop entrepreneurial skills and knowledge.

The Bay Area Association of Realtors and Mid-Shore Board of Realtors are having an Expo at Chesapeake College on March 20, 2014.  Members of the Chambers of Commerce from the 5 counties involved in the event (Kent, QA, Caroline, Talbot & Dorchester) are invited to participate in a Regional Mixer at the conclusion of the Expo. Below is a link to the Expo website.

All Chamber members are encouraged to participate.

http://www.baytomidshoreexpo.com/home.php 

Got oyster shells? CRA wants them!

The oyster shell collection center in Chestertown

The Chester River Association is collecting oyster shells to help restore Maryland's oyster population. To make collection easier, CRA - with support from the Oyster Recovery Partnership and Washington College - has established an oyster shell collection center in Chestertown.

The center's bins are located at the north entrance to the Washington College Boathouse, between Wilmer Park and the Armory. Residents and restaurants are encouraged to help fill the bins. Please be respectful of the boathouse and those using it when dropping off your shells.

Periodically, the Oyster Recovery Partnership will haul the collected shells to the Horn Point lab in Cambridge, where they will used as substrate for baby oysters to attach to. These old shells, with new oysters growing on them, will then be distributed across the state to help oyster restoration. Some will end up back in the Chester!

Another collection center is located at Harris' Crab House, on Kent Island, at 433 Kent Narrows Way North, just off Route 50.

Visit our website for more information: http://www.chesterriverassociation.org/programs/marylanders-grow-oysters/recycle-your-shells

COMING EVENTS

UME Kent County Agriculture ..............................................................FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Every TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY, 8:30 a.m.-Noon, Sabine Harvey, Horticulture Program Assistant & Master Gardener. Free service. Help with home horticulture problems & questions. Call 410-778-1661 or stop in and talk to Sabine. Bring plant samples with you for cultivar & disease identification. University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all persons and  will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression.

MARCH 2014:

03  -  Grain Marketing, 6:30 a.m., Sudlersville Methodist Church Hall, 103 N. Church

         Street, Sudlersville, MD. $10 breakfast buffet. NOTE DATE CHANGE! March 3, not

         This meeting only!               

03  -  Upper Eastern Shore GAP training, Wye Research and Education Center, 124 Wye

         Narrows Dr., Queenstown, MD 21658. Contact Sudeep Mathew, samathew@umd.edu,

         410-228-8800.

03  -  Write Your Own Nutrient Management Plan...Exam and Plan Writing, UME

          Washington Co. (snow date Mar. 7) For more information, please call 410-841-5959.

04  -  LAST SCHEDULED MEETING FOR RECERT FOR THE SEASON Pesticide

         Private Applicator Recertification & Nutrient Management Voucher, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00

         p.m. Talbot County Agriculture Center, Easton, MD. For more information call

         410-822-1244.

05  -  New Private Pesticide Applicator Training, 1-3 p.m., Wicomico County Extension

         Office, Salisbury, MD. Exam Date: March 12, 1-3. Contact: Debbie Collison

         dac@umd.edu; 410-749-6141.

07  -  Horticulture Lecture Series, 10-11:30 a.m., Kent County Public Library,

         Chestertown, MD, "Edible & Medicinal Plants: In the Wild & Your Back Yard", Dr.

         Susan Yost, Delaware State University. Call 410-778-1661 to register. Seating is

         limited.

08  -  Mid-Atlantic Small Flock Poultry Mini-Expo, Pylesville, MD. Register at:

         www.smallflockpoultryexpo.eventbrite.com

         Details: http://extension. umd.edu/poultry/small-flock-production/mid-atlantic-small-flock-

poultry-expo

11  -  Organic Grain, Forage & Vegetable Workshop, 8:00 a.m., Chesapeake College, Wye

         Mills, MD. Contact Jenny Rhodes: 410-758-0166. See details on front page of this

         publication.

11  -  Delmarva Broiler Lighting Conference. Three locations: Greenwood, DE,  

         Georgetown, DE and Pricness Anne, MD. Call Lisa Collins: 302-856-7303, X-1702.

    14  -  Horticulture Lecture Series, 10-11:30 a.m., Kent County Public Library,

                     Chestertown, MD, "Biodiversity, Pollination, Conservation & Connectivity", Sam

                     Droege, Biologist, Bee Inventory & Monitoring Lab,Patuxent Wildlife Research

                     Center, Beltsville, MD. Call 410-778-1661 to register. Seating is limited.

            18  -  Grain Marketing, 6:30 a.m., Sudlersville Methodist Church Hall, 103 N. Church

                     Street, Sudlersville, MD.  $10 breakfast buffet.

            21  -  Horticulture Lecture Series, 10-11:30 a.m., Kent County Public Library,

                     Chestertown, MD, "What Is This Weed?", Sabine Harvey, University of Maryland

                     Extension, Kent County Extension Program Assistant Horticulture. Call 410-778-1661

                     to register. Seating is limited.

            22  -  Introduction To Farriery Seminar, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., University of Maryland, College

                     Park, MD Only 4seats available. Register by March 1 at

            28  -  Horticulture Lecture Series, 10-11:30 a.m., Kent County Public Library,

                     Chestertown, MD, "Soils For The Well-Informed Gardener", Dr. Patricia Steinhilber,

                     UME Associate & Program Coordinator, Ag Nutrient Management Program. Call

                     410-778-1661 to register. Seating is limited.

APRIL 2014:

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Edible and Medicinal Native Plants in your Back Yard

On Friday, March 7, Dr. Susan Yost will come to Chestertown to give a talk about "Edible and Medicinal Plant: In the Wild & Your Back Yard." This talk will focus on native and naturalized plants in our forests, fields and backyards. Dr. Yost will show us how these plants can be used as food and how they were once used as traditional folk remedies. This talk is open to all. University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all persons and  will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression.

Dr. Yost is the educator at the Claude E. Phillips Herbarium at Delaware State University. The Herbarium houses about 150,000 specimens of flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns, mosses, algae, and lichens. It also functions as an active center for education and research on the world's botanical diversity. This lecture is organized by the University of Maryland, Kent County in cooperation with the Kent County Public Library. The lecture will take place at the Kent County Library in Chestertown starting at 10 am. Please call 410-778-1661 to register.

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Sultana Education Foundation Purchases Chestertown Property for Education Center

200/204 South Cross Street in Chestertown Future Site of the Sultana Education Foundations' new Education Center

Chestertown, Maryland --The Sultana Education Foundation has completed the purchase of a property in Chestertown as the site for a new 9,000 square-foot Education Center.  The establishment of Sultana's Education Center is part of a five-year initiative  by the Foundation to double the number of K-12 students it serves and expand its programs for the public.  

Located at the corner of Cannon and Cross streets, formerly the site of Kent Printing, Inc., the property features an existing 1859 building and an adjoining open lot.  The Foundation is working with the architectural firm of Castro Arts to finalize designs for a new building to be built on the open lot and joined with the existing 19th century structure.  The completed complex will include a lecture hall, wet-lab, multi-purpose classrooms, and a dedicated project shop for hands-on instruction and activities. 

Sultana's Education Center is being designed as a LEED Platinum facility, the highest certification for environmental sustainability awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. When complete, the Center will be one of only a handful LEED Platinum buildings in the United States located in a National Landmark Historic District.

Sultana plans to complete the design for its Education Center this spring, place the project out to bid over the summer, and begin construction as early as the forth quarter of 2014.  Construction will be contingent upon the Foundation securing an additional $1 million in funding.   To date the Foundation has raised $1.5 million to support the purchase of the property and to fund an operational endowment for the completed Education Center.  Sultana intends to have the Center complete and operating in the first half of 2016.

Sultana's Partner School Program  

Reduces Summer Program Tuition by  

40% for Eastern Shore Students 

Thanks to generous support from the Indian Point Foundation and The Allen Malcolm Fund, the Sultana Education Foundation has almost $10,000 in scholarship funds available through its Partner School Program for students participating in its 2014 Summer Programs.   The Foundation provides a variety of Summer Programs for children ages 7-16, including trips on the schooner SULTANA and paddling trips on the Chesapeake Bay.  Sultana's Partner School Program provides an automatic 40% tuition discount on the Foundation's five-day residential programs to students who attend designated schools in Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, and Talbot Counties.   Limited scholarships beyond Sultana's Partner School discount are available on a case-by-case basis.

"We created the Partner School Program to ensure that the Eastern Shore students we work with during the school year have an opportunity to continue learning about the Chesapeake over the summer," said Sultana President Drew McMullen.   "The Partner School Program allows us to reduce the cost of week-long trips on the schooner SULTANA from $750 to $450 and the cost of our week-long kayak trips from $450 to $285.  Those are real savings."