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Save the Date for the Chamber's
50th Anniversary
Signature Event
Saturday, October 5, 2019 | 6:00 PM
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50th ANNUAL MEETING of HOWARD COUNTY CHAMBER of COMMERCE
Join us for the 50th Annual Meeting as we celebrate serving Howard County's business community, honor outstanding volunteers and ratify the new slate for the Board of Directors
May 16, 2019 | 11 AM - 1:30 PM
Turf Valley Resort
2700 Turf Valley Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042
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SMALL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE LAUNCHES MAY 15, 2019
< ONLY 3 SEATS LEFT >
Preparing for the Unexpected: Protecting Your Business and Client Assets
Connectivity through the Internet has yielded businesses everywhere tremendous productivity and profitability opportunities. With these vast opportunities come great vulnerabilities to cyberattacks. The same electronic avenue that makes business more profitable and life so convenient and easy, also enables those who would disrupt and frequently steal. The complexity of networks and how we are connected continues to baffle business owners large and small. Spending on cybersecurity has skyrocketed, yet many businesses remain perplexed at how to plan and stay abreast of the various protections and threats availed to them...
Learn more about this Small Business Roundtable topic by
clicking here.
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MARYLAND BUSINESS CLIMATE SURVEY RESULTS DISCUSSION
The Maryland Public Policy Institute and the University of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute have partnered to bring back the Maryland Business Climate Survey. This Pilot Survey, conducted at the close of 2017 and start of 2018, is the first in what is a quarterly survey on the performance of the state's economy and business perceptions on Maryland as a place to do business. The goal of the survey is to provide timely data on the performance and direction of the state's economy.
Join us for a discussion of the survey and the potential opportunities represented by it's results.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019 | 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists
9705 Patuxent Woods Drive
Columbia, MD 21046
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2019 CYBER CONFERENCE Coming on June 19th.
Don't Miss It - R
egister Early.
Meet, Greet, Share and Learn.
The number one attack vector for our cyber security systems has been, and more than likely will always be, our people. As technology and security improve, user awareness must also improve. Identifying insider threats, whether malicious or accidental, is a crucial part of securing an organization's systems.
Leaders must know their people, what drives them, and how to be honest with them, in order to ensure organizational loyalty, trust, and reliability.
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2019 ANNUAL CHAMBER PARTNERS
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Strategic Alliance Partner
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Join us in welcoming two new members to the Chamber this week. We are happy to see them come onboard.
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In honor of our 50th Anniversary Year, we will be recognizing some of our original members throughout the year in this section of the newsletter as well as some of our newest members!
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Howard Chamber joins County Executive Ball and Lincoln Tech in Bringing Attention to Skills Gap
While a robust economy is proving good for business earnings, a low unemployment rate is posing challenges for many, especially those seeking skilled tradesmen. Earlier this week, the Howard County Chamber alongside the Howard County Economic Development Authority, County Executive Dr. Calvin Ball, statewide elected officials, higher education, and private industry participated in a Skills Gap Summit to bring attention to the glaring shortfall of qualified trade specialists. Hosted by Lincoln Tech, the event discussed the alarming shortfall of automotive technicians, electricians, HVAC techs and others.
Labor cost and the shortfall of talent is causing firms to suffer across Maryland leading to the hiring and training of less qualified persons, the settling for under-qualified persons, or recruiting their employees from outside. A Maryland Business Climate Survey showed Maryland firms appear to be experiencing long-term difficulties in finding the workers needed, with 38 percent of the firms reporting difficulties in obtaining workers experiencing long term shortages and 34 percent reporting both long- and short-term shortages. Thus, 72 percent of firms reporting difficulties in finding workers
Regional economic competitiveness aside, skilled labor is also important for community development purposes. An inadequate workforce ultimately limits economic opportunity, mobility and global competitiveness. As we move forward, it is imperative that we continue to discuss workforce development, skills training, and career - technical education. It is also important that we celebrate these programs and move them from a social service type conversation to one of investment, economic development and global competitiveness.
The Howard County Chamber will continue to discuss this workforce challenge in the days ahead. A meeting concerning apprenticeships and how they support employer needs will be held in July. Details are forthcoming
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Chamber Members Recognized as Influential Marylanders
Several Howard Chamber members were recently recognized by The Daily Record as 2019 Influential Marylanders.
Congratulations to:
- Creig Northrop, CEO & President, Northrop Realty
- Mary McLaughlin, Senior VIce President, Comcast
- Christopher Holt - Regional President, BBT
- Brian Pieninck - President & CEO, Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield
- Charles Monk - Saul Ewing, Arnstein & Lehr
- Allan Riorda - Principal & President, Lee @ Associates
- Ralph Semmel - Director, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
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Planet Health 360 Ribbon Cutting is coming...
Come out and meet one of the Chambers newest members and learn about their "urgent care and more," facilities.
May 13, 2019
Planet Health 360
7310 Elkridge Court, 3A
Elkridge, MD 21075
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Ribbon Cutting scheduled at
Inspire Movement
Physical Therapy
We help people from all walks of life. From elite athletes to weekend warriors, to people just trying to get through their day or those recovering from an injury or surgery.
May 14, 2019 | 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Inspire Movement Physical Therapy
10260 Old Columbia Road, B1
Columbia, MD 20146
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HOWARD COUNTY OFFICE OF PURCHASING HOSTING CERTIFICATION WORKSHOP
The Howard County Office of Purchasing will be hosting a Minority & Local Business Certification Workshop..
This workshop will feature presenters from Howard County Office of Purchasing and Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA), who will share information on the Equal Business Opportunity (EBO) Program, Local Business Initiative, Howard County procurement process, and information on business development incentives and resources within Howard County.
Tuesday, June 04, 2019 | 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Howard County Library
Miller Branch, Ellicott Room
9421 Frederick Rd,
Ellicott City, MD 21042.
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Howard Community College (HCC) Launches Maryland's First Construction Management Apprenticeship Program
To meet the growing demand for employees in the construction management industry, Howard Community College (HCC) will offer Maryland's first
Construction Management Apprenticeship Program
. The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation recently approved HCC as a registered apprenticeship sponsor for the new program, which will launch this summer. Chamber member Impact Marketing & Public Relations consulted with HCC on the communications plan to get the word out.
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Apprenticeship Maryland
Academy
When your business participates in the
Apprenticeship Maryland program, y
ou get a chance to cultivate a highly trained
workforce and help 12th grade students to begin their careers in high-demand fields.
Apprenticeship Maryland is an incredibl
e
opportunity to have a positive impact on the
career development of qualified students, and your company bottom line. Benefits of participation in the program include:
- Streamlined Recruiting
- Trained potential Full-Time Employees
- Improved Retention
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Eye on the Economy: An Interactive Look at Maryland and the Regional Economy in March 2019
The most recent jobs report showed that between February and March, Maryland gained 3,100 Total Nonfarm positions, including 2,900 Total Private jobs and 200 Government jobs.
* Maryland's greatest employment gains were in the Education and Health Services sector with an increase of 2,800 jobs, followed by the Financial Activities sector with 2,500 jobs.
* The unemployment rate for Maryland was 3.8 percent in March, up slightly from 3.7 percent in February.
Read more at Towson University's Regional Economic Studies Institute website.
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