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News Roundup
Everything From A2Z
A2Z Inc., a fledgling Internet company located in Howard County’s NeoTech Incubator, is spreading its wings with the launch of a product that allows users to register for trade shows online.
The system handles the registration process from start to finish, or A to Z. Everything from ordering name tags to making payments can be done on the web.
What Goes Around...
Once upon a time, US Foodservice was part of Sara Lee. Later, there were merger conversations between the Columbia-based foodservice distributor and its former parent. Instead, US Foodservice was acquired by Royal Ahold of the Netherlands. And now, US Foodservice has plans to acquire PYA/Monarch, a major foodservice distributor in the Southeast and a subsidiary of Sara Lee.
The two operated as one company prior to the 1989 leveraged buyout of the northern division by US Foodservice’s current management team.
Ahold foodservice expects its US sales to exceed $12 billion in 2001.
Acquisitions
iSKY, a Columbia firm that provides outsourced customer care, has acquired Telecom Potential Group of Bristol, UK. TPG is a customer communications outsourcer for top-tier clients in the financial services, telecommunications, high-tech, leisure and tourism sectors.
The merger will introduce integrated multi-channel technology and data-driven customer relationship management to Europe.
Last Call At The Pub
The Pub of Wilde Lake closed in August, leaving Columbia with one less landmark. The popular gathering place opened nearly 20 years ago to serve up homemade soup, hearty sandwiches and the camaraderie of Columbia’s only neighborhood tavern.
“It certainly was a community institution,” Wilde Lake Columbia Council representative Vince Marando told the Baltimore Sun. “Everyone is sorry to see it close,” added village manager Bernice Kish. “It’s been a neighborhood landmark for years.”
Buying The Bank
A Winston-Salem, N.C. financial services holding company plans to acquire FCNB Corp. of Frederick in a $226 million stock swap. FCNB operates 34 branches in the Baltimore-Washington area, including three in Howard County and one in Laurel.
With the acquisition, BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust) will move from sixth to first in market share in Central Maryland.
Arrivals
Paul I. Frazier is the new vice president of corporate marketing at InfoVista. Also new to the Columbia-based firm are Dennis Parker, who will head up channels sales in North America, and Thierry Ghenassia, the firm’s new channels sales director for Europe.
InfoVista is a global provider of advanced software which monitors, analyzes and reports on the performance, availability and quality of service of information technology infrastructure.
Messina joins Columbia-based Magellan from Aetna U.S. Healthcare in Hartford. He’s been a Magellan board member since 1998.
McCoy is also on the Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) board and others. He retired from Bank One last December.
Susan Rapaport is the Sesquicentennial Celebration Committee’s new legal counsel. She’s an attorney at Rapaport & Skalny LLC in Columbia.
Departures
Harry Letaw has resigned as CEO and chairman at Essex Corp., following a disagreement with the board of directors. President and chief operating officer Leonard E. Moodispaw is the Columbia-based firm’s new CEO.
Letaw stepped down because he didn’t agree with the board’s decision concerning financing the company’s development efforts. Essex develops and manufactures advanced systems for the telecommunications industry.
The company reported a net loss of $176,000 for the second quarter ended June 25, compared to a net income of $19,000 for the same period last year. Revenues were $798,000, compared to $1.24 million in 1999.
Breast Cancer Study
Can the omega3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) protect against breast cancer? In a new collaborative agreement with Martek Biosciences, an associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health hopes to find out.
Funding and clinical supplies of DHA for the nine-month pilot study will be provided by Martek, which manufactures and markets Neuromins DHA (a natural substance extracted from microalgae) in gelatin capsules.
New Business
GTS Duratek (NASDAQ: DRTK) has a new $840,000 contract with the U.S. Navy Fleet and Industrial Supply Center in Portsmouth, VA, for a 10160B cask with transport trailer.
The lead and steel cask is certified for shipments of high levels of low-level radioactive material and transuranic waste. The new order is the Navy’s third in the past 12 months.
Columbia-based GTS Duratek implements technologies and provides services to protect people from radiation and the environment from radioactive material.
Ellicott City-based Meeting Planners, Inc. will be handling development, marketing, registration, hotel negotiations and on-site logistics for a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation two-day conference. The conference will take place in October. Pay By Phone
What can you do with a wireless phone? Columbia’s Micros Systems and Owings Mills-based Aether Systems are working on an application that will let consumers to use wireless phones, PDAs and two-way pagers to view and pay bills at restaurants, ballparks and other venues.
Micros provides information technology for the hospitality industry. Aether Systems is a provider of wireless and mobile data products and services.
Achievements
Dana Van Bergen, Meg Mahoney, Lola Marsh, Stefani Ford Leonard and Sonya Harris all recently completed Long & Foster’s Fast Start training for sales associates. The program includes real estate law, ethics, sales and contracts.
Pet Project
The Connextion, a local Internet service provider and web design firm has a new pet project. The ISP is donating Internet access and web hosting to the Maryland SPCA. About 1,000 visitors a week go to http://www.mdspca.org to fetch information on dogs and cats available for adoption.
Other local groups to feature adoptable pets on the web are Animal Advocates of Howard County, www.animal-advocates. org, and the Howard County Cat Club, http://www.geocities.com/howardcountycats.
Tayman Sponsors Pooper Scooper Stations
What’s an animal-lover to do about dog doo? Veterinarian David Tayman, owner of Columbia Animal Hospital at Hickory Ridge and Columbia Animal Hospital at Centre Park, checked around and got the scoop.
The result: His hospitals now sponsor “pooper scooper stations” at Centennial, Schooley Mill, Savage and Cedar Lane Parks, the Wincopin and Mill Trail heads and at Howard County’s Animal Control facility. Mounted on posts, the heavy-duty plastic bags also serve as scoops.
Not one to pooh-pooh the health hazards of animal feces, Tayman says pets’ waste “attracts rodents and transmits infectious diseases to other pets and people. Picking up after your pet is a health, as well as an aesthetic, issue. Yes, it smells, looks unsightly and is messy, but it’s also a health hazard.”
Besides, cleaning up after your dogs have done their duty is the law in Howard County.
Tayman, who was Columbia’s first veterinarian and celebrated his 25th anniversary in practice last year, is involved in a number of community organizations. He serves on the Domestic Violence Center’s board, set up a network of Baltimore-Washington area veterinarians who provide discounted or free care to the pets of people with AIDS, was one of the founders of Pets on Wheels, supports Animal Advocates of Howard County’s spay/neuter projects and was a member of the Howard County Chamber’s Legislative Committee. Another pet project is the advisory board to the Health Department, where he brings the animal perspective to public health.
“Today, most people consider their pets members of the family,” Tayman says. “Just like people clean up after their kids, dog owners need to clean up after their pets. It’s the courteous, neighborly, healthy thing to do.”