Chamber Awards Announced
OCEAN CITY — The Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce recently announced its annual award winners for 2013.
Nominations for the various award categories were made at the end of July and the selection committee then reviewed them and selected the winners. New this year is all awards have been sponsored by a local chamber business
The 2013 Business Person of The Year award will be presented to John Gehrig of D3Corp. The award is being sponsored by Worcester County Economic Development
The 2013 Citizen of The Year award will be presented to Macky Stansell of Macky’s Bayside Bar & Grill. This award is being sponsored by the Community Foundation of The Eastern Shore, LLC.
New for this year, the 2013 Young Professional of The Year award will be received by Igor Conev of Mann Properties. The award is being sponsored by the Md. Coast Dispatch.
The 2013 Non-Profit of The Year award, which is new for this year, is going to be presented to Coastal Hospice and is sponsored by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 120th Street.
The 2013 Volunteer of The Year award will be presented Stephanie Meehan of Funcade and is being sponsored by Gregory & Associates, LLC.
The public is invited to join in celebrating the award winners on Sept. 6 at the Clarion Fontainebleau for the 5th Annual Chamber Ball to pay homage to these deserving individuals.
The annual chamber ball is always uniquely themed. This year’s celebration will be “The Emerald Ball”. Tickets are $85 per person and includes complimentary cocktail hour beverage, Hors d’oeuvres, wine service at table, a prime rib and sautéed’ shrimp dinner, delectable desserts and a formal photo.
Entertainment will be provided by the band “Ginger”.
Sponsor tables are available for $1,000 (table of 10) and include all of the above plus signage on table, attendee gift, recognition in program and on sponsor display. Tickets can be purchased at the chamber office at Routes 50 and 707, by email [email protected] or call 410-213-0144 ext. 104
New Dean Appointed
SALISBURY — A leader from one of the nation’s top-ranked schools of social work has been appointed dean of the Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies at Salisbury University.
Dr. Cheryl Parks assumed her new role July 1.
“With a wide-range of experiences in areas including strategic planning, curriculum development and doctoral program implementation, as well as teaching and demonstrated success securing research funding, Dr. Parks is well-prepared to lead the Seidel School into the future,” said Dr. Diane Allen, SU’s provost and senior vice president of academic affairs.
Parks said the SU role intrigued her because of the natural connections between the disciplines of social work, education and health.
“I see an opportunity to better integrate Seidel’s four departments and to talk across boundaries,” she said. “That’s what social workers do,” she added,” We create linkages within and throughout.”
Parks comes to SU from the University of Connecticut’s School of Social Work, where she served as associate dean for research and established an office for research and scholarship.
Prior to joining UConn’s faculty in 1999, Parks taught at Florida State University and Bryn Mawr College. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Work from Bryn Mawr and M.S.W. from the University of Washington in Seattle. For nearly two decades, she was a private social work practitioner.
New Director Named
SALISBURY — Jim Perdue, chairman of Perdue Farms and president of the Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, and the Foundation’s Board of Directors, are pleased to announce that Kim Nechay has been named executive director of the Arthur W. Perdue Foundation.
The Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Perdue Farms, was established in 1957 by company founder Arthur Perdue and is funded through the estates of Arthur Perdue and Frank Perdue. The Foundation awards grants for the improvement of life in the areas where Perdue facilities are located through the support of education, agriculture, the environment, health and social services, public safety and fighting hunger and poverty. In 2012, the Foundation funded 76 grants totaling nearly $800,000.
“We’re pleased to welcome Kim to lead the philanthropic outreach of the Foundation,” said Perdue. “We’re fortunate to have someone with Kim’s experience to continue the progress we’ve made in fulfilling our commitment to support the communities where and with whom we do business through endowments provided by the Foundation.”
Nechay has built a career in philanthropy and board management. She served some 12 years as director of development for Salisbury University (SU) and assistant director of the Salisbury University Foundation. In that capacity, she facilitated numerous landmark grants for the institution, including funding to name the building housing the Perdue School of Business, establishing the university’s largest scholarship program, led the creation of the institution’s planned giving program, and managed all programming efforts and events of the SU Foundation. For the past three years, Nechay served as the managing director of Cherrywalk Consulting LLC, a firm that focuses on serving the needs of non-profit organizations on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Center Director Moving On
POCOMOKE CITY – Brian Garrett, executive director of the Delmarva Discovery Center, has announced his resignation as the director to accept a position with a local company.
“It is with regret that the members of the board and I announce his departure from the center,” said Nancy Goldsmith, president of the board. “We appreciate his service during his term as the day to day leader of the center.”
Having been the director for more than six years, Garrett was the first senior staff member to be employed by the board. Since his tenure at the center, which was an empty building at the time of his arrival, Garrett has overseen the installation of all exhibits and displays including the 6,000 gallon aquarium and a large replica of the steamships that used to sail up and down the Pocomoke River.
In the time since the center has been fully operational and open to the public, thousands of visitors have passed through its front doors. Just in the past year the center welcomed almost 20,000 visitors, including families, school classes and other tour groups. The center has won statewide and regional awards for its programming, events and redevelopment into a museum.
Last year the center commissioned BEACON, a division of Salisbury University, to make a study of the center with recommendations. Using the study as a guide, the board will be making plans for the new leadership.
Top Producer Honored
WILLARDS — Atlantic/Smith, Cropper & Deeley recently congratulated Travis Hinman as top producer for July.
Hinman is an account executive with the agency and has been working in the insurance industry for eight years. He has earned the designation of CRIS – Construction Risk Insurance Specialist and specializes in Veteran organizations, churches, contractors, and transportation insurance.
Nursery Services Modified
SALISBURY — Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC), at the request of the state of Maryland, has modified its nursery services from a Level 3A status as a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and will now operate as a Level 2B Special Care Nursery.
Although PRMC’s neonatal outcomes exceed national benchmarks, at this point, the patient volume necessary to sustain a Level 3A NICU doesn’t exist. The state is looking to centralize NICU care for the most complex patients to specialized institutions in the Baltimore and Washington, DC area that are sufficiently positioned with the necessary access to specialists and subspecialists to provide that care.
The change to a Level 2B Special Care Nursery will still allow PRMC to continue caring for and treating premature newborns who are over 32 weeks gestation and more than 1,500 grams in weight. On average, fewer than 35 of the 2,000 babies born at PRMC each year are below this threshold and require transfer to another institution.
“New standards would require PRMC to have maternal fetal medicine (MFM) physicians in house within 30 minutes to retain our NICU status, and we examined very closely what it would take for us to meet those standards,” said C.B. Silvia, MD, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at PRMC. “But in the end, given that there are a very limited number of those specialists in the nation — with most practicing at academic centers — and with our volumes under 35 newborns annually who require that level of specialized care, it would be extremely difficult and probably impossible for PRMC to attract and retain a total of three MFM specialists needed to staff the unit around the clock, seven days a week.”
PRMC has transfer plans and agreements already in place with hospitals in the Baltimore/Washington area to ensure the continued safe care for mothers who may require a premature delivery at less than 32 weeks gestation, and for those babies who are born here at less than 32 weeks gestation and under 1,500 grams. PRMC understands that transfer could be a hardship on these few families, and is committed to assisting them to make the transition as smooth and as comfortable as possible.
PRMC is working to build volumes, and remains dedicated to providing the best care for mothers and premature newborns whether they remain in the hospital’s Special Care Nursery or require transfer to another facility.