News

State of the City and 65th Birthday Celebration

On September 21st, we held our Annual State of the City address and 65th Birthday Celebration.

We are grateful to our caterers who attended and set up an amazing spread for all to enjoy. Thank you to The Bean Bag Deli, The Bread Cellar, Key Ingredients and Dawson’s Market.

We also introduced our new name, Greater Rockville Chamber of Commerce, to showcase our greater reach. Connie Rhind Robey was introduced as our newest team member who will be the Member Engagement Director. Please say hello when you see her!

To see the full album of pictures from the event, please click here. If you were unable to attend the State of the City and would like to hear what’s happening in the City of Rockville, please watch the video.

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Return to the Office in a Post-Covid World

Returning to the office with the same tactics and thinking you had in February of 2020 isn’t going to fly with today’s workforce. You have to think differently and know that people are different.

We had the pleasure of attending a Lunch & Learn at MoCo’s Founding Farmers on September 20th, which was sponsored by Shulman Rogers. Alex Castelli led the discussion on returning to the office in a post-Covid world, including:

Benefits of a hybrid workplace
Key considerations when designing your hybrid work policy
Employee engagement/company culture
Potential legal pitfalls and how to avoid them
Developing a communication strategy

Business owners, human resources professionals, and c-suite executives count on Alex Castelli for advice on a wide array of employment law issues. He protects their companies’ interests and ensures that they remain compliant with federal and state regulations, implements proactive policies that shield them from unnecessary court battles, and delivers educational workplace training to their staff. Alex also uses his knowledge and experience to provide counsel on day-to-day issues that arise and conduct internal investigations to help companies assess the viability of potential disputes.

His goal is to help clients effectively manage risk while balancing business realities in a rapidly evolving legal landscape.

If you were unable to attend the event, we are including a copy of the PowerPoint presentation for your review.

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State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Funding Available through Nine State Programs

New funding to support Maryland small businesses is available through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program. The new funds focus on businesses with limited opportunities for growth, including those in geographic areas with a high concentration of small, micro, and Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individual (SEDI) businesses.

Funding is available through a variety of loan, equity, venture capital, social impact, and seed funding programs established by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, the Maryland Department of Commerce, and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation.

VIEW PROGRAMS AND APPLY FOR FUNDING

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Join the Chamber Energy Purchasing Cooperative

Alert – Significant Utility Rate Increase as of early 2022.

The utilities in each service area are required to offer customers an electricity and natural gas supply service and rate if they have not elected to sign a contract with a licensed third-party supplier. Prior to December 2021 the rates offered were reasonable and on average one cent higher than third-party supplier rates. However, as of December 2021 and over the past few months’ meter read date, the rates have significantly increased by on average 40%. The industry has not seen this much volatility since 2002. Rates today are at 14-year highs. The utility rates when compared to current third-party supplier rates are on average three cents higher.

We recommend you look at your most recent energy invoice to determine if the electricity and/or natural gas rates have been affected by these increases in rates.

The Greater Rockville Chamber of Commerce has partnered with nationally recognized energy management experts, CQI Associates, to administer and manage the Chamber Energy Purchasing Cooperative. The Chamber of Commerce Energy Purchasing Cooperative program provides you with an option to help seek pricing that provides savings when compared to the utility rates and offers you long-term budget stability.

Registration opens on September 6, 2022, and the deadline to apply is September 30, 2022. See below for information on how to apply and receive a fair rate on energy services!

To Enroll in the Chamber Energy Cooperative:
1. Complete and sign the below authorization form
2. Provide one complete copy of your most recent Utility bill(s) for all electricity and or natural gas accounts you are enrolling.
3. Scan and email copies of the above documents to Sean Corcoran at sean@cqiassociates.com or fax to 410-630-5911

For overall program information and enrollment please contact:
Sean Corcoran
sean@cqiassociates.com
410-500-9555

Joe Tabeling
joe@cqiassociates.com
443-472-3870

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New Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Video

Maryland passed the Climate Solutions Now Act requiring a 60% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2031. Any business with a 35,000 sq. ft. or more facility, schools, and municipalities that do not comply will be assessed a penalty of $51 or more per ton. Penalties could start as early as 2024. This could cost a small facility, school or municipality thousands of dollars. Watch this video to learn more. If this issue applies to you call Joe Tabeling of CQI Associates at 443-472-3870 or email joe@cqiassociates.com

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MARYLAND COMMERCE AWARDED FEDERAL GRANT TO ASSIST SMALL BUSINESSES WITH CYBERSECURITY TRAINING

BALTIMORE, MD (August 24, 2022) – The Maryland Department of Commerce has been awarded a $930,155 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to launch a pilot program aimed at assisting small businesses in Maryland with targeted cybersecurity training and knowledge. The Small Business Cybersecurity Resilience in Maryland (SCRIM) program will provide assistance to up to 40 businesses to help them mitigate cyber attacks through training of their employees as well as installing advanced hardware and software up to $10,000 per business.

“We are very pleased to be one of only three states to receive this grant from our partners at the SBA,” said Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill. “With cyber attacks on the rise locally and globally, it is more important than ever that we offer this kind of specialized training to help small businesses in Maryland better secure their networks.”

The SCRIM program will give all employees of selected businesses basic cybersecurity training, including password creation, data backups, physical security, phishing scams, and incident response, as well as a more intensive curriculum designed for specific industries. Eligible businesses include those in the retail, restaurant, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing industries that have been in business for no more than three years with 50 or fewer employees.

Maryland Commerce worked closely with several local partners, including the Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Cybersecurity Association of Maryland (CAMI) to develop this program.

In January, the SBA announced the Cybersecurity for Small Business Pilot Program, with plans to provide grants to state governments to help emerging small businesses across America develop their cybersecurity infrastructure. In addition to Maryland, Arkansas and South Dakota received funding.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report, the cost of cybercrimes against the small business community reached $2.4 billion in 2021. An SBA survey reports that 88% of small business owners felt their business was vulnerable to a cyberattack. Yet many businesses can’t afford professional IT solutions, have limited time to devote to cybersecurity, or don’t know where to begin.

“Cybersecurity is increasingly critical for small businesses and startups as they face rising challenges and cyber risks that could disrupt their operations. As we seek to build a stronger and more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem, we must innovate and provide resources to meet the growing, evolving needs of our diverse small businesses. With this new funding opportunity, the SBA is leveraging the strengths across our state governments, territories, and tribal governments to provide services to help small businesses get cyber ready and, in the process, fortify our nation’s supply chains,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.

“Small businesses, like the more than 600,000 in the state of Maryland, are attractive targets because they have information that cybercriminals want, and typically lack the security infrastructure of larger businesses,” said SBA Baltimore District Director Steve Umberger. “We’re looking forward to capitalizing on our great relationship with the state Department of Commerce to ramp up our efforts to help small businesses protect themselves, their employees, and their customers.”

About Maryland Commerce

The Maryland Department of Commerce stimulates private investment and creates jobs by attracting new businesses, encouraging the expansion and retention of existing companies, and providing financial assistance to Maryland companies. The Department promotes the State’s many economic advantages and markets local products and services at home and abroad to spur economic development and international investment, trade and tourism. Because they are major economic generators, the Department also supports the arts, film production, sports and other special events. For more information, visit commerce.maryland.gov.

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