A Week In Business

A Week In Business
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Residents Opens Business

OCEAN CITY – Ocean City resident Blake McGrath completed his soft opening business rollout plan and officially launched his Screenmobile franchise Feb. 1.

Screenmobile is a franchise system that builds custom window, door and patio screens at a customer’s home using proprietary equipment transported to the residence via a custom-built trailer. The at-your-door screen business provides a variety of window screening products including standard screening, sunscreen products that block UV rays and reduces air conditioning costs, weatherizing screens, insect control screens and even golf-ball protection screening.

McGrath left his position as executive vice president of a large employee retail merchandising and store display assembly company after growing disenchanted with the continuous travel.

"I wanted to live near the ocean and embark on an opportunity where my efforts would directly benefit myself and my family," explained McGrath.

McGrath’s Screenmobile unit provides service to Ocean City, Salisbury, Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Chincoteague, Va. and everywhere in between.

Investment Course Planned

BERLIN – Old Dominion Investment Corporation (ODIC), along with the Ocean Pines Recreation & Parks department, will be offering a basic investing class entitled, “Running on Empty?”

The class will describe the relationship between time, savings and investing for retirement. In addition to retirement savings tips, the class will review basic investing terms and strategies. This class is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ocean Pines Country Club.

Pre-registration is requested, in case of inclement weather. Call 410-213-8513 or the 410-641-7717, ext. 3050.

Office Leaders

OCEAN CITY – Ed Wehnert, branch vice president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s 52nd Street office, has announced that for December, Peck Miller was the top individual listing associate and Rick Meehan and Katy Durham were the top listing sales team.

Jeri Justis was the top individual sales associate and Jenny Cropper Rines and JoAnn Cropper were the top selling sales team. Peck Miller was the top individual settlement associate and Rick Meehan and Katy Durham were the top settlement team.

Peck Miller and Rick Meehan and Katy Durham did over $1 million in sales and listing production for the month.

Bank Names Vice Chair

BERLIN – John B. Lynch of Ocean City, owner and CEO of the Commander Hotel in Ocean City, was recently named to the position of Vice Chairman on the Board of Directors of Bank of Ocean City. Lynch has served on the Board of the Bank since 1983 as a member.

Lynch is a third generation Ocean City native. After earning a BS in business from Florida State University, he served in the US Coast Guard. During his business career, her was elected to Who’s Who and was honored by the State of Maryland for his family’s longevity in the hospitality business. His father taught him to give back to his community. Lynch served as President of the OC Chamber of Commerce, the OC Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association and was charter member and the first president of the Berlin OC Optimist Club. He has enjoyed a 40-plus year membership in the Evergreen Lodge 153 AM & FM and is a member of the Eastern Shore Shrine Club. Currently he serves on the Board of Directors of OC Golf and Yacht Club, member of the Red Knights Fire Department Motorcycle Club and is a newly appointed member of the OC Paramedic Association.

New Office Member

BERLIN – Wells Fargo has announced that Sharon F. Weker has joined Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

Weker has 13 years experience as a certified residential mortgage consultant.

Group Top Producers

BERLIN – Shamrock Realty Group this week named Carole Mendham and Julie Sadler as top producers for the month of January.

Mendham recently joined Shamrock Realty and was also named top listing agent. She is a seasoned Realtor since 2002 and has consistently been a top performer. Sadler was named top sales agent.

In other company news, Shamrock Realty Group welcomes Sharon Wallace to its office in the Gray’s Corner Professional Center. Wallace has consistently been a top producer and brings 10 years of real estate experience as a broker in New York.

Comptroller Honored

ANNAPOLIS – Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot has been chosen as a 2008 William R. Snodgrass Distinguished Leadership award recipient. The award will be presented at the AGA’s Sixth Annual National Leadership Conference being held Feb. 21-22 in Washington, D.C.

“Comptroller Franchot’s outstanding leadership skills and dedication to state government financial management have been tremendous. Our profession has benefitted greatly from his leadership and it is fitting that he should be recognized with this prestigious award. The state of Maryland should be proud of this profound achievement,” said Relmond Van Daniker, AGA Executive Director.

“I am truly honored to be recognized by such a distinguished and universally respected organization as the Association of Government Accountants,” said Franchot. “When I took office I promised the people of Maryland I would take an already outstanding agency and do my best to take it to the next level. By following through on my promise, with tough, independent policies and by always working for what is fiscally best for Maryland, not just politically best, I believe we have supercharged this Agency. I thank all my employees for their efforts and promise the people of Maryland that we will continue to look for ways to improve our service to them.”

Each year the AGA presents a maximum of two crystal awards to state government professional who exemplify and promote excellence in government financial management and who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in enhancing sound financial management legislation, regulations, practices, policies and systems.

The William R. Snodgrass Distinguished Leadership award recognizes the outstanding leadership of individuals in state government that led to improved financial management and consistently exhibited the highest personal and professional standards. In calendar year 2007, Maryland received more than $19.7 million in back taxes from nearly 27,000 delinquent taxpayers, which is nearly $1 million more than the previous year. The Comptroller’s Office is also streamlining government to increase productivity and make processes more efficient and economical.

Diakonia Earns Award

BERLIN – Diakonia, Inc. President Harry How of MAD Engineering and Executive Director Claudia Nagle recently accepted an award from Maryland Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT) recognizing Diakonia as an exceptional partner in the creation of affordable housing, during a Legislative Reception honoring the 15th Anniversary of the Maryland Affordable Housing Trust. Delegate James Mathias was on hand for the presentation.

Diakonia, Inc. is the only provider of comprehensive emergency and transitional housing for men, women and families on the lower shore of Maryland. The Maryland General Assembly created the MAHT in 1992 to make affordable housing more available throughout the State of Maryland. Diakonia, Inc. has previously been the recipient of funds from MAHT to help complete the expansion of housing facilities, and to help subsidize staffing.

PRMC Introduces New Product

SALISBURY – The Breast Diagnostic Center at Peninsula Regional Medical Center now offers a product that dramatically eases the discomfort many women feel when they get a mammogram. The FDA-cleared foam cushion, called MammoPad®, creates a softer, warmer and more comfortable mammogram. As a certified Softer Mammogram Provider, a distinction awarded to only an elite group of health care facilities, the Breast Diagnostic Center hopes to encourage women to comply with recommendations and schedule regular breast screenings.

 “Many women avoid getting their mammograms as often as they should because of the discomfort they experience,” said David Walker, MD, medical director of the Breast Diagnostic Center. “We’re pleased to be able to offer the more comfortable MammoPad, and we’re hopeful that this will encourage women to receive regular mammograms.”

MammoPad is a single-use, adhesive foam cushion that attaches to the compression plates of a mammography device. It was developed by Stanford University breast surgeon Gale Lebovic, MD, who understood mammography discomfort from both a physician and patient’s point of view. The MammoPad not only provides a soft, warm surface for breast positioning but also helps lessen any pinching and pulling of the skin.

By creating a more comfortable surface between the skin and the mammography machine, MammoPad helps women to relax, enabling technologists to receive the best possible image. Clinical studies in more than 1,300 patients found approximately 70 percent of women experienced a significant reduction in pain and discomfort when the MammoPad cushion was used.