Chamber Update

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Please give a warm welcome to our newest members:  Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services (bronze member), Day to Day Fitness, Steven Murphy Real Estate, Premier Insurance Advisors, Junk Car Medics, Avon – Barbara Thomas, and PFS Investments. And a huge thank you to all our renewing members!

Even though we continue to navigate the COVID crisis, it was so great to start 2021, and as always, we had a very busy month!

The first week of January, we held a legislative leadership breakfast (virtually) with four other county chambers. The county host sponsor was Gardiner and Appel Group. Close to 100 people attended, and we heard from elected officials in Anne Arundel County about good and not so good legislation impacting our job creators. Our chamber is sending regular legislative alerts to members calling for action on bills that will help or hurt small business.

Our Successful Women in Business committee held a virtual coffee to introduce the new committee co-chairs, mother/daughter realtors Kelly and Peggie Pendergast of Monument Sotheby’s International Realty. Nancy Greer of the Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi is continuing in her role as committee chair. We have some great events planned for the year, so please check out our calendar of events at www.gspacc.com.

Our health and wellness committee held a fascinating webinar called “Taming Your Monkey Mind.” Billy Greer of the Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi was our presenter, and he is well-versed on calming techniques as a master in tai chi. The “monkey mind” is that little negative voice in our heads that chatters all the time to undermine our confidence. In this webinar, we learned techniques and practices to “tame” these unwanted thoughts and mental chatter, which so many are experiencing under the stress of the world these days. Billy talked about ways to channel the monkey – give it a banana, give it something else to do, let it play, etc. It was a wonderful and popular presentation that we will host again in the fall.

We held a virtual new officer installation and general membership meeting. Judge Cathy Vitale performed the oath of office, and we are excited to announce that our incoming board president is Dianna Lancione, owner of this newspaper and The Voice Media Inc.! We are looking forward to a great year!

This month featured a unique webinar called Passion Beyond Profession. Our committee was Sarah Taylor and Theresa Connelly from Chesapeake Think Tank, Steve Hardy of Chesapeake Technology Group, Valerie McLaughlin of Emerald Financial Partners, and Susan Murray of RE/MAX One. Three chamber members presented for 10 minutes on what their passions are beyond their businesses. Valerie McLaughlin, owner of Emerald Financial Partners, is a devoted rider of motorcycles, and has traveled all over the country. Donna Jefferson, owner of Chesapeake Family Magazine, is doing wonderful work to clean up Spa Creek and restore it to its original beauty. Patrick Lee of Chesapeake Think Tank talked about the joys of walking in his neighborhood and reconnecting with nature. The event was sponsored by PNC Bank and Garry’s Grill. It was great to get to know the business owners in a personal way, and we plan to roll out a series of these webinars.

At the end of January, we held a blood drive at the chamber. The drive was sponsored by Chick-fil-A of Severna Park and Severn Bank. We had 22 donors who gave the gift of life.

We would love to have you join us, even as a member of the community. You can find out more at www.gspacc.com, email me at ceo@gspacc.com or call 410-647-3900.

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