Archives for December 2021

Rockville Chamber of Commerce Years In Review 2020-2021

The Rockville Chamber of Commerce was able to continue all of its offerings throughout COVID without skipping a beat or having to dip into any reserves! We were able to obtain 8 grants.

We were an information HUB between the State, County and City of Rockville to provide updated information to the business community. We called every member to see how they were doing and what resources we could bring to them.

We pivoted all of our programs to zoom. All of our monthly programs continued to run: Our quarterly education series, Good Morning Rockville; Our monthly lunch and learn program, Let’s Do Lunch (virtually); and our monthly networking events, Mix and Mingles. We partnered with other Chambers and Associations so our members could meet other businesses in different areas. We also provided monthly webinars with the SBA, Aronson, SHS, and held panel discussions regarding Economic Development, Entrepreneur Panel, Real Estate panel and our professional development series, Leadercast.

We held our Annual events on zoom in 2020. State of the City, Public Safety Awards and Rockstar Awards.

In 2021 we began outdoor hybrid events. State of the City, Public Safety Awards, Golf Tournament, Economic Development panel discussion and Rockstar Awards.

We walked the business communities with the County, REDI and Board Chair to have a presence and show the businesses we were there for them and could provide the resources they might need. We had an up-to-date Resource page on our NEW website with all COVID related information about PPP loans/grants. We were active participants on a weekly Small Business committee by the County and represented our small businesses. i.e shuttered Venues to reopen Adventure Theatre and Escape rooms.

We worked with the City of Rockville and Rockville Economic Development to assist businesses with outdoor seating and PPE.

We pivoted our previous program, Rockville Rewards, and created a new website with downloadable cards and new ecommerce offerings. We also integrated the program under the Rockville Chamber of Commerce umbrella, not just a stand-alone program. We were still able to give our non-profit partners the critical funds they have come to enjoy by splitting all sales evenly amongst those participants.

2020/2021 our Non-profit partners generated $22,690.65 as a result of selling 972 Rockville Reward cards and products.

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Wellness Wednesday with Integrative Health Recreation and Musu Wellness

Musu Wheeler of Integrative Health Recreation & Musu Wellness encourages us to move as we join in this week’s Wellness Wednesday. She encourages us to bring a little happiness into the room by getting our bodies into motion.

This and every Wellness Wednesday are brought to you by Life Energy Foundation. Each week is presented by a different provider in our community to help us check in with ourselves and keep a finger on the pulse of our own wellbeing.

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Dr. Jermaine Williams Selected as Montgomery College’s Next President

A press release from Michael J. Knapp, Chair, Board of Trustees dated December 17,2021

On behalf of the Montgomery College Board of Trustees, I am very pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees has selected Dr. Jermaine Williams as the next president of Montgomery College. Dr. Williams brings 19 years of higher education experience, including 17 years working at diverse multi-campus institutions. Dr. Williams currently serves as president of Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York.

Dr. Williams will officially begin his role as president in the first quarter of 2022. Dr. Charlene Dukes will continue to serve as interim president of the College until then and will work closely with Dr. Williams and College leadership to help ensure a smooth transition.

Throughout the search process, Dr. Williams impressed both the Board of Trustees and the Presidential Search Advisory Committee with his passion for educational excellence and the shared mission of community colleges. He also demonstrated a commitment to serving students with strategies deeply rooted in equity and inclusion. These qualifications, along with an impressive track record of leadership and achievement in higher education, make Dr. Williams an outstanding choice to lead the employees of Montgomery College in the years ahead. There is no doubt that Dr. Williams will inspire students to achieve and the community to thrive.

Dr. Williams has served as the president of SUNY Nassau Community College (NCC), a Hispanic Serving Institution, since 2019. NCC is the largest single-campus community college among the 30 community colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Dr. Williams has focused his energies there on improving access for students, as well as retention and graduation, with special attention to mitigating social inequities for historically underrepresented people. He has been widely lauded for his inclusive leadership style and for building teams that create strategic programing and policies to improve student outcomes. He has never shied from navigating intense internal discussions on leadership priorities, always with the support of his board.

Dr. Williams is known widely as a collaborative leader focused on supporting the mission and spirit of community colleges. Having taught at two-year and four-year institutions for more than eight years, he has experienced higher education from several important vantage points. Dr. Williams’ view of higher education as a public good informs his personal passion about enhancing access, completion, and post-completion success. His professional approach to student success is deeply rooted in equity-minded systems and data-informed analysis.

Dr. Williams has published and spoken on access, equity, and achievement in national and international settings. His doctorate of education in educational administration, with a higher education specialization, is from Temple University. He also holds certificates from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Dr. Williams was selected to participate in the Aspen Institute’s Rising Presidential Fellowship in 2018 and held a New Presidents Fellowship in 2021. He is actively engaged in the community, serving on several boards of directors. Dr. Williams is a father and husband who values family time with his spouse and two children.

The Board of Trustees invites you to participate in a special year-end celebration welcoming Dr. Williams to Montgomery College today at 1 p.m. While we would have preferred a larger gathering to mark this important announcement, attendance will be limited to 100 people in keeping with COVID-19 health protocols. Please RSVP to attend in person as space permits, but everyone can view the event live beginning at 1 p.m. In the weeks ahead, the College will announce multiple opportunities to meet the new president in person during the spring semester.

My sincere thanks to the Board’s First Vice Chair Michael Brintnall for his leadership of the advisory committee, as well as to the committee members for their contributions to this meticulous search, which attracted 80 candidates from across the country. I also thank the Board for sharing a range of diverse experiences and perspectives that helped shape the criteria for our next president. Additionally, I express my appreciation to the many members of the College and the community who attended multiple forums and provided input on the search. This rich diversity of perspectives and insights helped ensure a successful presidential selection.

Please join me in a spirited Raptor welcome to Dr. Jermaine Williams as the next president of Montgomery College!

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Rockville Chamber of Commerce Elects 5 New Board Members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 15, 2021

Contact: Marji Graf, President & CE

Rockville Chamber of Commerce

301-424-9300

marji@rockvillechamber.org

Rockville Chamber of Commerce Elects 5 New Board Members

At the Annual Holiday Party and Toy Drive of the Rockville Chamber of Commerce, ballots were collected for the open board seats for a two-year term: January 2022 – December 2023.

The membership voted unanimously to elect a slate of five new Directors.

“Each of our newest directors is a respected leader in his or her industry, and they will bring a wide array of experience and expertise to The Rockville Chamber of Commerce’s Board,” said RCC President & CEO Marji Graf upon the election. “I know that they share the Rockville Chamber of Commerce’s goal to foster an environment for business to succeed through our leadership, advocacy and community partnerships, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

Please join us in congratulating the newest members of the Rockville Chamber Board of Directors:

Kerri Donnelly, Marquis Health Services, Collingswood Rehab

Jorge Gutierrez, SERVPRO of Rockville-Olney

Dr. Liz Wheeler Julich, Launch Physical Therapy & Fitness Coaching

Patrick McCloskey, John Marshall Bank

Beth Perell, Beth Perell Communications Consulting, LLC

We are pleased to welcome these new Board Members and are grateful to them for their ongoing support of the Chamber.

Dr. Kimberly Kelley, Chairperson – Montgomery College

Laura Nash, Vice Chairperson – Edward Jones

Dan Helhowski, Secretary – Beltway Merchant Services

Samreen Sadiq, Treasurer – Taksey, Neff & Associates, LLC

Babita Singh, Immediate Past Chairperson – Wesbanco

Returning Directors through December 2022:

Asif Choudhury – Bahar Consulting

Robert Blanken – Blanken Photography

Connie Pawloski – ComForCare Senior Services

Mickey Papillon – Federal Realty Investment Trust

Andy Detweiler – The Rockville Real Estate Exchange

Cliff Veirs – C. Clifton Veirs Agency

Brian Barkley – Barkley & Kennedy, Chartered

Becky Briggs – Our Gift Biz

Tami Watkins – Pepco

Slate for an additional 2-year term: January 2022 – December 2023:

Leslie Keenan – Intelligent Office

Shevy Shafie – Marstudio

Lane Hornfeck – Shulman Rogers

Eric Jodts – Westat

Pam Clark – Clark Concepts

Marylou Berg – City of Rockville (Ex Officio)

Cindy Rivarde – Rockville Economic Development Inc. (Ex Officio)

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the outgoing Board members for their years of service on the Board. This group of outgoing Board members distinguished themselves with generous contributions of their time and resources, towards their commitment to the Rockville Chamber of Commerce.

Steve Edwards, Rockville Cemetery Association

Ed Harrington, John Marshall Bank

Leon Seemann, Adventure Theatre MTC

Brooke Bruch, Contemporaries, Inc.

Larry Finkelberg, APEX Home Loans, Inc.

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Various Funding and Support Opportunities

Good afternoon Resource Partners!

This contains links for various funding and support opportunities. Feel free to share this information with your personal and professional networks. Please note, MD Labor has no affiliation with these organizations – so any specific questions should be directed to them.

Invoice2Go

Invoice2Go is offering grants of up to $15,000 and in-kind support to minority-owned businesses. Successful applicants will receive a monetary grant, business development workshops, and the opportunity to join a network of small business owners. The next application deadline is December 31, 2021. Learn more here.

Michael and Susan Dell Foundation

Michael and Susan Dell Foundation funds social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities. Learn more here.

48in48

48in48 mobilizes marketing and technology volunteers to serve nonprofits by hosting events to build 48 FREE nonprofit websites in 48 hours. Their next big build event will be on February 4, 2022. To either volunteer your services or request a website build, you need to register by January 14, 2022. Learn more here.

Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund

DoorDash has launched a Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund in partnership with Hello Alice. The program will award $10,000 grants to restaurants who are experiencing hardship due to a state or federally declared disaster (NOT due to COVID), be independently owned, have a brick-and-mortar location with 3 stores or fewer currently operating, have revenues of less than $3 million per location in the last 12 months, and employ 50 or fewer people per store. Deadline to apply is January 31st, 2022. Learn more here.

The K4 Foundation

The K4 Foundation seeks to assist and support women of color who dream of becoming an entrepreneur or who are new entrepreneurs. They provide small grants ($500) and educational workshops. Learn more here.

Emerging Black-Owned Brands on Instacart

If you identify as a Black-owned consumer packaged goods brand on Instacart, apply to participate in their new $1 million advertising initiative. Learn more here.

StartHer Microfund

StartHER is a microfund investing in women and underrepresented founders of all ages, life stages, ethnicities and sexual orientations who strive to make a positive impact on society, healthcare or the environment. They provide funding up to $50,000. Their Investment Committee meets every six months to consider applications. Learn more here.

The following opportunities are related to non-profits:

Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale’s charitable efforts focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where they do business. They review funding requests on a rolling basis, and organizations are eligible to submit one application per fiscal year. Organization must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and have a focus on supporting children, education, and/or health and human services. Learn more here.

Public Welfare Foundation

Public Welfare Foundation awards grants to nonprofits that address racial equity, economic well-being, and fundamental fairness for all. They look for strategic initiatives where their funds can improve lives through policy and system reform. If interested, you submit a letter of inquiry and then they reply with an invitation to apply for funding. Learn more here.

Home Depot

Home Depot Community Impact Grants award up to $5,000 to 501(c)(3) designated organizations and tax-exempt public service agencies in the U.S. that are using the power of volunteers to improve the community. The final day to submit for a Community Impact Grant will be December 31, 2021. Learn more here.

Best Buy Foundation

Best Buy Foundation is offering in-kind grants of event sponsorships to nonprofit organizations for events that align with the funding source’s charitable giving priorities. Consideration will be given to events in the areas of diversity and inclusion, teens and technology, and public affairs. National events will be given priority over local events. Learn more here.

As we near the end of 2021, I wish you all a healthy and happy holiday season and look forward to connecting you with more opportunities to grow your businesses in 2022.

Have a spectacular holiday season!

Jan

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Volunteers needed to help InterFaith sort clothing donations to distribute

The Interfaith Works Clothing Center, located at 751 Twinbrook Parkway in Rockville, is a program of Interfaith Works that provides individuals and families in Montgomery County living at or below 200% of the median income with free clothing and home goods.

The center serves approximately 6,700 people each year, including about 3,400 children, and receives $2.6 million in donated goods annually. Especially since the pandemic began, we have received far more donations than usual. While we are grateful for the support of the community, we now need volunteers to sort and organize these donations so that they can get to our neighbors who need them.

The IW Clothing Center is open for volunteers Tuesdays-Fridays 8 am to 4 pm, and Saturdays 9 am to 2 pm. Volunteers are required to provide proof of covid vaccination or a recent negative covid test, and masks are required at all times. For more information about volunteering at the IW Clothing Center, including inquiries for group volunteer events, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Miranda Marks, at mmarks@iworksmc.org or 240-728-6489.

More information about Interfaith Works can be found at www.iworksmc.org.

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