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Tradeline News
The Official Newsletter of the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce
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Our Mission: To protect, enhance and promote local business by providing a voice for business at local, county and state levels. |
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Welcome to Bowie, Maryland! |
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Welcome to the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce Newsletter and to our community, one of the best places in Maryland to live, work and raise a family.
The Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce understands that in order to have a strong economic environment you must have a strong community. We are truly blessed in our community to have leaders, business owners, educators and citizens who realize that we all share in the responsibility of creating economic success and happiness within our community.
The Chamber’s goal is to work toward improving the quality of life for all through the support and commitment of its members, volunteers and committees. The Chamber is proud to sponsor events throughout the year to help support the community.
As the Executive Director, I am honored to work alongside our dedicated Board who all share the same vision, business growth and healthy community environment.
If you are not a member of the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce, please join us today. Your membership will benefit your business and the community. I look forward to working with everyone.
Be well,
Pauline K. Markward
Executive Director
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News & Notes
Executive Committee
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Message from the President
With 2021 coming to a close, we wanted to reach out and send our best wishes to you and yours. I hope that 2022 holds success and good fortune in any endeavor you pursue. It has been a pleasure getting to know you and your organization this year.
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News & Notes
Membership Development
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Join a Chamber Committee Today!
Minority, Veterans & Small Business Committee
To offer useful information and networking opportunities focused on helping minority, veterans and small businesses successfully meet the challenges they face in today's business world.
Fundraising Committee
Is responsible for overseeing the organization's overall fundraising.
Legislative Committee
Advocates on behalf of the Chamber before the City Council, County Council and General Assembly. Informs the Board and membership of pending issues before those bodies of interest to Greater Bowie businesses.
Membership Development Committee
Works on expanding the Chamber membership base as well as retaining existing members.
Healthcare & Environmental Committee
Promotes Chamber Healthcare related businesses to the community, healthcare related networking events, bringing healthcare providers together, promote environmental awareness and responsibility among Chamber members. and holds community Home & Health Expo.
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Membership is just a CLICK away! |
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News & Notes
Healthcare & Environmental Committee
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HOW TO ASK: ARE YOU VACCINATED?
The Beacon
By Luminis Health
A respectful way to find out vaccination status
As the holidays approach and the weather turns cold, activities seem to shift from wide open outdoor spaces to close quarters in our homes. And while gathering around tables with your loved ones and arranging playdates for your kiddos is essential for your family’s mental health, these activities also pose a greater risk of spreading viruses. So, how do you protect your friends and family from COVID-19 during the holiday season?
It’s important that your guests understand your view on vaccination. One way is with an honest and respectful conversation about vaccination status. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at slowing the spread of coronavirus and greatly reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death. Now, with booster shots approved for all adults age 18 and older, and COVID-19 vaccines making their way to pediatrician offices for kids ages 5-12, more people than ever are eligible for the shots.
However, asking someone if they’re vaccinated isn’t always easy, especially at a time when heightened emotions and political debates seem to play into the conversation. Here are a few tips on getting a healthy and productive discussion started.
Know your rights
Some individuals have pointed to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) as a reason they don’t have to share vaccination status. That’s actually not true. HIPPA does protect an individual’s health information from being shared by health institutions or providers without their consent. But it doesn’t make it wrong – or illegal – to ask someone if they’ve been vaccinated. Just keep in mind though, that just because you ask, doesn’t mean they have to answer you.
Approach the topic with respect
Because vaccines are such a hot topic, it’s important to frame the question carefully. Letting your loved ones know upfront you understand (and respect) their point of view, even if it’s different than your own, will help put everyone at ease from the start.
As you dive into the discussion, we suggest using “I” statements instead of “you” statements. For example:
Try:
“Our family includes immunocompromised individuals, so we do our best to protect them. One way we do that is by asking about vaccination status of the people we’ll be around. This helps us make choices that are best for our family. Have you and your family been vaccinated?”
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“We want to keep our kids in school as much as possible this year. One way we’re doing that is by reducing our exposure to COVID-19, however we can. I have to ask, has your family been vaccinated?”
Remember, respect is key in this scenario, so even if the conversation ends differently than you’d hoped, it’s crucial you convey that you understand each family has to make the decision that’s right for them.
Know what to do if others aren’t vaccinated
What you do next largely depends on your comfort level and if anyone in your family is at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19. But here are a few options to consider:
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Ask everyone to wear a mask. If the activity will take place indoors or you’re hosting a party at your own home, ask that everyone wear a mask.
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Ask people if they feel sick to stay home. Anyone with cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms should stay away from others to help reduce the risk of making others sick
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Move activities outside. You may need to bundle up against the cold air, but outdoor events pose lower risk of spreading COVID-19 and other illness, like the seasonal flu.
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Opt out of the activity. Remember, if you don’t feel safe or comfortable spending time indoors with people who haven’t been vaccinated, you can politely and respectfully decline the invitation.
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Want to add another layer of protection to your gathering? Ask people who haven’t been vaccinated to show a negative COVID-19 test. Keep in mind, these tests aren’t always accurate at identifying active infections in asymptotic individuals, but it can help give you and your guests some peace of mind.
Find ways to stay included and involved
It’s been tough on everyone over the past two years. What we’ve learned is that there are many ways to stay in touch during milestone celebrations without increasing your family’s COVID-19 risk.
If you do choose not to attend parties or get-togethers, here are a few ways you can still spread that holiday cheer:
- Ask the host to dial you in virtually for a portion of the event
- Bake a goody bag of cookies and candy to mail or drop off at someone’s house
- Send a sweet card letting loved ones know you are thinking of them
- Start a “You’ve Been Elfed” tradition where you leave a bucket of sweet treats and little presents on neighbor’s porches
We’re here for you
We understand that vaccinations bring a wide range of responses and beliefs. However, we do hope that as time goes by, we’ll all see the great benefit of choosing to become vaccinated. After all, it’s how we can keep ourselves healthy and well, and our loved ones safe.
If you have any questions, we have answers. And should you decide you’re ready to schedule your vaccination, visit one of our community vaccine clinics.
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Eight Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
Physician Darren Young, DO, of Kaiser Permanente Well Friendship Heights Medical Center, offers tips on how to navigate the holiday season while keeping your health on track. From portion size to eating habit and even getting enough sleep, these tips are a must-read for everyone.
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Go Green
Sustainability
The term sustainability is used to describe an efficient way of looking at development and growth. According to The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook (p. 119), it is "about meeting today's needs without hampering future generations." This means growth that ensures waste-free production, values people, and maximizes profits -- the process recognized as the triple bottom line.
Sustainability Plan
The Bowie Sustainability Plan, adopted on November, 21, 2016, is a 10-year plan that details goals, strategies, and actions that will help ensure Bowie is a diverse and vibrant community that is committed to its citizens, economy, and natural environment. Achieving the objectives in this plan will be a continued community effort, and every resident can make a difference. Each year we do an update of where the City is in regards to the Sustainability Plan - what actions have been taken, what we have achieved, and what we still need to work on. View the 2020 update here
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The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Health officials tell us flu shots will be especially important as we move into flu season while still in the midst of the global pandemic. Flu shots are now available for County residents through the County Health Department’s upcoming free flu shot clinics. Adults with insurance are encouraged to get vaccinated by their primary care provider or at a local pharmacy. For more information and to make an appointment for the County’s free flu shot clinics, visit http://health.mypgc.us/flu
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COVID-19 is a disease caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. Most people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, but some people can become severely ill. Although most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks of illness, some people experience post-COVID conditions. Post-COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience more than four weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Older people and those who have certain underlying medical conditions are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19. Vaccines against COVID-19 are safe and effective.
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Your health matters to the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce.
Over the next few weeks we will be practicing social distancing by limiting or reducing unessential meetings.
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News & Notes
Minority, Veterans and Small Business Committee
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How to prepare for a return to the office: ‘People’s social skills are really rusty,’ cautions etiquette expert
People are “just not used to carrying on a conversation the way that they did before the pandemic.”
Published Fri, Dec 31 202112:10 PM EST
Sooner or later, those who have been lucky enough to be doing their jobs from home for the better part of two years are going to need to start preparing to go back to the office.
Many of those workers aren’t ready to resume once-routine office interactions like casual, face-to-face conversations: “People’s social skills are really rusty,” says Jodi Smith, an etiquette expert and president of consulting firm Mannersmith.
“So many people have been used to being on Zooms with lots of [attendees]” that it’s easy to get distracted and multitask, Smith says. “People are talking and typing on their computer at the same time” and not totally present.
So when people see one another in person, professionally or personally, those interactions can be awkward.
“There’s a pause, because they’re just not used to carrying on a conversation the way that they did before the pandemic,” Smith says. “It’ll come back to us when things get better, but I think we need to add a little bit of extra grease into our conversations” during early days back at the office.
It’s unclear how soon workers might have to put their social skills back into practice: As the delta variant surged across the country, many large employers reconsidered their back-to-work plans. Some, like Microsoft, pushed their return date back indefinitely. And by Thanksgiving, omicron forced employers to reassess yet again. In early December, other tech heavyweights like Google and Meta (parent company of Facebook) amended their plans for workers to return to the office in January.
Google moved its date from January 10 to some yet-to-be-determined time in 2022; Meta will continue with plans to fully open its doors on January 31 but will give individual employees the option to delay their return for 3 to 5 months.
Ahead of your return to office, whenever it is, here are Smith’s best tips to brush up your social skills.
Extroverts: ‘Take a breath’ to avoid overwhelming colleagues
Extroverts in particular are likely to be really excited to finally see co-workers again when it happens, but it will be a smart decision to temper some of that excitement. “Remember to pause and take a breath,” Smith says. You “don’t want to overwhelm other extroverts or people who are introverted.”
She uses an office meeting to illustrate what that tempering might look like.
“It’s the first staff meeting that everybody’s in the room together,” she says. “Everybody’s giving a little update on the stories they’re working on, or whatever projects they happen to be doing. Make sure as an extrovert not to jump in and talk over somebody else, even if you’re excited for what they’re doing. Let them finish their sentence.”
"[You] don’t want to overwhelm other extroverts or people who are introverted."
Jodi Smith ETIQUETTE EXPERT, MANNERSMITH
If you’re used to leading conversations, lead them in a way that invites other people to participate, Smith says. For example, at the end of a meeting, ask if anyone wants to add any last thoughts, not as a way of putting anyone on the spot, but making sure “everybody had some airtime.”
“If you realize that Susie over in the corner hasn’t said anything, give her the opportunity,” Smith says. “Invite her into the conversation.”
How much money do I need to start investing?
Introverts: ‘You cannot run a marathon the first day you put on running shoes’
Introverts will likely need to dedicate some effort in steeling themselves for working in close physical proximity to others, Smith says. She likens it to a runner preparing for a big race.
“You cannot run a marathon the first day you put on running shoes,” Smith says. “You have to start building up” over time.
Now that more companies are delaying their back-to-work plans, this is a great time to be doing that warmup. There are plenty of low-stakes, low-Covid-risk social activities that introverts can do to train, Smith says.
“Start finding ways to have face-to-face conversations leading up to when you need to return to the office, she says. “Go for a walk with somebody around the block. Get a cup of coffee, sit in the park, and talk to a friend one-on-one. Have a longer meeting with somebody you want to see.”
"Go for a walk with somebody around the block. Get a cup of coffee, sit in the park, and talk to a friend one-on-one. Have a longer meeting with somebody you want to see."
Jodi Smith ETIQUETTE EXPERT, MANNERSMITH
Smith also points out that many introverts likely won’t be happy upon their initial return to the office, and that’s totally fine. Be aware of those feelings and know that they are normal.
“Don’t expect to go into the office for eight hours and feel OK,” Smith says. “Go in for two hours one day, then work the rest of the day from home, build up to it in whatever way you can so that you’re not running that marathon on the first day back in the office.”
And remember, whether you’re an introvert, an extrovert, or someone in between, we will all need plenty of grace in the year ahead.
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Woodmore Towne Centre in Prince George’s County Sold
January 4, 2022, 10:22 AM
Prince George’s County’s Woodmore Towne Centre, one of the largest open-air shopping centers in the D.C. region, has been sold to New York-based Urban Edge Properties for $193.4 million.
The Wegmans-anchored shopping center, covers 83 acres in Glenarden, Maryland, off the Capital Beltway, with FedEx Field within view. The shopping center had six million shopper visits in 2021, according to Urban Edge.
The property is 97% leased. Its tenants include Costco, Best Buy, Nordstrom Rack, Silver Diner and LA Fitness. Home furnishings store At Home replaced a shuttered J.C. Penney Co. store last summer.
Urban Edge’s purchase also included 22 acres of adjacent land that may be used for future commercial development.
Woodmore Towne Center is part of a larger 245-acre community that includes 500 recently constructed homes, a hotel and a new Children’s Medical Center.
The shopping center was developed by Annapolis-based Heritage Partners, which continues to serve as its property manager.
Urban Edge’s Washington area portfolio includes Forest Plaza in Annapolis and Rockville Town Center. It funded the Woodmore Towne Centre acquisition with a combination of cash and bank financing.
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News & Notes
Fundraising Committee
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Bowie Chamber has adopted the Peanut Butter Shelf in the Bowie Interfaith Pantry. Each month the Bowie Food Pantry goes through approximately 350 jars of peanut butter.
You can drop off your donation at the Chamber office or directly to the Bowie Food Pantry, located at 2614 Kenhill Drive, Suite 134. (Chamber Office is Suite 117.)
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Holiday Party 2021
Thank you for attending the 2021 Annual Holiday Party. We enjoyed getting together with friends, family and coworkers. The Country Club at Woodmore did a wonderful job providing top service and catering. We are looking forward to a prosperous 2022!
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Thank You
The Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce extends a warm thank you to Capture the Moment Photography by Ro, LLC, for the lovely pictures of our holiday party.
If you would like more information on Capture the Moment Photography, Click Here
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In-Person Networking Opportunity
Bowie Chamber 5:35!
Chessie's Chesapeake Grill
Comfort Inn Conference Center
4500 NW Crain Highway
Bowie, MD 20715
2nd Wednesday of the Month (January 12, 2022)
Starts at 5:35 p.m.
**CASH BAR**
No registration required.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Monday, January 17, 2022
Chamber office will be closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
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For additional information call 301-262-0920 or email info@BowieChamber.org
72-Hour notice is required on cancellations
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Bowie Business Journal
In conjunction with the GBCC, Bowie Business Journal (BBJ) is a cable television program designed to help Bowie business owners start and grow their business. The 30-minute show features GBCC members. If you would like to be a guest and showcase your business please email info@BowieChamber.org
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News & Notes
Legislative Committee
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2022 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
444th session of General Assembly
will convene in Annapolis, Maryland
January 12 - April 11, 2022
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Kudos!
If your business has reached a milestone or received an award, please email the Chamber at info@bowiechamber.org. We look forward to giving kudos in Tradeline!
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Corporate Partnership Program
The Chamber Corporate Partnership Program is an affordable and effective way to plan your marketing strategy during your annual budget preparation. Each year the Chamber offers its membership an opportunity to participate in the Chamber Corporate Partnership Program which allows our members to receive maximum recognition and to maximize the return on their investment by choosing from one of five Chamber Corporate Partnership Program sponsor levels. Three great events which are very popular with our Corporate Partners are the Annual Meeting, the Annual Golf Tournament and BowieFest. We also have many other major events from which to choose, including the State of the City and the State of Prince George's County. Contact the Bowie Chamber to secure your sponsorship today!
Thanks to our Corporate Partners
Corporate Partners
Presenting
Kaiser Permanente
Platinum
BGE an Exelon Company
Bowie Baysox
Gold
Todd Turner, Chair, County Councilman- District 4
Silver
O'Malley, Miles, Nylen & Gilmore, P.A.
St. John Properties
Total Tax Service
Visiting Angels Homecare Agency
Widmann Financial Services
NAI Michael
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2021 - 2022 Board of Directors
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Terry Rogers
President
NAI Michael
Chair, Nominating Committee
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Michael Oleru
Vice President
BGE
Chair, Business & Economic Development Committee
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Christopher Rizzi
Secretary
Bohler
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Vikki Kalitsi
Treasurer
Visiting Angels
Chair, Budget Committee
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Stephanie P. Anderson
Past President
O'Malley, Miles, Nylen & Gilmore, P.A.
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Tom Zizos
Beall Funeral Home
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R. Anthony Pasciuto
Byrd & Byrd, LLC
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Reginald Forbes
Forbes Financial
Chair, Golf Tournament
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Tonga Y. Turner
Kaiser Permanente
Chair, Healthcare Committee
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Tony Perez
LA Perez Consulting
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Muriel Evans-Buck
Luminis Health
Co-Chair, Golf Tournament
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Craig Muckle
Marketing Consultant
Co-Chair, Golf Tournament
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Catherine Newman
Melvin J. Berman
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Wanda Rogers
Realty Transaction Services Inc.
Chair, Women in Business Committee
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Andrew M. Roud
St. John Properties
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Michael Byrd
Sydian Systems, LLC
Chair, Legislative Committee
Chair, Membership Committee
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Diane M. Polangin
Total Tax Service
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Pauline K. Markward
Executive Director
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Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce can't thank our members enough for all they do... and of course, we would love to see even more NEW members, so everyone, please try to make it part of your mission to bring in at least one new member!
For more information, contact our Membership Committee membership@BowieChamber.org.
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