Archive for December, 2011

ANNAPOLIS – Entrepreneur’s Exchange elected the following as the board of directors for 2012:

Chair: Amy Polefrone, HR Strategy Group, LLC

Vice-Chair: Brenda Spies, BankAnnapolis

Secretary: Joanne DeLoache, Innovative Insurance Solutions

Treasurer: Rick O’Shea, Re/Max Allegiance

And, the Chesapeake Regional Technology Council elected the following as its board:

President: Tim Lorello, CMO of TeleCommunication Systems

VP: Mike Peart, CEO i4DM

Treasurer: John Elstner, Principal of Venture Point Partners

Secretary: Rob Collins, Founder of Collins Technology Law

Others: Angie Lienert, President & CEO of IntelliGenesis, LLC;

Karen Sutter, President, The Sutter Group; Adam Suri, Sr. VP of Cyber Operations at Secure Technologies Group; Barbara Munoz, Cofounder/CEO of Select Engineering and Information Services; and Don Nippard, Sr. Business Developer at Skyline Network Engineering.

OLNEY and ANNAPOLIS – CommerceFirst Bancorp has accepted an acquisition offer from Sandy Spring Bancorp for $25.4 million in cash and stock. This will add $205 million in total assets to Sandy Spring and expand its presence in Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George’s counties in central Maryland.

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BWI – PCWorld rated BWI as among the top 10 “tech-friendly” U.S. airports due to the amenities offered. These include the number of electrical outlets, USB ports, and desks in gate areas.

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ELLICOTT CITY – Howard County has launched the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, which will encompass the business incubator (formerly the NeoTech Incubator), the Business Resource Center, the Howard Technology Council and the Catalyst Loan Fund. MCE aims to strengthen economic development opportunities throughout the state.

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LAUREL – Tower Federal Credit Union has opened a new location at Arundel Mills with a strong focus on environmental features. Use of geothermal heat pumps for heating and cooling, and low VOC paints help promote a healthy work environment at the 123,000-member credit union.

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ANNE ARUNDEL – The Inter-County Broadband Network has a regular construction schedule and this week plans to continue its work at the following locations: Rt. 2 – 4317 from Harwood Rd. south to 4373; Lothain Rt. 2 North and Solitude Dr.; Rt. 2 at the BP Station; Rt. 2 stations 15+00 – 20+00: Rt. 2 stations 20+00 – 25+00: Rt. 2 station 227+50 – 221+50; Rt. 2 station 221+50 – 216-50. When completed the ICBN will help establish a single high-speed broadband network that will provide every county with high-tech infrastructure.

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SEVERNA PARK – DM Studios, LLC has begun operations as a provider of comic books and other animation-based products. The company has released its first children’s book, “Mankind, The Story of Kai and Gierra,” followed by a comic book series “E1 Gato.”

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ELLICOTT CITY – HR Strategy Group has made arrangements with Payscale to provide small and medium sized businesses access to PayScale’s full suite of compensation services and solutions. HR Strategy is the first PayScale partner on the East Coast to offer compensation packages to individual businesses.

The Chris O-pinion: Rather than call out a few of you who I know have amusing new year’s resolutions (see last week’s column), I am starting a new tradition of opening up the floor for stories about boss behavior during the holidays. My fave was a boss at an Annapolis non-profit a while back who was so thoroughly into the spiked eggnog that he tried to give gifts twice and fell down while being escorted from the room by his embarrassed wife. Learning what not to do is often the more valuable lesson.

What’s your story??