The Central Maryland Chamber announced that Adam Pohl will serve as the Chamber’s next Director of Membership, effective September 12, 2022.

Adam Pohl comes to the Central Maryland Chamber after a nearly two-decade career in professional sports. Pohl has worked in business development, marketing, broadcasting and public relations in his career that has spanned stints in Burlington, NC, Salem, VA, Frederick, MD and Bowie, MD.

“I’m excited to work with Adam as the Chamber’s next Director of Membership. After a comprehensive search, we’ve identified the best person to support our members and grow the organization in both size and reach. Adam’s decades of experience in business development, customer service, and sales are unparalleled, and his long history as a part of our community makes him uniquely positioned to strengthen the Chamber’s impact on our region.” - Kristi Simon, CMC President & CEO

Maryland Restaurant Week is back for its third year, kicking off September 16th. For ten days, the Restaurant Association of Maryland is bringing all counties and all restaurants together to celebrate and support our industry. For the restaurants: there’s no course requirements, no prix-fixe menus needed, and no entry fees. Participating restaurants may offer special menus, discounts or seasonal fare for dine-in, curbside, or carryout.

The Central Maryland Chamber’s Business Connections Networks (BCN) are premiere networking leads groups focused on connecting business professionals throughout Central Maryland.

​CMC offers an open format that invites each group member to contribute to the conversation. In addition, members are encouraged to meet with each other outside of the monthly meetings for coffee. These one-on-one or small group meetings are instrumental to developing meaningful business relationships that can lead to warm referrals, synergistic marketing, creative support and engaging power partners.

While members are encouraged to support each other and give leads/referrals, there is no pressure to give leads for the sake of meeting a quota. Emphasis is on giving quality leads that produce results. In addition, we have technology, sales and marketing discussions, as well as educational topics planned and presented by group participants.

The federal government needs the services and products you provide. And the federal defense and civilian agencies have a mandate to increase business with small businesses right now through 2023.

Gloria Larkin is the President and CEO of TargetGov. TargetGov celebrates its 25^th anniversary in 2022 and focuses on government contracting, business development, recruiting, RFP/GSA support and marketing services including the exclusive Federal Acceleration Strategies and Tactics FAST^® Process, the KickStart Program^®, Capability Statements, certification services, business development, and expert federal contracting services, marketing communications and calendar development and execution.

Governor Larry Hogan Announces Maryland’s State Small Business Credit Initiative Programs Now Open

Governor Larry Hogan announced Maryland programs funded by the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) are open. Up to $198 million in federal small business relief is being administered by three state agencies: the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Maryland Department of Commerce, and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). These agencies will use funds to expand and enhance nine existing state business lending and investment programs.

“The State of Maryland’s small business programs are proven and effective, providing critical relief during the pandemic and supporting strong economic growth during our ongoing recovery,” said Governor Hogan. “This additional funding will ensure Maryland continues to remain open for business by supercharging these programs to increase capacity and better serve entrepreneurs and small businesses, especially those creating jobs and other opportunities that fuel the revitalization of disinvested communities.”

Unprecedented temperatures, the war and the economy continue to escalate utility prices to historic levels. CQI’s 25-plus years of experience with proven results provides the best option for stabilizing your utility expenses. There is no better time for members to enroll in the Central Maryland Chamber's Energy Purchasing Cooperative Program and gain price stability, budget control and peace-of-mind.

Since 2004, the Cooperative electricity rates have been lower than both market rates and the weighted annual utility standard offer service rates. During our previous campaigns, participants saw an average annual savings of $4,000. Natural gas rates were also lower on average than market rates and utility monthly winter peak indexed rates.

TAKE ACTION REGISTER NOW in the current campaign which runs from September 6, 2022 to September 30, 2022. 

To learn more about the purchasing cooperative simply watch this short video.

NO ACTION will result in continually paying higher utility bills.

If you have any questions or require additional details, please contact Sean Corcoran at sean@cqiassociates.com or 410-500-9555 or Joe Tabeling with CQI Associates at joe@cqiassociates.com or 443-472-3870.

Members may post job openings to the board for free. 

Weekly Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Awareness Conversations

Remember that chief diversity officer you hired two years ago? Or maybe you called them your director of culture, chief people officer or head of supplier diversity. Everyone was so excited when you first brought them on board—eagerly signing up for training, joining employee resource groups (ERGs) and getting involved in company-wide efforts to change.

Flash forward to now. Your diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) budget isn’t as big as it used to be, and learning opportunities are few and far between. Your company ERGs haven’t met in months. Virtually nothing has changed with regard to how you operate and communicate with colleagues on a day-to-day level. It seems like your DEI practitioner—and frankly, half of everyone else in your organization—is burned out, feeling disconnected and tired of hearing the word "diversity."

Join here!

Land of Gods & Heroes Travel Program. Learn more

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