College Park’s Hat in Ring for Amazon HQ2
The University of Maryland (UMD) is prepared to partner with the state of Maryland, Prince George’s County, the City of College Park and neighboring jurisdictions to position College Park as a top location in Amazon’s national search for a second headquarters.
College Park meets all of the recently issued requirements in the Request for Proposals (RFP), including direct access to mass transit and international airports, potential to attract and retain technical talent and a connection to world-class higher education. The RFP also requires the ability to deliver a campus environment with millions of square feet available for development. College Park is already home to Amazon@CollegePark, and is one of the first five locations of Amazon’s Instant Pickup service.
“When you read through the entire Amazon H2Q RFP, it screams the University of Maryland and College Park,” said UMD Chief Strategy Officer Ken Ulman. “We hit the marks in every category ­— land availability, business-friendly environment, labor force, logistics, cultural community fit and so much more. We are shovel-ready and can handle the entire requirement in our thriving Discovery District. Our highly-educated, diverse community welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with one of the world’s great companies.”

Maryland Marketing Partnership Launches ‘Open for Business’ Campaign
The state of Maryland, through the Maryland Marketing Partnership, has launched a new economic development marketing campaign that positions the state as the ideal place to start, locate and grow a business. The “Open for Business” campaign debuted with ad placements throughout BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.
In addition to placements like the displays at BWI Marshall, the marketing campaign will feature a mix of digital, print and radio advertising. “Our administration has made economic development and job creation a top priority, and we have been delivering on our promise to turn Maryland’s economy around from day one,” said Gov. Larry Hogan. “We have created over 127,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate is now at its lowest level in a decade. Maryland’s gathering economic momentum is an incredible and compelling story.
“This exciting campaign gives us the opportunity to share our successes with the broad business community and attract even more companies and jobs to our state. Maryland is Open for Business,” said Hogan, “and it’s going to stay that way.”

CMC, Greenworks Partner to Bring C-PACE Financing to Market
The Central Maryland Chamber (CMC) and Darien, Conn.-based Greenworks Lending have entered into a partnership to bring Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing to commercial and multi-family property owners across Central Maryland.
Greenworks Lending’s C-PACE financing provides capital for commercial building upgrades, retrofits and new construction that improves energy performance. Repayment is made through the business’s property tax bill over the useful life of the upgrades, which is typically 20 years — which allows most projects to be cash flow-positive on day one. In addition, business owners have access to 100% financing, including both hard and soft costs; private capital from Greenworks is offered at low fixed rates, and interest payments are tax deductible.
“We are deploying private capital to commercial property owners to reduce operational expenses by investing in energy-efficient capital upgrades and/or renewable energy,” said Jessica Bailey, Greenworks co-founder and CEO. “In addition to retrofits in the multi-family space and beyond, we are excited to see C-PACE used for new development, where we can reduce financing costs as part of a multi-level capital stack.”

Oxygen, DATUM Strike Partnership to Drive Digital Transformation
DATUM, an Annapolis-based provider of data governance and stewardship software, announced an exclusive arrangement with Oxygen, a subsidiary of DXC Technology, an independent, end-to-end IT services company. The agreement will enable DXC to resell DATUM’s Information Value Management data governance platform to enterprise customers throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Paul Wedeking, senior vice president, channel strategy and ecosystem development at DATUM, sees Oxygen as a key partner to address customer success within the SAP community in both Australia and New Zealand.
“Oxygen is the leading specialist SAP solutions company in both Australia and New Zealand. By joining forces, we can provide SAP enterprises with the strategy and implementation teams required to execute any data/information governance initiative,” said Wedeking. “This includes a full portfolio of software and professional services that deliver an overall data strategy, data cleansing and quality initiatives, data governance and stewardship, data migration and ongoing efforts to ensure a smooth and accelerated digital transformation across the enterprise.”

State Garners $600K in SBA 2017 STEP Awards
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced $18 million in awards to 44 state international trade agencies through SBA’s competitive State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), to support export growth among U.S. small businesses. The Maryland Department of Commerce was awarded $600,000 to support export growth among small businesses in Maryland.
STEP helps increase both the number of small businesses beginning to export and the value of exports for small businesses currently exporting. Expanding the base of small business exporters and making the process as easy as possible is a key component of the administration’s small business strategy.
The 2017 STEP awards allow states to assist small businesses with the information and tools they need to succeed in export-related activities that are in line with the objectives of the program. These objectives include participation in foreign trade missions, foreign market sales trips and services provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as design of international marketing campaigns, export trade show exhibits, training workshops and more.

Maxim Healthcare Announces Partnership With Hopkins School
of Nursing
Columbia-based Maxim Healthcare Services and The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing have partnered to develop an online training program for emergency management of home mechanical ventilation (HMV) patients. This self-paced, evidence-based training program was created with clinical expertise from Maxim and Johns Hopkins, and will be part of Maxim’s competency program for nurses caring for patients with a tracheostomy or ventilator.
This development marks the first time that Maxim, one of the country’s largest providers of home care services to medically fragile individuals, has entered into this type of partnership directly with a nursing school. When creating the curriculum, Maxim leveraged the Hopkins School of Nursing instructional design team, using adult learning theory with simulation and scenario-based case studies. They start with basic assessment of the patient and progress the learner from simple to complex scenarios with a focus on emergency management.
“We are so excited about this training module and the confidence that it’s going to build with our nurses who are taking care of the trach and ventilator patient in the home and managing these emergency situations,” said Cheryl Nelson, M.S., R.N., senior vice president of clinical operations for Maxim. “We’re equally thrilled about our partnership with John Hopkins School of Nursing.”

More Than 200 BGE Employees, Contractors Respond to
Hurricane Irma
More than 200 employees and contractors from BGE were deployed this past month to help restore electric service to customers affected by Hurricane Irma. BGE joins with its Exelon sister utilities — Atlantic City Electric, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco — in making available more than 1,800 utility employees and contractors to assist with restoring electric service in areas of the southeast U.S. affected by the hurricane.
BGE employees and contractor crews have been supporting the restoration efforts of Florida Power and Light, Georgia Power and other utilities affected by the storm.

Kupkakes & Co. Featured on
Cake Hunters

Kupcakes & Co., a family-owned bakery in Elkridge, recently was chosen again as the episode winner on the Cooking Channel’s show, “Cake Hunters.” It was Kupcakes & Co.’s second appearance on the program, after first appearing on Season 1/Episode 2, “Mint for Each Other.”
The cake that Kupcakes & Co. designed for the episode was selected above those of two other bakeries. The cake had seven tiers ­ including two rotating ones adorned with twinkle lights, and several with painted delicate flowers.

Dragos Partners With The Cyberwire
Industrial control systems (ICS) cybersecurity company Dragos, which is based in Fulton, announced its partnership with The Cyberwire to provide industrial control system operations and security personnel with information regarding the ICS threat landscape and cybersecurity strategies. The Cyberwire Daily Podcast is an information channel featuring the commentary of leading cybersecurity experts.
“Moving the industrial security community forward requires a dedication to education,” said Robert Lee, CEO and founder of Dragos. “Partnering with CyberWire allows Dragos to illuminate the key issues in this rapidly evolving area of cybersecurity as a member of a growing community dedicated to protecting industrial and critical infrastructure from cyberthreats.”
“Industrial control system security is a critical concern, as it impacts most aspects of our increasingly interconnected world,” said Peter Kilpe, The CyberWire’s executive editor. “There is significant community interest on this topic, and we are fortunate to now be able to have industry-leading experts from Dragos share their considerable, specialized expertise and experience in this area with our listeners all over the world.”

Adfinitas Health Selects Continuum as Revenue Cycle Management Partner
Hanover-based Adfinitas Health, the largest private hospitalist group in the mid-Atlantic region, has selected Continuum Health, of Marlton, N.J., a care strategy and management company, as its revenue cycle management partner in advance of a planned expansion outside of its core region.
Adfinitas currently serves more than 50 health care sites of service — both hospitals and post-acute care centers around the mid-Atlantic — delivering integrated medical and advisory services. The company recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary in January, marking a decade of strong growth and commitment to optimizing value for patients and clients.
“Continuum’s expertise, proven track record and ability to support customer success in a complex health care environment made them our clear choice as we sought a new partner,” said Eric Nass, president of Adfinitas Health. “Our firm is poised for significant growth outside of our current footprint, and we needed a strong revenue cycle management partner to support our expansion goal.”

Bohdi Clinic Moves
Within Ellicott City
The Bodhi Clinic, the practice of licensed naturopathic doctors Dr. Elise Benczkowski and Dr. Stephany Porter, has moved to the Crossroads Building at 4801 Dorsey Hall Drive, Suite 206, Ellicott City. Naturopathic medicine combines nature with modern science to treat illness and promote wellness by viewing the body as an integrated whole.
To learn more, visit www.bodhiclinic.com or book a free, five-minute consultation about the benefits of naturopathy by calling 410-423-8888.

CAC Features Jenkins at Aloft BWI
The Chesapeake Arts Center (CAC) is presenting an exhibition of new works featuring artist Sam Jenkins at the Aloft BWI Hotel. Jenkins discovered screen printing when she attended a poster show at Stevenson University. The show included an artist, Daniel Danger, whose work became part of her inspiration.
Her aesthetic is heavily graphic based and often incorporates steampunk influences. Since she began printing, she has been featured at Maryland Hall, in Annapolis, as well as at student art shows at Anne Arundel Community College. The exhibit runs until Nov. 17; for more information, visit www. chesapeakearts.org.

Watercolor Exhibit by Sunburst Studio at Kish Gallery

The Bernice Kish Gallery at Slayton House, 10400 Cross Fox Lane, Columbia, has announced a group exhibit in the galleries from Oct. 19 through Dec. 16. The artists of Sunburst Studio will exhibit their watercolors, titled, “Watercolor Visions of 2017,” in the Lobby and the Bill White Room galleries.
Sunburst Studio, which began in 1992, is owned by Alice Webb and consists of a school of watercolor painting in her home studio and a gallery. The featured works in this exhibit were painted by the students of Sunburst Studio. There will be a reception on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 3–5 p.m. The public is invited to attend. For more information, call 410-730-3987 or 301-596-4883.

Meeting Gallery Kicks Off Season
The Meeting House Gallery is kicking off the 2017–18 Howard County Arts Council (HCAC) season with its annual Road to the Arts Weekend. It will feature 13 painters from the Laurel Art Guild, plus Paula Darby, a self-taught artist who creates unique designs on wood.
This exhibit runs at the gallery, at 5885 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia, until Oct. 28. The hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit http://themeetinghouse.org/art-gallery.

SECU Cited for Granting First Mortgages
SECU, Maryland’s largest credit union, has been named one of the Top 300 First Mortgage Granting Credit Unions in the country, according to a survey conducted by The American Credit Union Mortgage Association (ACUMA).The ACUMA survey ranks SECU 42nd nationally among mortgage granting credit unions, originating nearly $113.3 million in 494 fixed and adjustable first mortgages as of March 31.
According to ACUMA, credit union market share grew to 8.5% in the first quarter of 2017, a new high for credit unions and almost a 1% jump from year-end 2016. Credit unions in ACUMA’s top 300 accounted for 78.3% of all first mortgages originated by credit unions in the U.S., also as of March 31.

Artists’ Gallery Pays Homage to Animals, Natural Wood in New Show

Local photographer Joan Forester; and woodworkers Ron Brown, Jordan Kitt and Dave McCann, will exhibit work that pays tribute to the beauty of animals and natural wood with their show, “Nature Made: Photography and Woodwork.” The show runs until Oct. 29 at Artists’ Gallery, 8197 Main Street, Ellicott City.
Artists’ Gallery is a member-owned gallery representing a variety of media. For more information, call 443-325-5936 or visit www.artistsgalleryec.com.

ThinkB!G Launches Training, Markets Certification as AATP
Columbia-based ThinkB!G.LearnSmart has expanded its professional certification training to information technology (IT) professionals with its official recognition as an Apple Authorized Training Provider (AATP). Technology professionals now can get official Apple training and certification testing at its Technology Training Center in Columbia or onsite at any client location nationwide.
ThinkB!G is one of the only technology training centers in the region to offer Apple and/or Windows computer learning environments. “With the growth of Apple Mac users by both commercial and government clients, the Apple authorization validates our ability to deliver the highest quality of training. In such a competitive workforce, IT professionals strive to differentiate their skills, making Apple Certification a must-have credential,” said Christine Abunassar, founder and CEO.

HCEDA Receives IEDC Silver Award for Ellicott City Flood Response
The Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA) was awarded a Silver Award at the 2017 International Economic Development Councils (IEDC) Annual Awards for its role in the Ellicott City flash flood response and recovery.
The award was part of the Business Retention & Expansion Category for a single event with a community population of 200,000–500,000. The award honors economic development initiatives that focus on retaining and growing existing businesses within communities and regions. Applicants were expected to demonstrate extensive cross-community collaboration, and the ability to adapt and respond quickly to unforeseen events. On Saturday, July 30, 2016, Historic Ellicott City experienced a one-in-1,000-year rainstorm that resulted in a rainfall of six inches in a two-hour period.

Reconstruction Project for Main Street Annapolis Set for First of ’18
The latest evolution along Main Street, in Annapolis, will begin at the start of 2018, as the city will install 50 new water lines for sprinklers, then re-brick the street. The construction is scheduled to run through early October, and is slated to be completed in time for the fall boat shows.
Phase 1, which will encompass the installation of sprinkler lines, will begin in January and will run until March. During this phase, workers will be running a water line extension from the main water line under Main Street to the curb for 50 buildings along the avenue that do not currently have a sprinkler system; Phase 2 will encompass the re-bricking of Main Street, which will start in April and is scheduled to wrap during the second week of October. Workers will only be replacing the street and not the sidewalk. Sidewalks will remain open during construction.
During the project, there will be areas of no parking along the affected sections of Main Street. Also, during August, it will be closed to vehicles between Memorial Circle and Conduit. A public meeting at City Hall concerning this topic (and others) is set for Thursday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m.

Route 29 Pedestrian Bridge to Reopen for October
The Howard County Department of Public Works has been informed that a contractor’s difficulty in securing materials needed to manufacture the new spiraling geometric cage for the Route 29 pedestrian bridge has led to a delay in its completion. Due to the delay, the bridge reopened in September and will remain open daily, from dawn until dusk, until construction resumes.
The county will continue to distribute and honor bus passes for those travelling between the Oakland Mills Village Center and The Mall in Columbia during the time the bridge is reopened. It will be closed again in early November and is now slated to be completed in early January. Additional information is available via www.howardcountymd.gov/US29Bridge.

Dayhoff, Mangione, Among Award Winners for Chamber Excellence
Howard County Chamber of Commerce (HCCC) will be giving out the 2017 Awards for Chamber Excellence at its 2017 Signature Event on October 6.
This year’s ACE recipients are as follows.
• Business Person of the Year: Bita Dayhoff, Community Action Council of Howard County
• Exemplar of the Year: Pete Mangione, Turf Valley
• Entrepreneurs of the Year: Justin Bonner & Kasey Turner, Jailbreak Brewing Co.
• Large Business of the Year: BGE
• Small Business of the Year: Commercial Insurance Managers
• GovConnects Business of the Year: Unanet
From the leadership of some of the county’s largest employers, to the small business owners who help drive the local economy, the Howard County Chamber of Commerce 2017 Signature Event is a night to celebrate their accomplishments.