Chamber Update

Please give a warm welcome to our newest members of the chamber: Angie D Entertainment LLC, Pegasus Bookkeeping, Golden Consulting and AE2 Creative LLC.

On October 3, we held a fun and unusual ribbon cutting at Severna Park’s newest entertainment venue, The Axe House – Annapolis. Citations were presented and the ribbon was placed over a target. Owner Dustin Flowers hit the bull’s-eye, cutting the ribbon expertly. We had a chance to test our axe-throwing skills and had a wonderful time.

On October 8, we held a ribbon cutting for a new pest control business in Severna Park called Paramount Yard Pest Control. The event was outside at the chamber, and we wish all the best to owner Eric Couslin, who said he is busier than ever.

On October 13, we held a ribbon cutting at the chamber in celebration of Larry Sells’ new venture, Larry Sells Consulting. The event was held outside, and lunch was catered by Garry’s Grill.

On October 21, we participated in a ribbon cutting celebrating the grand opening of a new Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage office in Severna Park. Congratulations to Elizabeth Parks and the team.

Our Successful Women in Business group held a virtual First Cup Club coffee with featured speaker Renee Kremm of Prudential Advisors. She spoke about the importance of “Getting Your House in Order” in the electronic age. Committee chairs are Nancy Greer of the Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi and Pam Spearman, independent consultant for Mary Kay. Pam is retiring and moving out west, and we thank her for her many years of dedicated service to our chamber. Pam has served as board president and as committee co-chair of Successful Women in Business, and she and husband, Mark, have volunteered to help with our community parade for many years. We will miss Pam and we wish her all the best on her new chapter in life!

Our Health and Wellness Committee held a webinar on COVID confrontations and conversations. Billy Greer, owner of the Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi, created and presented a fantastic video on how to avoid conflict and de-escalate tense situations related to COVID protocols.

Our Learn and Lead Committee held a webinar called “Becoming a Trustworthy Leader.” The event was sponsored by Popham and Associates and hosted by the Treebranch Group.

Chambers in Anne Arundel County held a multi-chamber virtual networking event with over 70 in attendance. We thank all who joined and our sponsors, Eco Interior Maintenance and Minuteman Press of Crofton.

We were proud to co-host a fantastic webinar on Alzheimer’s called “The Slow Walk – The Journey of Alzheimer’s.” Organized by Winsome Brown, co-owner of Lean on Dee Senior Care Advocates and community educator for the Alzheimer’s Association, the webinar featured Dr. Alden Gross, a John’s Hopkins scientist studying the disease. Other hosts and presenters included Maryanna Lanham of Athena Financial Services and Casey Bryant of the Law Offices of Casey Bryant.

Our chamber eClub was held on the last Tuesday of October and was sponsored by Minuteman Press of Crofton. This event is open to everyone, so please join us and meet local business owners.

The last two months of the year are usually very busy for the chamber. Our general membership luncheon will be held on November 18 at the wonderful Hella’s Restaurant in Millersville.

However, due to the pandemic, we will reschedule our popular Holiday Taste and Sip event to the spring of 2021. The event will be sponsored by the Matt Wyble Team of Century 21 New Millennium, and we will have more information in the new year.

More details to come on the chamber tree lighting, held the first Friday of December. We will not be able to hold the open house portion of the event, but we will still have a tree lighting that the community can enjoy.

Buy Local or Bye Local!

While our holidays are sure to look different this year, we are beginning to think about shopping. Before you press that button to purchase online from a global marketplace, please check out our local businesses.

Did you know that you most likely can get everything you want and need from a local business? And because of the pandemic, local businesses have expedited their e-commerce abilities to serve you, just like the “big box” guys? Take another look and see how hard they have worked to implement new delivery methods and other fantastic innovations. And you will help to keep them in business, as they are the reason for our vibrant local economy!

The Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce has been championing small businesses and nonprofits since 1957. For more information, contact Liz League at ceo@gspacc.com or 410-647-3900, and visit the chamber’s website at www.gspacc.com.