Howard Bank President and CEO Mary Ann Scully was named Chair of the 2012 Howard County Heart Ball: “Heal. Help. Hope,” hosted by the American Heart Association. Read More

Bozzuto Group Chairman and CEO Tom Bozzuto interviewed George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, before an audience of 2,000 at the 2012 National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) Annual Meeting in Boca Raton, Florida. Also during the conference, NMHC elected Tom to serve a two-year term as the Council’s Chairman. Read More

McDaniel College will build a new two-story brick and concrete stadium on its Westminster campus. It will have features such as concession stands, restrooms, observation boxes, a large press box and filming areas. It will also feature additional seating, home and visiting team meeting rooms, and a reception and gathering room. Read More

KatzAbosch announced that three of the firm’s managers, Andrew L. Bareham, CPA, MST; Kristin N. Hucht, CPA; and Josh A. Sutherland, CPA, have been promoted to Principals. Read More

NuStar Energy L.P. ranked number 15 on the 15th annual “100 Best Companies to Work for” in Fortune magazine. NuStar, which made the list for four years in a row, moved up 15 places from last year when it ranked number 30. Read More

We post a roundup of Maryland Chamber member news every Friday. Send your news to news@mdchamber.org.

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The Maryland Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for its 2012 Small Business of the Year Awards. Nominate your business, or another deserving business, today. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, March 30.

The finalists and winners will be recognized during the Small Business of the Year Awards Luncheon on Thursday, June 7 at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve. Charm City Cakes founder and Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman will be the event’s keynote speaker.

The Awards program recognizes the dedication, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit displayed by Maryland’s small businesses. Nominations are being accepted in five categories:

• Small Business of the Year (1-10 Employees)
• Small Business of the Year (11-50 Employees)
• Small Business of the Year (51-200 Employees)
• Nonprofit Partner in Business Award
• Partner in Business Award – Large Business

Nominees must be a member of the state or a local chamber of commerce, have a permanent business location with employee(s) in Maryland, and have been in operation for a minimum of two years. The judging panel for the Small Business of the Year Awards program is comprised of representatives from Maryland’s business media.

For more information and to download the nomination forms, click here. If you have any questions, contact Greg Buckler at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or gbuckler@mdchamber.org.

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Duff Goldman

Charm City Cakes founder and Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman will keynote the Maryland Chamber’s Small Business of the Year Awards Luncheon on Thursday, June 7, at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve in Hanover.

Inspired by his work with a number of notable chefs in California, Colorado, and Washington, DC, Duff’s entrepreneurial sprit took him back to Baltimore in 2000, where he finally realized his dream and opened Charm City Cakes… in his apartment. He wasn’t there for long, and as word of mouth spread, he moved into a small bakery and then an even bigger location, an old church he retrofitted into his current modern bakery, a converted church in the Remington area of Baltimore.

His out-of-the-ordinary team is known for producing highly creative cakes that range from Star Wars characters and vehicles, to a replica of the Stanley Cup, to a working life-size motorcycle, a Hogwarts Castle for Warner Bros and more. Following several appearances on its cake competition Challenge series, in 2006, Food Network tapped Chef Duff and his fellow cake baking artists at Charm City Cakes to star in Ace of Cakes. Four years, and nine seasons later, the show is still wildly popular.

Mark June 7 on your calendar and be sure to join us to hear Duff’s entrepreneurial story. Event details will be available soon.

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The Maryland Chamber’s Business Development Council will continue its series of BDC On the Road meetings on Wednesday, January 25, at 8:30 a.m., when the Council meets with Kelly & Associates Insurance Group.

BDC On the Road is a series of small group meetings to provide senior executives from small and minority owned businesses the opportunity to network with some of the region’s top leaders. Learn more about their leadership styles and what makes them tick. The events also provide attendees the opportunity to learn how small and minority owned companies can compete for business with some of the state’s large and mid-sized companies and institutions.

If you are interested in attending, register online or contact Gail Lemke at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or glemke@mdchamber.org.

In addition to the January 25 meeting, upcoming BDC On the Road meetings include: 

• February 16: with Giant’s Jamie Miller, Manager of Public Community Relations and James Sturgis Jr., Director of Supplier Diversity.
• March 22 with Under Armour’s Director of Strategic Procurement, Mark Gillen.

The Business Development Council is the Chamber’s committee that works to assist small, medium-size and minority-owned businesses to grow and prosper. Special thanks to Wells Fargo for serving as the 2012 sponsor of the Chamber’s small business program. If you’d like to attend an upcoming meeting or would like more information, contact Greg Buckler at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or gbuckler@mdchamber.org.

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The Korean Business Enterprise Organization (KoBE) announced that John P. (Jack) Hollerbach, Founder and President of Hollerbach & Associates, LLC has been named to its Advisory Board and will function as Director of Business Development for the industry group. Read More

Brent Weiss from Brotman Financial Group, was named to Forbes Magazine’s “30 under 30.” list as one of the top young professionals in the finance industry. Read More

Merritt Properties will receive the 2011 Wintergreen Award for the Best LEED® Core & Shell project in a suburban property by the U.S. Green Building Council Maryland (USGBC MD) for their Calverton Corporate Center. Read More

Earl Adams, Jr. has joined DLA Piper in the Litigation and Government Affairs practices as Of Counsel in the Baltimore office. Adams most recently served as Chief of Staff in the Office of Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Anthony G. Brown, where he gained extensive experience in a wide variety of legal and governmental matters. Read More

KCI appointed Senior Vice Presidents Charles A. Phillips Jr., RPLS and Thomas G. Sprehe, PE, BCEE, to its board of directors to serve as rotating members for a one-year term. Vice President Joel Keels, CCM, joined the board to serve as employee representative for the next two years. Phillips and Sprehe are discipline managers for the firm’s Site and Environmental disciplines, while Keels is a regional practice leader for construction management. Read More

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Mike Maiorana, President - Washington-Baltimore-Virginia Region, Verizon Wireless

1. What are some of the top trends in wireless communications that can help small businesses?

Two of the biggest trends that I see in wireless communications are the rollout of fourth generation (4G LTE) wireless networking and the enabling of machine-to-machine communications.

The performance and capabilities of our 4G LTE network are allowing customers, including small businesses, to do things that they never could do before in a wireless environment. In particular, we’re getting 10 times faster speeds than with a 3G network, which enable applications such as video sharing and surveillance, conferencing, streaming and high definition. And, LTE provides reduced latency and enhanced security, with robust and non-evasive mutual authentication, user identity confidentiality and integrity protection of all signaling messages.

Further, machine-to-machine technology is really going to ignite the continued growth in the wireless industry. The new connectivity enabled by our 4G network is providing solutions like remote diagnostics, which allows large-scale apparatus and machinery to be constantly monitored for problems that can be repaired more quickly. M2M also allows cargo to be tracked and monitored through live streaming video and allows remote adjustments to be made to temperatures on tankers. Businesses are just beginning to see the benefits of machine to machine. The possibilities for streamlining operations, increasing productivity, reducing costs and improving security are just a few of them.

2. 4G LTE recently launched in parts of Maryland, talk to me more about that and how businesses can gain from it.

In just one year, we have brought 4G LTE coverage to nearly 2/3 of the American population. 4G LTE is available in the greater Washington, DC/Baltimore area as well as Annapolis, Hagerstown and Frederick, including many smaller towns such as Norwood, Olney, Brookeville, Laytonsville, Damascus, Woodbine, Mount Airy, Clarksburg, Goshen, Germantown, Monrovia, Urbana, Green Valley, Holly Hills, and Futura.

December 5 marked the one year anniversary of Verizon Wireless LTE deployment. At that time, the 4G LTE network launched in 38 markets and covered 110 million Americans. Two 4G LTE USB modems were offered at launch, with the first smart phone going on sale in March. Now, Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network is available in 179 cities; surpassing our goal of 185 million by year-end 2011. Today, Verizon Wireless offers a total of 16 4G LTE devices. We were also named ‘Fastest 4G Network Yet’ by Popular Science’s Best of What’s New awards and ranked No. 1 on PC World’s 100 Best Products of 2011.

How will LTE and 4G change life in Maryland? 4G technology will have a tremendous impact on businesses in almost every local industry –healthcare, manufacturing, retail, security, transportation, energy management and media, to name a few. It’s an ideal mechanism for bandwidth-intensive applications like streaming video, e-mailing large, graphically intense training manuals to your employees in the field, and transmitting medical images instantaneously.

For example, Dr. Andrew Barbash, Medical Director of Neurosciences and Virtual Care Services at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland creates‘virtual care environments’ with easy-to-use chat and video applications powered by Verizon Wireless’ super-fast 4G LTE wireless network.

Through these virtualized environments, health care professionals can collaborate in real-time to track and share information (such as data-rich CT scans, MRIs or electronic health records) seamlessly and complete tasks previously unimaginable on a wireless device. Through his Motorola Xoom and HTC Thunderbolt, Dr. Barbash uses Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network to consult with other doctors, care providers, patients and their families, regardless of where they reside, to ensure continuity of care and improve patient outcomes.

Barbash said he’s become “untethered and unshackled” in his meetings with patients and colleagues. He can oversee the Intensive Care Unit remotely from other locations and have nurses “ping” him if they have a question or consult with specialists across the country, showing them test results on the same screen that also hosts a video conference. He says“that’s a huge breakthrough.”

3. What are some business mobility best practices?

There is certainly a demand for mobility with small to mid-sized businesses. It’s exciting how wireless devices have become not only a utility, but a necessary part of all business and consumers’lifestyles. Customers are looking for quality, reliability, value and convenience. It’s critical that they can rely on a network that’s able to do that for them, not only now, but also as their demands and needs on that network increase.

We believe that network reliability is the foundation of why people use our services. Getting back to 4G, our network creates incredible opportunities for our customers to collaborate online in new ways, instantaneously share data, video and very large, graphic-intense files with increased efficiency and virtually no delay.

In terms of best practices, tablets offer serious benefits for businesses and are quickly proving themselves to be an essential business tool, making people more efficient and productive. The iPad or the Xyboard 10.1 by Motorola, for instance, of course offer internet access and email, but also deliver a unique combination of compact portability and performance. Let’s say your making a presentation on the road, like I often do, you can make the most of any opportunity showing pictures, videos, blueprints and more. It’s easy to share your ideas, and with apps like QuickOffice, you can easily view, edit or create documents on site. There are thousands of useful apps for business but you can also customize your own, depending on your specific needs.

I also view machine-to-machine technology as a best practice for business. For example, with LTE, inventory can be monitored remotely, in real time, so that when stock of a certain item is running low, an alert is triggered and a re-order is automatically placed. If you’re an exporter, you can track and monitor, through live streaming video, the condition of your cargo, make adjustments to the temperature of the container if needed, and verify its safe and secure transport and delivery.

4. What are some things that Verizon Wireless is doing to help small businesses?

Bottom line, no matter what size your business is, our customers have to deliver ROI, maximize productivity and be more responsive to their customers to keep their business competitive. Productivity and responsiveness to your customers is critical. Being available, being able to have a reliable connection so that your customers can always find you is a big competitive advantage.

Smartphones, tables, netbooks and Push-to-Talk allow you to do anything in a mobile environment that you can do in a landline environment, improving your results and getting things done from the field, in real-time.

So our network is enabling a lot more than phone calls, emails and Internet browsing – we’re using it to solve customers’ business problems and help customers simplify their business, capture new revenue streams, and connect to any device, back-office application or field service operation. This, of course, comes in particularly helpful with small business.

5. What are your must-carry devices when you’re not in the office?

I always have a smartphone, ususally the latest device. Right now, it’s the Nexus which just launched Dec. 15. It’s the first smartphone to combine Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the power of our 4G LTE network. I also carry a Droid Razr, which also operates over our 4G LTE network. It’s a super-thin device and is packed with apps like MotoCast and features like remote wipe, pin lock and government-grade encryption for email, calendar and contacts.

It would be unusual to see me without an iPad, or tablet. As someone who is on the road frequently, it’s my essential business tool. I always carry a 4G LTE Jetpack that connects my iPad and my accessories are a hands-free headset, iGo charger, VPC and case.

6. Do you have a favorite mobile productivity app, other than the obvious ones like email and calendar?

My favorite business App is Citrix that enables access to all of my reporting. My favorite personal App is NFL Mobile, go Ravens!

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Business Day in Annapolis on Thursday, January 19, 2012, will connect hundreds of business leaders with decision makers in Annapolis to promote a strong pro-business, pro-jobs agenda. This event, which will be held at the Loews Annapolis Hotel beginning at 7:30 a.m., is an outstanding opportunity to:

• Network with hundreds of other Maryland business leaders.
• Learn about the impact federal budget cuts will have on Maryland from Congressman Christopher Van Hollen (D-Dist. 8).
• Preview the 2012 General Assembly session with the legislature’s presiding officers and minority leaders.
• Promote the 2012 Business Agenda.
• Visit your legislators.

Registration is $65 per person for Maryland Chamber members. The nonmember rate is $85. Register online or contact Kristen Solis at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or ksolis@mdchamber.org.

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Advance entered into a five-year partnership agreement with the Baltimore Ravens, extending its status as the team’s official document solutions partner through 2017. Advance, whose partnership with the Ravens began in 2002, will consult with the organization on creating new efficiencies through electronic document management, developing systems that streamline how documents are processed, shared and stored digitally. Read More

Girl Scouts of Central Maryland reappointed Sheela Murthy, Founder and President of Murthy Law Firm, as Chair of its Board of Directors for another two-year term.

Diana Boyd DeWitt, CPA, of Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates, P.A. earned the Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP) designation. The designation, issued by the Institute of Certified Construction Financial Professionals, is earned by professionals who have a very high level of expertise in the construction industry. Read More

The Baltimore Business Journal recognized MacKenzie associates J. Scott Wimbrow and Patricia “Trish” Farrell as 2011 Top Real Estate Professionals. The sale of Upper Chesapeake Health in Havre de Grace garnered the No. 20 spot on the BBJ’s list of Largest Commercial Real Estate Deals in the Baltimore Area while the firm, which employs more than 30 brokers, was honored in the No. 5 spot on the BBJ largest commercial real estate firms in the Baltimore area. Read More

KatzAbosch expanded its services to the Federal Government and Government Contractors by launching a new subsidiary, KatzAbosch Consulting LLC led by Andrew Jones and operated by KatzAbosch, P.A. Read More

We post a roundup of Maryland Chamber member news every Friday. Send your news to news@mdchamber.org.

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The Maryland Chamber’s Board of Directors announced the 2012 inductees into the Maryland Business Hall of Fame. They will be honored during the Maryland Chamber’s Annual Meeting & Business Hall of Fame Awards Dinner, which will be held on April 30 at the BWI Marriott. This year’s honorees are:

Betty Buck
President of Buck Distributing Company, Inc.
Buck Distributing was founded in 1946 by Betty’s father Irwin Buck. She was named President in 1986, and under her direction the company continued to grow to become one of the largest woman-owned and operated Miller Brewing Company distributers in the country, employing more than 100 people with annual sales of more than $49 million. In 2007, Betty became the first woman to chair of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. She was also the first woman chair of the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

William R. Roberts
Regional President for Maryland and Washington, D.C, Verizon (Retired)
Born and raised in Talbot County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Roberts began his career with C&P Telephone Company in Washington, D.C., in 1980 as a business office manager. He went on to hold positions of increasing responsibility in operations, human resources, marketing, public affairs, and government relations at C&P and Bell Atlantic before assuming responsibility in 2000 for Verizon’s public policy initiatives in Maryland as president. Roberts was named region president for Verizon Maryland and Verizon Washington, D.C., in December 2007. He retired at the end of last year. Roberts chaired the Maryland Chamber of Commerce from 2003 to 2005.

Lawrence A. Shulman
Founding Partner, Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker, P.A.
Shulman is a founding partner of Shulman Rogers, one of the largest, most respected law firms in the Washington Metropolitan Area. He is a nationally recognized commercial real estate and leasing specialist, lecturer and a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Shulman served on the Maryland Chamber’s board of directors from 1992 to 2004. A strong advocate for education, Shulman chaired the Chamber’s Task Force on Higher Education in 2004 and 2005, and he represented the Maryland Chamber on the state’s Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education.

The Maryland Business Hall of Fame was established in 2000 to recognize the accomplishments of entrepreneurs and business executives throughout Maryland whose contributions, in business and in the community, have helped to advance the quality of life for Marylanders and the state’s business climate.

More information on the April 30 Annual Meeting will be available soon. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact Jan Krueger for details at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or jkrueger@mdchamber.org.

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Network with business leaders and learn more about the Maryland Chamber of Commerce during an upcoming Chamber 101. Upcoming Chamber 101s include:

• Wednesday, February 1, at the Maryland Chamber office in Annapolis
• Wednesday, March 28, at Dale Carnegie Training in Timonium
• Wednesday, April 11, at WRIT in Rockville

Chamber 101 is great for prospective Maryland Chamber members or existing Chamber members who want to learn how to get the most out of their membership investment. Learn more about how the Chamber connects members to:

Advocacy: Learn more about the public policy issues that impact Maryland companies and how you can get more involved in the Chamber’s advocacy efforts.

Networking: Find out more about upcoming events and networking opportunities for Chamber members. By attending events and participating on committees, members work to strengthen Maryland’s business climate while building a strong list of connections and growing their business.

Committees: Serving on committees is a great way to get involved in the chamber, raise your company’s visibility and grow your network.

Opportunities to Gain Visibility: The Chamber’s website, awards programs, and sponsorship opportunities offer member companies a number of ways to increase visibility and gain recognition.

The events will be held from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and a continental breakfast will be provided. The events are free, but registration is required. Register online: Annapolis | Timonium | Rockville

Or, contact Gail Lemke at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or glemke@mdchamber.org.

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