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THE GGCC QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER VOLUME VIII, ISSUE I JANUARY-MARCH 2013
In This Edition:
Chair’s Message………….………..1
New Members…………...…….......2
Calendar………………...………..…3
Event Photos………...…….…….....3
Writer’s Corner…….….……….…...5
Member News………………………6
Meet the Board……….......…….….7
A Message From the Chamber Ron Dimaranan, Mid-Atlantic FCU Happy Spring! Or is it Summer?!
The Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber is off to a great start this year. We hosted nine networking events in the first quarter of the year, along with 16 committee meetings, one ribbon cutting and one cutting edge seminar on Health Care Reform. We’ve also added 22 new members this quarter (listed on page 2). Please take a moment this month to reach out to our new members, introduce yourself, and see how you can help them increase the value of their business.
We also had scored a big win in Annapolis this year with the passage of a transportation funding bill. This legislation will help move Montgomery County forward and the Chamber will redouble our efforts to make sure our transportation priorities remain front and center. We will do what we can to see that the Watkins Mill Interchange is built and that the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) is fully funded.
Looking forward, the Chamber has begun its Strategic Planning process. While we set specific goals each year, every three years we take a good hard look at our overall strategy to make sure we are giving our members the very best product we can.
Our overall mission is to “To serve, represent and be the leading advocate of membership in ways that enhance the business environment and quality of life in our communities”
Our Core Value is Member Prosperity.
Our Priorities are:
Member Involvement and Opportunity
Advocacy
Economic Development
Member Stability, Growth and Influence
We have an Ad-hoc committee chaired by David Edgerley, Sona Bank, to lead us through a review of our mission and goals. We will be working closely through the committee structure to make sure our efforts are aligned with our goals. We welcome your input. If you have comments or ideas on how we can meet your needs more effectively, please contact me directly at [email protected] or Marilyn Balcombe at [email protected].
Have a great quarter, be involved, stay engaged, and I hope to see you soon.
10th Annual Wine Tasting
When: Thursday, May 23
Time: 5:30-7:30pm
Where: Kentlands Mansion
Address: 320 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg
Sponsored by: City of Gaithersburg, Drink-More Water, Pinky & Pepe’s Grape Escape & The Prime Choice Caterers
Tickets: $35 M. / $65 N.M.
Come & Raise Your Glass With Us!!!
Advance registration is required at:
www.ggchamber.org
Welcome New Chamber Members P A G E 2
T H E Q U A R T E R L Y N E W S L E T T E R
Hampton Inn Germantown Brian Gerhart 20260 Goldenrod Lane Germantown, MD 20876 www.hamptoninngermantown.com [email protected] 301-428-1300 301-428-9034 (f) Infinite Career Solutions Bridgette Rohder PO Box 851 Gaithersburg, MD 20875 www.infinitecareersolutions.com [email protected] 888-406-3541 Language Stars Taylor Griffith 656 Quince Orchard Road Suite 110 Gaithersburg, MD 20878 www.languagestars.com [email protected] 301-569-6692 301-569-6694 (f) KMF Rothbury, LLC Christopher Houlding [email protected] 20120 Rothbury Lane Gaithersburg, MD 20886 www.therothburyapts.com 301-947-1209 301-947-1252 (f) Mark G. Chalpin, Esq. Mark Chalpin [email protected] 116 Billingsgate Lane Gaithersburg, MD 20877 www.markchalpin.com 301-990-4900 832-201-7392 (f) MC Design Build, LLC Michael Cavanaugh 6 George Street Gaithersburg, MD 20877 www.mcdesignbuild.com [email protected] 301-527-0700 Montgomery Village Rotary Foundation James Hamerski [email protected] PO Box 2920 Montgomery Village, MD 20886-2920 www.clubrunner.ca/montgomeryvillage 301-670-7370 Pulte Homes Stephen Collins [email protected] 10600 Arrowhead Drive Suite 225 Fairfax, VA 22030 www.pulte.com 703-934-9300
Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. Joseph DiPietro [email protected] 6430 Rockledge Drive Suite 504 Bethesda, MD 20817 www.alliant.com 301-263-6611 301-263-6644 (f) Allstate Insurance Company Venice Harvey 18564 Office Park Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20886 www.allstate.com/veniceharvey [email protected] 301-740-2302 301-740-2305 (f) Always There In Home Care, LLC Neta Clayton [email protected] PO Box 455 Germantown, MD 20875 www.alwaysthereihc.com 301-875-9292 240-523-8444 Blair Enterprises, Inc. DBA Milestone Building Services Pamela Borden 7620-G Rickenbacker Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20879 www.milestonebuildingservice.com [email protected] 301-980-7980 301-980-7981 (f) Carr Workplaces Kim Bernstein [email protected] 4800 Hampden Lane Suite 200 Bethesda, MD 20814 www.carrworkplaces.com 240-482-3700 Casey Health Institute Barbara Gallagher [email protected] 800 South Frederick Avenue Gaithersburg, MD 20877 www.caseyhealth.org 301-355-2023 301-963-6363 (f) GB Shades, LLC John Goodwin [email protected] 20 Southlawn Court Suite C Rockville, MD 20850 www.gbshades.com 301-424-3770 301-424-3775 (f) GPS Your Path Bonnie Patterino [email protected] 19236 Wheatfield Drive Germantown, MD 20876 www.gpsyourpath.com 301-428-7288 301-515-0421 (f)
The Prime Choice Caterers Titorian Richardson 7621 Rickenbacker Drive Suite 500 Gaithersburg, MD 20879 www.theprimechoicecaterers.com [email protected] 301-948-7337 301-948-2972 (f) Recovery Point Systems Sandy Guidera [email protected] 75 West Watkins Mill Road Gaithersburg, MD 20878 www.recoverypoint.com 240-632-7000 301-548-0682 (f) Re/Max Pros Wes Stoy [email protected] 12810 Wisteria Drive, #300 Germantown, MD 20874 www.remax.net 240-252-5225 240-252-5014 (f) Rossi Commercial Real Estate, LLC. Brian Rossi 12800 Middlebrook Road Suite 200 Germantown, MD 20874 http://rossicre.com/ [email protected] 301-355-0077 Rossi Commercial Real Estate, LLC. William Wanatosky 12800 Middlebrook Road Suite 200 Germantown, MD 20874 http://rossicre.com/ [email protected] 301-355-0072 SECU Homeyra Baghestani [email protected] 16707 Crabbs Branch Way Derwood, MD 20855 www.secumd.org 301-947-1459 x1602 301-947-4210 (f) Vulcan Enterprises LLC Joyce Hunter 13115A Shadyside Lane Gaithersburg, MD 20874 www.vulcanenterprises-llc.com [email protected] 301-646-1652
P A G E 3
Wednesday, April 24
11:30am-1:00pm
Business Card Exchange Lunch
Buca di Beppo
Thursday, April 25
7:30-11:30am
“Grow Your Business” Seminar & Expo
Hilton Gaithersburg
Sponsorships & Tickets Available
Wednesday, May 8
5:30-7:30pm
Young Professionals Group One Year Anniversary Celebration
Smokey Glen Farm
Thursday, May 23
5:30-7:30pm
10th Annual Wine Tasting
Kentlands Mansion
Tuesday, June 4
730-9:00am
Business Networking Before Nine
Montgomery TennisPlex / Maryland SoccerPlex
Thursday, June 13
5:30-730pm
2nd Annual Mini-Golf Tournament City of Gaithersburg
Grossberg Company, LLP
Wednesday, June 26
11:30am-1:00pm
Business Card Exchange Lunch
Asbury, Brickman & Sodexo
Advance registration is requested.
Register: www.ggchamber.org
Save The Dates MEMBER EVENT PHOTOS
www.ggchamber.org/gallery
Special Thanks To Our Event Sponsors This Quarter
Asbury Methodist Village, Bennigan's
Clarksburg, Buca di Beppo, Country
Casual, SportClips Gaithersburg
Square and Therrien Waddell, Inc.
P A G E 4
T H E Q U A R T E R L Y N E W S L E T T E R
Walter Borotto is a management consultant and works primarily with entrepreneurial and family owned businesses on issues such as these, as well as sales improvement processes, customer loyalty, team management, leadership development, and other organizational and individual development issues. He is the owner and founder of Goal Getters. Contact him at: www.BeAGoalGetter.com, or email him at [email protected] if you are interested in contacting him for seminars or speaking engagements, lunch-and-learn, etc. Goal Getters
Business Owners, Check Your Mirrors
In working with business owners to help them set
and achieve their objectives, one of the fundamental exercises we go through is visualizing the future. What does your company look like two years from now? Five years from now? What are some of the key milestones you need to reach in order for that picture to become reality? Visualization takes what you know, and extrapolates it to what you don’t know, and part of that is thinking about the unforeseen.
Well check your mirrors, business owners, because there might be something you don’t know about, gaining on you that might affect your future and your business significantly—and it’s ugly. What we’re talking about are increases in Workers Compensation insurance premiums, which are going to catch many business owners by surprise, and are going to make them scramble to find the money to pay for these increases.
According to Laura Bianchini, CISR with Moody Insurance (a GGCC member), there is a clear trend toward insurers adopting new premium structures as they continue to lose money on Workers’ Compensation policies. “Some of the largest Workers’ Compensation insurers nationwide site the increased cost of medical care, especially related to pharmaceuticals, as a key factor pushing rates higher,” she says, adding, “the Workers’ Compensation pricing strategy as it once stood is no longer sustainable...” Where all this is headed is that insurance companies are adopting new strategies to deal with fiscal realities, and rates may increase significantly. As a business owner, if you are not dealing with this potential time bomb to your bottom line, it might be time to get some advice on this issue.
As humans, and executives, and business owners, we have blind spots in our lives and our businesses, and these blind spots cause us all sorts of trouble. From a strategic point of view, as a business owner you want to be
aware of where the rocks are as you set your sail toward profit land.
To add even more mystery to this situation for business owners, it takes expert advice to ascertain how much this might affect their bottom lines. Even if a business owner has no changes in his or her claims experience, it might not be prudent to assume that there will be no changes in costs.
Why is this advice coming from a business advisor rather than from an insurance advisor? Because this is a big rock around which business owners are going to have to navigate in the very near future, if they haven’t already crashed into it. Business advice looks into business aspects such as key partners, key activities, key resources, value propositions, revenue streams, and other aspects of running a business that change over time. Adjusting one’s course is one of the key attributes of success, and for many business owners this rock is almost completely under the water and barely visible. As such, someone needs to tell them it’s there.
Young Professionals Group One Year Anniversary Celebration
Come CELEBRATE the One-Year Anniversary of the GGCC's Best Kept Secret - It's Young Professionals Group!! Come and discover how this group has grown and meet our next gen-eration of leaders. The GGCC’s Young Professionals program is a networking group of dedicated young profes-sionals ranging in age from 21-35. Through the GGCC, young professionals can engage with other like minded business professionals to further their career, strengthen their professional image or just meet new friends.
Affordable Care Act Seminar Held We hosted a seminar on the Affordable Care Act for our members and the community. Asbury Methodist Village was the Gold Sponsor and Lifetime Benefits, LLC & LifeWork Strategies, LLC were the Silver Sponsors of the event. Those that attended were able to get a better understanding of what the Affordable Care Act is, the provisions of the act and how they affect them, their business & their employees and what specifically they have to do and when.
P A G E 5
I struggle with writing and the next step as much as other writers, published authors, business owners, and
employees who have to and/or want to write for their business/career.
Because it's hard to write… and it is so much easier to work, file, do the dishes, because we know the next step. We don't have to figure it out. A pile of receipts to be organized? Go through each one, and categorize by whatever system you use. A messy kitchen? Clean it up one dish at a time. They're all right there in front of you, waiting to be processed.
To make writing easy (or at least easier), you need to know the very specific, concrete next step.
Here are my favorite methods for making that make that next step as concrete as possible.
1. When you do actually write, at the end of your writing session, stop in the middle of your last sentence. Don't finish it. If you need to, take that partial sentence, just that sentence, and copy it onto a blank sheet of paper. That sheet of paper is your next concrete step.
2. If #1 won't work for you, when you end your writing session, what's the obvious question? For example, in my Phoenix Rising story, there's a scene where the other main character knocks on the door, and Phoenix opens the door. If I had ended my writing session there, the question for me to ask (and to pick up next time) is "What does Phoenix say to Rend?"
3. If writing a nonfiction book, especially personal development or self-help, do you have a process you follow? If so, there's your outline. Take each step of your process and flesh it out.
4. If you’re writing something for your job or business, is it something you have to do over and over, like a report or an evaluation? Create a process as you do it (yes, this will take longer at first), and then follow that process each future time. You’ll find you cut down on how much time it takes to write (as well as any thought process you have to go through).
The way these strategies work is to give our brains something specific to work on. We can't help but try to finish the incomplete sentence or to answer the question or to go to the next step. We're wired (and trained by years of school) to do so.
So, next time, instead of filing or doing the dishes, work on developing your Writing Action Plan and then your obvious, next concrete steps are waiting for you. And hopefully their call will be louder than the pile or receipts or dirty dishes.
Writer’s Corner Dawn Goldberg is the Creativity and Writing Expert at Write Well U, where she helps business owners write from their souls and make a greater impact. Download your free Writing From Your Soul system at www.WritingFromYourSoul.com. For more information, visit Dawn at www.WritingFromYourSoul.com.
Do Your Marketing Materials Work FOR or AGAINST You?
Make sure your company's marketing materials complement your message. Your
marketing collateral presents your company's face to the public. Here are a few key points to ensure that your printed materials are doing the best job possible.
Limited typefaces. For text, select one conservative font, using bold and italics for emphasis, to increase readability. A more assertive font for headlines, subheads and contact info turns the eye to these important data. Don't overwhelm the reader's eye with too many fonts that compete with each other.
Consistent margins. The margins of your documents should be the same throughout the piece. Depending upon the piece's format, to maintain consistency, margins
may need to be twice as wide where folds occur.
Graphics. Photos and drawings should be large enough that their relevance to your message is clearly and instantly established. When using a photo of a person, his/her face should not be looking off the page. Where text wraps around a graphic, leave a uniform space between the graphic and text; the wording should not touch or bump into the graphic.
Colors. A dash of color compels the eye and emphasizes your message, increasing the attention paid to your piece. Stay true to the color(s) used in your branding to enhance company recognition, but be imaginative about introducing a pop of color to compliment your tried-and-true look. Colors convey different psychological responses: red = power, purple = spirituality, blue = trust, green = harmony, yellow = fun, orange = energy, brown = reliability, black = sophistication and white = precision. For businesses with an international
clientele, remember that some colors have different connotations in other cultures.
Text. The language used to convey your company message should be concise, precise, clear and focused. The key to good writing lies in choosing from the wide variety of words in our beautiful language. Start with a draft, re-write and re-write. If you're uncertain about your writing skills, turn to an experienced professional.
Accuracy. Don't sabotage your message with unintentional typos, misspelled words, poor grammar and inaccurate punctuation. "Everyone needs an editor" is an adage in the trade. Every document benefits from a fresh set of eyes, especially when they belong to an editor who knows the AP stylebook.
Amateurish delivery undermines the value of your company's message. Using a professional who knows the tricks of the trade is a wise investment of your marketing dollars.
Marketing Nook Robyn Quinter is president and founder of Quinter Design. For more than 20 years, Quinter Design has been on a mission to rid the world of unattractive and ineffective marketing materials. Their creative and innovative graphic design; sharply honed publicity efforts; and in-house production of trade show displays, posters and banners that command attention have helped businesses, non-profits and government agencies boost their images and profits. For more information, contact Robyn at 301-
P A G E 6
T H E Q U A R T E R L Y N E W S L E T T E R
Congratulations to Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus's Elaine Amir who was named among the "Top 100 Maryland Women.
Chamber member Eileen Cahill took Marilyn Balcombe, Paul Yanoshik and Krista Bradley on a tour of the Holy Cross Hospital. The Chamber is very excited about a new hospital coming to Germantown.
The City of Gaithersburg presented an Environmental Awards to Asbury Methodist
Village for demonstrating outstanding environmental stewardship in the Gaithersburg community. Accepting the award from Mayor Sidney Katz for Asbury was Lenny Hines, Director, Plant Operations and Maintenance.
Congratulations to the Gaithersburg Police Department who are celebrating 50 Years of Service! On April 1, 1963, a resolution was signed by then Mayor Merton F. Duvall. Chief David Marstiller was the first Chief of Police. To commemorate this occa-sion, the department created an anni-
versary badge to serve as a visual reminder of our commitment to public safety. For more information about the Gaithersburg Police Department please visit www.gaithersburgmd.gov/police.
Congratulations to Kit Halliday of Bennet Communications, Inc. who was named one of the 40 top executives in Washington. This awards program recognizes the achievements of Washington’s management all-stars.
Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union sent 381 rubber ducks to Sandy Hook Schools after hearing a story
on how they bring smiles to the students’ faces.
The Chamber conducted a Ribbon Cutting / Grand Opening Ceremony for Bennigan’s Clarksburg. The restaurant is located at 23315 Frederick Road, Clarksburg. Benni-gan's Clarksburg is a legendary, chef-driven neighborhood pub with crowd pleasing food and drinks. To learn more about Bennigan’s, visit: www.bennigansclarksburg.com.
Montgomery County was named “One of America’s Best Intergenerational Communities,” an award that recognizes four communities that are outstanding places to live for people of all ages. The MetLife Foundation and Generations United presented the award to U.S. Congressman Chris VanHollen, County Councilmember Hans Riemer, Board of Education President Christopher Barclay and Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships Director Bruce Adams.
The City of Gaithersburg has achieved certification through the Sustainable Maryland Certified program, The City completed innovative demonstration projects
including: rigorous green building requirements; a green streets retrofit pilot program and prioritization project; and an environmental awards recognition program. For more information on Sustainable Maryland Certified visit www.SustainableMaryland.com. For more information on Gaithersburg’s initiatives, please visit www.gaithersburgmd.gov/environment.
Contractor Therrien Waddell, Inc. received the
2013 Wintergreen Award for Excellence for the NIST Net Zero Residential Test Facility in the category of “Environmental Benefit” from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Maryland Chapter.
GGCC Member Spotlight...
GGCC Business Golf Classic Friday, September 13 P.B. Dye Golf Club Noon Shotgun Details to follow…...
Save The Date
P A G E 7
B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S Gary Aughinbaugh
AETEA Information Technology, Inc.
Stuart Barr
Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chartered
Andy Bass,
United Bank
Henry Bernstein
Scheer Partners
Neil Burkinshaw
The Gazette
Eileen Cahill
Holy Cross Hospital
John Compton
GeneDx
Howard Covin
Johns Hopkins University
Allen DeLeon
DeLeon & Stang, CPAs & Advisors
David Denton
Asbury Methodist Village
Jeff Goldman
Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States Region
Robert Jepson
Adventist HealthCare
Giuseppe Mastroeli
M&T Bank
Kathleen Mayer
OBA Bank
Ray McKenzie
Law Office of Raymond T. McKenzie, Esq.
James G. Muir
Hughes Network Systems
Sanjay Rai
Montgomery College
Randy Scritchfield
Montgomery Financial Group
Jerry Therrien
Therrien Waddell, Inc.
Tony Tomasello
City of Gaithersburg
Doug Wrenn
Rodgers Consulting, Inc.
O F F I C E R S Chairman
Ron Dimaranan
Mid-Atlantic FCU
Chairman Elect
David Edgerley
Sonabank
Treasurer
Robert Cowdrey Capital Bank, N.A.
VC, Legislative Affairs
Jerry Pasternak PEPCO
VC, Economic Development
Scott Wallace
Linowes and Blocher, LLP
VC, Member Attraction & Retention
Colette Releford
Strive Business Solutions, LLC
VC, Member Programs
Anita Anderson BlackRock Center for the Arts
G G C C S T A F F President / CEO
Marilyn Balcombe
Director of Events & Marketing
Editor-In-Chief
Laura Rowles
Director of Member Services
Donna Gallagher
Bookkeeper
Eileen Miller
Meet the Board: Aughinbaugh As a small town kid from Pennsylvania, Gary sometimes still feels outside his comfort zone living and working in the DC Metro area. His sports allegiance to
Pittsburgh teams gets him some heckling especially being in the backyard of the Ravens and Redskins. One thing he has come to realize is that if you are willing to put yourself out there to network and provide good referrals, people are always looking to build positive business relationships.
With 10 years of experience in the recruiting and Human Resources industry, Gary has strong ties to organizations like the GGCC and the Society for Human Resources Management; as well as recruiting groups in the community. Being in the recruiting industry, he always enjoys matching technology professionals with employers who need highly skilled IT talent. Gary is a Senior Account Manager with AETEA Information Technology, Inc.
The Chamber has given Gary access to a variety of employers and referrals that are in need of finding full time employment.
Gary chose to join the GGCC in 2010 because of the good mix of small and large firms and the plethora of opportunity to network and share contacts with other members. “It has the feel of a small networking group but you have the full backing and access of the entire Chamber,” Gary said.
Being involved in the membership and now the events committee, Gary has had a lot of access to members and ideas on how to maximize everyone’s membership benefits. Last year, he was tasked with starting the Young Professionals Group to help get the younger and less experienced members engaged and have help strengthen their professional image. With the help and dedication of some other members, the Young Professionals Group has had a successful first year and looks forward to continued growth.
This is Gary’s first year as a Board Member. Gary always enjoys making connections and helping others network, so don’t hesitate to reach out to him or introduce yourself at a networking event.
You can contact Gary at 301.721.4218 or [email protected].
Gary Aughinbaugh
Victory in Annapolis Finally! A Secure Source of Transportation Funding from the State As many of you know, the business community in Maryland has worked very hard to secure a reliable source of transportation funding for the State. We finally had some success with the transportation package (HB 1515) put forth by the Governor, in collaboration with the General Assembly leadership. This transportation package will raise a significant amount of revenue to address our critical transportation needs. Through this Bill, the State will generate $4.4 billion in new transportation funding, adding $800 million to the Transportation Trust Fund, over the next five years. Key provisions of HB 1515 include:
Phasing in a 3 percent sales tax on the price of gasoline over three years;
Dedicating part of the revenue raised by the federal Marketplace Equity Act (online sales tax) to the Transportation Trust Fund. If the Act fails, the State would phase in an additional 2 percent sales tax on gasoline;
Adjusting Maryland Transit Administration fares every three years based on the Consumer Price Index;
Indexing the excise tax on gasoline based on the Consumer Price Index; but, capping the increase at 8 percent per year; and
Establishes a workgroup to study local and regional transportation funding.
(Source: Maryland Chamber of Commerce Memo: Recap of business issues during the 2013 General Assembly session)
4 Professional Drive, Suite 132 Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879 301-840-1400 Fax: 301-963-3918 [email protected] www.ggchamber.org
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