From the President - Deborah Cornely
September 2010

  The Dundalk Chamber has been involved in many activities since our last newsletter came out in June. We brought members up to date on Chamber doings during the State-of-the-Chamber Breakfast and had great member participation in Dundalk’s Fourth of July festivities. Our Chamber-sponsored weekly Farmers Market in Old Dundalk Village opened for the season in early July and will run every Saturday morning until November 20. We held a very informative networking breakfast at Franklin Square Hospital Center, and many of us played in the Chamber’s Annual Golf Tournament and attended the yearly Crab Feast. Phew!

  Though summer is almost ended, our revels will continue into the Fall and Winter. We’re looking forward to hearing about Patapsco Bank’s 100 years in business during a networking session at the bank’s Merritt Boulevard branch on the evening of September 15. During the session, we look forward to an informative presentation on bad check restitution by representatives of the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office.

  On October 13 the Chamber will host a Candidates Night in conjunction with the Millers Island-Edgemere Business Assn. in the theater at CCBC-Dundalk. Since the event follows the Primary Election, local candidates who are invited to attend will have won their party’s endorsement to run in November’s General Election.

  Ballots for the Chamber’s annual election of officers and board of directors will be sent to members in October and results will be announced during the Annual General Membership Meeting and Business Recognition Awards Breakfast at Sparrows Point Country Club on November 17. Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson will be guest speaker at the breakfast.

  Our final activity in 2010 will be the annual Holiday Luncheon, also at SPCC. The eagerly anticipated event will feature seasonal entertainment and basket raffles to raise funds for Chamber-sponsored projects and programs.

  The board of directors has reconsidered the time frame for hosting the Chamber’s annual Snowball Gala. Held in mid-January in previous years, the 2011 Gala will take
place at Sparrows Point CC on February 26 to insure that it does not interfere with our football-loving members’ plans to watch the NFL Playoffs or Superbowl. During last year’s Gala, a sizable number of guests crammed into Sparrows Point’s small bar to watch the playoff game between the Ravens and the Steelers. Since the Gala will be held in February, installation ceremonies for our officers and directors, which are required to take place in January, will be held prior to the Board of Directors meeting that month.

  We also have lots of other fun and interesting programs planned throughout 2011. One of the main benefits of Chamber membership is the forum it creates for the exchange of ideas and information among businesses. We encourage all of our members to take advantage of the opportunity to reach out to fellow business folks by participating in Chamber activities and programs. I hope to see each of you at one or more of our upcoming functions.

Thank you for supporting the Chamber!

Deborah Cornely
President