It was a fantastic afternoon at Turf Valley for our 48th Annual Meeting Luncheon! 

Chamber President & CEO Leonardo McClarty opened the meeting by recognizing past chairs including Mark Cissel, Greg Lowe, Ron Meliker, Gordon Mumpower, Donna Richardson and Paul Skalny. 

He also thanked the elected officials in attendance including Senator Gail Bates, Vikki Garcia representing Congressman John Sarbanes and Acting Superintendent for the Howard County Public School System, Dr. Michael J. Martirano.

Four students from Howard Community College's Entrepreneurial Program each had the room captivated as they shared business ideas they came up with to solve an existing problem. The winning student, Melissa Robbins, pitched her idea for a company called RADD (Real Solutions for ADD). 

The other three students, Carly Cokas, who calls her business Colony Kombucha, Megan Whalen, who calls her business KAI, and Thomas Harsham, who calls his business FlashServe all impressed the crowd with their well thought out and exciting ideas.

Each year at the Annual Meeting the Chamber also presents awards to members who have gone above and beyond in their efforts and support for HCCC over the past year.

The 2017 GovConnects Advocate of the Year was announced as Ron Sroka, Jr. from Evolve Consulting, the 2017 Young Professional of the Year was announced as Elyssa Auerbach from Lowe Wealth Advisors, the 2017 Business Advocate of the Year was announced as Mike Fowler from BGE and the 2017 Ambassador of the Year was announced as Kartik Shah from PNC Bank. Each of the winners has been a tremendous asset to the Chamber!

We also said goodbye to Board members whose terms are expiring including Dave Sciamarelli, from Mackenzie Commercial Real Estate, Mike Fowler, from BGE, Cole Schnorf, from Manekin, LLC and Matt Wilson, from First Potomac Realty Group. The Chamber and the Howard County business community owe each of them a debt of gratitude.

The meeting was also part of official Chamber business as the gathering included a vote on nominees for Board of Directors seats for 2017. Charles Camp, from M&T Bank, Kelly Mitchell, from impactHR, Barbara Nicklas, from The Mall in Columbia (not pictured) and Eric Pfoutz, from Edward Jones Investments who were all voted in.

Board Chair Jeff Agnor followed the vote by talking about the direction of the Chamber over the coming year. Agnor used the acronym DARE to describe the direction of the Chamber. The main points of which were Diversity, Advocacy, Relevance and Engagement.

Agnor also revealed that after more than 30 years in our current offices, the Howard County Chamber of Commerce is moving to Columbia Crossing on Old Dobbin Lane. The move will put our office closer to the Howard County Economic Development Authority's Center for Entrepreneurship, the Howard Community College Business Training Center and will give our members easy access to the offices from Route 29 and Interstate 95. 

The move will be completed by the end of the year, and in addition to a physical change, the Chamber is also going through a Re-branding process that we can't wait to share the results of.

Chamber President Leonardo McClarty closed the meeting by thanking everyone for attending and telling the crowd that this will be a year of exciting changes for the Chamber that will help us continue to serve as The Voice of Business for this community.

Lastly, we do have a bit of sad news to share. Our Vice President of Operations, Joanne Birdsong has decided to move on from the Chamber after ten years of dedicated service. We are very sorry to see her go, but happy for her to start a new chapter of her life! It is impossible to put into words what Joanne has meant to the Chamber over the last decade, but she has been an instrumental part of every goal we've achieved and has been essential to the development and implementation of our strategic plan.

Congressman John Sarbanes paid a visit to our Chamber offices this week to talk with Chamber CEO & President Leonardo McClarty and Board Chair Jeff Agnor, Esq. Congressman Sarbanes gave a quick recap of the latest from Capitol Hill and detailed some of the recent changes that will directly impact our Chamber members. 

More than a dozen regulatory actions that were put into place by the Obama administration have already been rolled back under the Trump administration. Congressman Sarbanes also explained that there is a great deal of uncertainty right now in Washington regarding what will happen to the Affordable Care Act and what the details of President Trump's tax reform outline will look like.

Sarbanes also asked about what we at the Chamber having been hearing from members. Both Chamber President McClarty and Board Chair Agnor expressed concerns from our small business members about access to financing and uncertainty about what health care benefits they will be required to provide to employees in the future. In addition, President McClarty and Board Chair Agnor shared the Chamber's concerns over some pieces of legisation on the state level. The Chamber has been very active advocating against the Paid Sick Leave Act, potential changes to overtime pay and the minimum wage.

Congressman Sarbanes also spoke about the need to get more small businesses looking for federal government contracts in front of the people awarding those contracts from various agencies. 

Lastly, Congressman Sarbanes shared that he is pushing for a return to apprenticeships in industries that sometimes have trouble finding qualified potential employees including IT, cyber security, and engineering.

For more information about the ways the Chamber advocates for its members with our elected officials, click here.

Looking for an opportunity to meet with leading small business resource providers? Join the U.S. Small Business Administration for "Small Business Resource Days" to learn about the many small business financing options available through SBA. 

Schedule of Resource Days:

May 24 - 9 a.m. - Noon - Hagerstown

May 25 - 9:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. - Wye Mills

Don't miss your chance to meet with small business assistance organizations and learn more about the opportunities available for small businesses.

For more information or to register click here

June is National Safety Month and to celebrate, the Maryland Division of Labor and Industry's (DLLR) Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) program is hosting an Open House in Hunt Valley.

The Open House will include demonstrations, safety tips, information sharing and networking.

Maryland Occupational Safety and Health

Hunt Valley, MD

June 1, 2017

1 - 3 p.m.

Click here for more information or to register for the Open House

More than 10,000 employers, including the Howard County Chamber of Commerce, participated in the 2016 Small Business Credit Survey to take the pulse of business conditions and the credit environment at small businesses across the country.

The survey results showed that many employers reported their small businesses were profitable and optimistic, but the majority faced challenges including relying on personal finances to meet funding gaps.

For more information about Junior Achievement of Central Maryland click here.

The next time you book a stay at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, prepare yourself for a whole new experience!

Turf Valley has completed a multi-million-dollar renovation featuring an updated look for 128 guest rooms and suites, a new entryway into The Garden, the resorts' outdoor wedding ceremony space and additional work to ADA compliant rooms.

The renovations happened over the winter and have just been unveiled!