Chamber Chatter – September 14, 2020

The Chamber Updates

Networking is Still Happening!

Our Virtual Happy Hour was a huge success last Tues. Our next one in on Oct 13th. If you would like to join in the fun next month, please register HERE.

Member Interview Series

MEET JENNIFER KRAMER-dele CRUZ !

Our member interviews continue!
Each week we are learning about our member businesses as well as the people behind them.
Watch our emails and our Facebook page for each week’s interview post.

Here is our latest interview with Jennifer Kramer-dela Cruz of Keller
of The dela-Cruz Team of Keller Williams Legacy

Support Jennifer by watching her interview above.

If you are a current member in good standing, contact us and we will schedule your interview!

Don’t Miss Your Facebook Live Friday Updates!

Our Board President, Dennis Klein of Consolidated Insurance gives viewers Northwest Chamber updates as well as member news and annoucements.

Members: Submit your news to kathleen@northwestchambermd.com so we can give you a shout-out too!

Watch Last Week’s Facebook Live Friday Here

Welcome Our New Members!

Pure Barre Pikesville
Maryland Horse Breeders Association
Celiane Boston of Farmers Insurance
Kalonnie”s Gifts and Designs
Sanzone Tax and Accounting,LLC
Rockdale Towing
Express Employment Professionals- Owings Mills
Spike Consulting College Planning

Upcoming Northwest Chamber Events

We have TWO Mask-to Mask Events Being Planned

One is for the Chamber Girls on September 29th

The other is for The Young-at-Heart Committee on
tentatively October 8th

Watch emails and Facebook posts closely as we solidify details
We are being certain to follow ALL health precautions.
Stay Tuned!

Important Webinar :
Business Interruption Insurance –
What Is It and Do I Need It?
September 30th
12:00pm-12:30pm
Your Computer

The 2020 pandemic has been devastating for business, especially small businesses.
Business Interruption Insurance helps replace lost income and pay for extra expenses when a business is affected by a covered incident.

Join this webinar to learn what is covered by this type of business insurance,
and just as importantly, what is not.

Our Speaker is Richard Teitelman of Hankoff Insurance Group of Owings Mills, MD, an insurance professional with over 3 decades of experience.

YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND!

Virtual Happy Hour

October 13th
4:30pm-5:30pm
Your Computer

Join area business professionals as we network and share best-practices and other information during our monthly virtual Happy Hour.

You MUST register to join us!
Click the button below to reserve your spot!

Learn & Grown Your Business with The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program
October 14th
12:00pm-12:30pm
Your Computer

Learn about this program which provides a unique educational experience—free of charge! – to small business owners, that focuses on development of personalized growth plans.

There have been over 300 small business owner graduates from this program. Many of these graduates have implemented their growth plans to increase income and staff, two major components by which Goldman Sachs measures the program’s success.

REGISTER NOW TO ATTEND AND LEARN ALL ABOUT THIS PROGRAM AS WELL AS A FEW HIGH-LEVEL BUSINESS TIPS!

Traveling During Covid-19: What To Know for Holiday Traveling
October 28th
12:00pm – 12:30pm
Your Computer

The holidays are coming, and you may be thinking about traveling this season.

Join us to learn travel changes created because of the 2020 pandemic such as changes in refund policies, restrictions at hotels and resorts as well as new airline rules.

Bring your questions! There will be time for them at the end.

Our presenter is Leslie Coleman of Travel Designs LLC located in Reisterstown,MD. Leslie’s love of travel began in high school while being involved in an AFS Exchange Program.

Member Events & News

REMINDER: Members, send us your news, promotions and job listings. We are happy to spread the word for you!

Congratulations to our member Stacey Abbot
for being a Peak Performer at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
in August!

ONLY 11 DAYS LEFT TO SIGNUP
SAVE $$$$$

Join the Chamber Energy Purchasing Cooperative:
For Commercial and Residential Properties

Have you looked at your utility bill lately? Are you concerned about how much you are spending?
If you would like to reduce your costs and stabilize your utility rates join the Chamber Energy Purchasing Cooperative.

The Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Nationally Recognized Energy Management experts, CQI Associates, to administer and manage the Chamber Energy Purchasing Cooperative. Competitive rates are obtained by leveraging aggregated usage from members of 23 Chambers of Commerce. The increased purchasing power allows members to receive lower rates than they could typically attain on their own.

TAKE ACTION REGISTER NOW in the current campaign which runs from August 31, 2020 to September 25, 2020.

TO ENROLL IN THE ENERGY COOPERATIVE: CONTACT OUR OFFICE AND WE WILL SEND YOU THE INSTRUCTIONS.

EMAIL US HERE

To learn more about the purchasing cooperative and current market conditions, you can attend one of the following Information ZOOM Webinars:
September 17, 2020 – 1:00 pm
September 23, 2020 – 11:00 am

To participate, select date above (Ctrl + Click) and continue to registration page

Support The Red Devils: Soles 4 Souls Collection

Put that pair of shoes you no longer wear to good use. Give them a second life by donating them to our shoe drive. We’ll convert them by the pound to fund treatment support, and give them to our charity partner to assist micro-enterprises in developing nations.

Collection boxes are available throughout the region making it easy to drop off a pair or two as part of your daily routine.

Two of our own members have volunteered to be a drop-off site:

Shore United Bank- Owings Mills
9612 Reisterstown Rd. Owings Mills, MD 21117

Lord Baltimore Cleaners
4828 Butler Rd. Glyndon, MD 21071
&
11223 York Rd. Ste. B Hunt Valley, MD 21030

Legislative Updates

In Case You Are Confused About Stage 3 Re-Opening

The State of Maryland is now in Stage 3 of their re-opening plan, and so is Baltimore County. In case you missed what changes come with this stage- see the picture below.

Stay Safe. Mask-Up. Socially Distance and Wash Your Hands!

Baltimore County’s Olszewski, Jones Announce New Police Reform Bill Banning Chokeholds

This new bill includes a call to Baltimore County Police Department to update its policy to limit use of force; provides whistleblower protection to officers who report misconduct; compels officers to intervene if they witness excessive use of force; and establishes an early-intervention system to identify officers at risk of misconduct, among other measures.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Parks and Rec Improvements

Last week, my office received the following recreation and parks projects underway throughout the 2nd District and beyond:

At Meadowood Regional Park, Property Management will be replacing the original artificial turf later this fall (estimated start is Oct.26). This $500,000 project should conclude in mid-December, weather permitting. That field will be out of service during construction.

At Reisterstown Elementary School, Property Management is wrapping up renovations to the multi-purpose court. Work included new basketball hoops, asphalt, top coating and lines. Also, additional site restoration work was completed at the request of Recreation and Parks. The $245,000 project just has punch list items remaining.

At Cedarmere Elementary School, Property Management is currently renovating the multi-purpose court, including new basketball hoops, asphalt surface and topcoat. The $62,000 project should finish up in October, weather permitting.

At Cedarmere Elementary and Reisterstown Elementary, ball diamonds are being groomed once a month and edged to maintain the fields, even though they are not programmed for use. This way, should that change, the fields will still be in decent shape and can be added to the weekly grooming schedule.

At Reisterstown Regional Park, Property Management recently serviced the electrical panel to adjust the timer.

At Pikesville High School, Property Management continues to work on the design, engineering and permitting for the new artificial turf field at Pikesville High School. That work should wrap up later year. At this time, we anticipate construction starting in June 2021.

At Fort Garrison Elementary, Property Management recently repaired bleachers at the school.

At Northwest Regional Park, Property Management and Recreation and Parks are replacing the original artificial turf field later this fall. The $450,000 project will give another 10 years of life expectancy. The field will be out of service during the renovation, but the second turf field we recently built will still be available.

At Northwest Regional Park, per the request of Recreation and Parks direction, Property Management will be rebuilding the baseball diamonds later this fall ($100,000). The fields will be out of service during work, but will be ready for use next spring.

-Izzy

New COVID-19 Funding Allocated to Small Businesses

Yesterday Governor Hogan announced additional funding for small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Two programs will receive a total of $50 million of federal funding from the CARES Act. The bulk of the funds, $45 million, will be allocated to expand the Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Fund. This program, which awards grants of up to $10,000 to businesses of 50 or fewer employees, has provided more than $40 million in funds to 4,073 applicants. The additional funding will become available on July 20th and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis based on the applications already received by the Maryland Department of Commerce. No new applications will be accepted. An additional $5 million will be allocated to the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority (MSBDFA) to provide financing to businesses owned by economically and socially disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Funding awarded by MSBDFA must be used for working capital, supplies and materials, machinery and equipment acquisition, land acquisition, or real estate improvements. Use the link provided to learn more about MSBDFA.

Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority (MSBDFA)