BizWeekly 12/31/2013
We at The Business Monthly wish you and yours a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
Howard School Superintendent to Present Proposed FY 2015 Operating Budget
Howard County Public School System Superintendent Renee Foose will present her proposed fiscal 2015 operating budget at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, in the Board Room at the Department of Education, located at 10910 Clarksville Pike in Ellicott City.
NGC Joins DreamIt Ventures Health Care Accelerator
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NGC) has joined DreamIt Health Baltimore, a collaborative startup business accelerator program with the goal of identifying, validating and developing innovative solutions to health care challenges.
NGC joins The Johns Hopkins University and BioHealth Innovation in the Baltimore-based accelerator, which was launched in September by DreamIt Ventures, a seed-stage accelerator based out of Philadelphia. Startups selected for the four-month program receive $50,000 in seed funding; access to potential beta customers, pilot partners, data and systems; accounting and legal support; and expert guidance and mentoring from the accelerator and its partners.
“Advances in health care are particularly dependent on advances in information technology [IT],” said Amy Caro, vice president, health IT programs, Northrop Grumman Information Systems. “Northrop Grumman is focused on serving as a value-added provider of innovative, affordable, next-generation IT solutions to transform health care. DreamIt Health Baltimore provides us an extraordinary opportunity to introduce fresh thinking, new ways of doing business and, ultimately, superior systems, services and solutions.”
DreamIt and the program partners will select as many as 10 startup companies from applications received worldwide. The selected companies will begin an entrepreneurial boot camp in Baltimore Jan. 17, which runs through May 9.
UMUC to Reduce Cost of Bachelor’s for State Community College Grads
Under a new scholarship program funded by University of Maryland University College (UMUC), a bachelor’s degree in any of the university’s undergraduate programs, including in-demand fields such as cybersecurity, business, health care and public safety, will be more affordable and attainable for Maryland’s community college graduates.
The UMUC Completion Scholarship will reduce tuition and fees for recipients from $273 per credit hour to an average of $199. The total cost of a bachelor’s degree (including the cost of the associate’s degree) for UMUC Completion Scholarship recipients will be about $20,000.
“Community college graduates are a solid investment because they have already invested in themselves,” said Javier Miyares, president of UMUC. “The new UMUC Completion Scholarship provides a well-deserved incentive to keep going and earn a four-year degree that will pay even greater dividends in the future – whether that is a new job, a promotion or a whole new career.”
The earning power of a four-year degree is well documented. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average annual salary of a high school dropout is $20,241, and $30,627 for high school graduates. For those with an associate’s degree the average is $39,771, and for a bachelor’s degree the average jumps to $56,665.
Howard Joint Task Force Provides Update on School Safety
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman provided an update one year after the formation of the Howard County Joint Task Force on School Safety, created immediately after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. All Howard elementary schools will have secure buzzer entries by the end of the year, and the county’s 911 Center now receives video feeds from cameras in schools, Ulman and other officials said.
Ulman was joined by Howard County Public School System Superintendent Renee Foose, Police Chief William McMahon and County Council Vice-Chair Courtney Watson to announce significant progress in each area covered by the Task Force report, completed in March. Among the improvements highlighted were the following.
● All elementary schools were to have a buzz-in entrance system by today.
● All middle schools will have a buzz-in entrance system by the end of spring 2014.
● 212 school buses will have on-board camera systems by January 2014.
● The Howard County Police Department now has access to school security cameras during emergencies.
● Intruder and lock-down exercises have been conducted at all schools.
● Coordination of emergency plans for other school facility users, such as the Department of Recreation and Parks, has taken place.
Officials also said that, based on task force recommendations, awareness and training regarding mental health issues had been intensified, and the county’s anti-bullying initiative, Stand Up HoCo, was helping to fulfill the needs identified by the task force.
Howard County to Host Forum on Tax ID Theft
With the start of tax season right around the corner, Howard County’s Department of Citizen Services is encouraging residents to attend its Tax Identity Theft Forum on Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the North Laurel Community Center, 9411 Whiskey Bottom Road, Laurel. The forum will provide residents with information about how to prevent tax identity theft and the steps to take if their identity is stolen. Admission is free.
“While many of us have heard about ID theft in general, we don’t necessarily think about the numerous ways that ID theft can occur,” said Lois Mikkila, director of citizen services. “As reported by the Federal Trade Commission, the theft of personal information from tax return filings is the fastest growing type of ID theft, and Maryland ranks No. 5 in the incidents of tax ID theft reported. It is therefore important for us all to learn how we can protect ourselves and our loved ones from this crime.”
The forum, hosted by the Department’s Office of Consumer Affairs, is one of a number of events being conducted nationwide by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to alert the public of tax ID theft. The forum will feature remarks from U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein and Maryland State Delegate Susan Lee, as well as a panel discussion featuring experts from the FTC, Internal Revenue Service, American Association of Retired Persons and Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, to name a few.
The Office of Consumer Affairs, along with other local and state law enforcement offices in Maryland, receive reports yearly from residents who have had their identities stolen or who are suspicious of requests they have received for personal information. For more information, call 410-313-6420 or visit www.howardcountymd.gov/taxidtheft.htm
HCCC Enlists an Experienced Search Firm to Find New President
With the guidance of a search committee made up of long-standing chamber members and community leaders, the Howard County Chamber of Commerce (HCCC) has retained Waverly Partners to identify highly qualified candidates for the position of president and CEO.
Waverly Partners is a national executive search firm and the preferred provider of executive search services for the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. Representatives from the firm plan to discuss the search with leaders in the community, chamber sponsors and other members to build consensus about the experience and leadership characteristics of a preferred candidate.
The seven-member search committee was appointed by Board Chair Gregory Lowe, of Lowe fs, and is chaired by Thomas Meachum, a chamber board member and attorney with Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett & Scherr. The committee will work with Waverly Partners to identify qualified local, regional and national candidates.
For more information, contact Eric Peterson at EPeterson@Waverly-Partners.com. All inquiries will be held in confidence.
Nominations Open for 39th Audrey Robbins Humanitarian Awards
The Association of Community Services (ACS) is celebrating 39 years of Audrey Robbins Humanitarian Awards this year, and ACS is now accepting nominations for this year’s awards, which will be presented on Friday, March 28.
Audrey Robbins Humanitarians are ordinary, yet extraordinary, people and groups whose efforts and legacies have transformed Howard County residents’ lives. Since the awards were first presented in 1975, there have been 88 individuals and organizations honored. The categories include Individual and Team Volunteers and Individual and Team Employees; and the first Business of the Year, Allen & Shariff, was honored in 2013.
Nominations are due Jan. 15. Nominees can be volunteers, employees, a team of people who’ve given extraordinary service or a business that has gone beyond the fulfillment of its operation’s needs to provide assistance and other contributions to the county’s nonprofit community. Previous nominees can be resubmitted.
Specific nomination forms and criteria can be found at www.acshoco.org. Nominations can be submitted by e-mail to maureen.heim@acshoco.org, faxed to 410-715-9547 or mailed to ACS, 10480 Little Patuxent Parkway, Suite 920, Columbia, MD 21044.
Rec & Parks Advisory Board Solicits Public Comment on Athletic Field Upgrades
Howard County’s Department of Recreation & Parks Advisory Board will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m., to present the revised athletic field upgrades proposed for the East Columbia Library Park site. Upgrades will include “no spill/glare ball field lighting” and synthetic turf fields, which will provide a safer playing surface, reduce maintenance costs and improve site utilization.
The meeting will be held in the first floor conference room of Recreation & Parks’ headquarters at 7120 Oakland Mills Road in Columbia. Representatives from the Department of Recreation & Parks will present a summary of this proposal and the Advisory Board will accept public comments.
Beginning Jan. 1, citizens can sign up online to speak at the hearing by visiting www.howardcountymd.gov/publiccomment.htm
From the same link, residents have the option to provide online testimony.
MEDA Conference to Provide Maryland Legislative Outlook
Curious about what the Maryland legislature has in store for the state’s economy in 2014? You may consider attending the Maryland Economic Development Association’s 2014 Winter Conference in Annapolis on Jan. 9.
With Gov. Martin O’Malley’s State of the State address and budget reveal still weeks away, MEDA’s seasonal meeting will provide a preview on economic initiatives in the new year. The governor will offer the event’s keynote address. A legislative outlook portion of the event will include Speaker of the House Del. Michael Busch, President of the Senate Sen. Mike Miller, House Minority Leader Del. Nic Kipke and Senate Minority Leader Sen. David Brinkley. Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Secretary Dominick Murray also will take part in an informal roundtable chat with attendees.
The meeting will be hosted by the Annapolis Economic Development Corp. and the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. at the historic Gov. Calvert House. Registration costs $85 for members and $100 for non-members. For more information, visit www.medamd.com
Meet the Author at HCLS and Launch Your Encore Career
Discover the possibilities, challenges and secrets of landing a job in today’s market when you are 50 years old and older when the Howard County Library System (HCLS) hosts author Kerry Hannon on Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 7-8:30 p.m., at the East Columbia 50+ Center Career.
Retirement and personal finance expert Hannon will discusses her bestselling book, Great Jobs for Everyone 50+: Finding Work That Keeps You Happy and Healthy … And Pays the Bills
The Wall Street Journal named it as one of its six best guides for later life in 2012. Hannon is a contributing editor to Forbes magazine and writes the Second Verse column for Forbes.com. She is also AARP’s Jobs Expert and writes the Great Jobs column. Books will be available for purchase and signing.