A Week In Business

Some members of the Coastal Association of REALTORS® are pictured at a flood insurance seminar on July 17 at the association office in Berlin. Submitted Photos

Some members of the Coastal Association of REALTORS® are pictured at a flood insurance seminar on July 17 at the association office in Berlin. Submitted Photos

Seminar Attended

BERLIN – In recognizing the importance of protecting their customers’ financial investments, members of the Coastal Association of REALTORS® (CAR) participated in a flood insurance seminar on Thursday, July 17 at the association’s Berlin office.

The seminar, which was taught by Phillip Rager, flood business development consultant with the Harleysville, Pa.-based Nationwide Insurance, focused on various aspects of FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, including flood zones and maps, the Biggert-Waters Reform Act of 2012 and coverage limits.

“Anywhere it can rain, it can flood,” Rager said. “It’s important to understand a property’s flood risk and your options to financially protect it.”

Sheila Dodson, executive director of CAR, said it’s important that real estate professionals understand the ins and outs of the NFIP, as flood insurance rates can greatly impact property values.

“The local remapping of flood zones, which will be implemented soon, will change things drastically for homebuyers in some areas, especially places like Ocean City where some properties are flip-flopping between high hazard and low-to-moderate hazard flood zones,” Dodson said. “As the leading local authority on all things real estate, it is CAR’s responsibility to keep its members informed of these changes so they can provide the most accurate, informed and easiest home buying experience to their customers.”

For more information about the NFIP and flood insurance, visit www.floodsmart.gov.

New Lovin’ Life Limos co-owner Kevin Sasada is pictured with former owner Tammy Patrick-Cebula.

New Lovin’ Life Limos co-owner Kevin Sasada is pictured with former owner Tammy Patrick-Cebula.

Limo Company Sold

OCEAN CITY — Kevin Sasada, a local realtor who is active in the community, has taken over Lovin’ Life Limos. The company was founded and grown by Ocean City restaurant proprietor Tammy Patrick-Cebula.

Sasada, a Delmarva native, served as vice president of Timberlake homes, running three communities in Delaware and helped sell out the luxury Rivendell condominium on 81st Street in Ocean City.

“I watched the business grow over the years and when the opportunity to own the best limo company on the Eastern Shore became available to purchase I knew I had to have it,” said Sasada. “I have a passion for entertaining people and look forward to his new venture.”

Sasada teams up with Lee Mikles, a successful entrepreneur and marketing expert whose perspectives have been featured in Advertising Age and The Wall Street Journal. Mikles has successfully started two companies in Delaware, employing over 100 people between the two ventures. A published author, he is currently an Entrepreneurial Studies faculty member and teaches Digital Marketing at the University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business. He and his family are longtime property owners in Ocean City.

Tammy Patrick-Cebula, founder of Lovin’ Life Limos and proprietor of Galaxy 66 Bar and Grille, is pleased to see her company in capable hands.

“It has been an amazing 18 years of my life,” said Patrick-Cebula. “I know Kevin and Lee will continue to grow the business and keep making it fabulous.”

Peggy Naleppa

Peggy Naleppa

Most Admired Recognition

SALISBURY — Peninsula Regional Medical Center President/CEO Peggy Naleppa was recently named among Maryland’s 30 Most Admired CEOs for 2014.

Naleppa was also a recipient of this award in 2012. She is one of just seven Maryland CEOs honored in the category of “Non-profits with More than $10 Million in Annual Revenue” and is the Eastern Shore’s lone recipient.

Created by The Daily Record, a Baltimore-based business newspaper, the award highlights some of the most notably talented CEOs leading the state’s nonprofit, for profit and public companies. 2014’s Most Admired CEOs were selected based on their demonstration of strong leadership, vision, competitiveness and innovation, community service, commitment to financial performance and excellence, growth, corporate leadership, board service and nonprofit involvement.

“Being named a Most Admired CEO takes more than in-depth knowledge about running a company or organization. It requires an extraordinary level of drive and ambition because it is a tremendously challenging job,” said Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, Publisher of The Daily Record. “They have learned the value of surrounding themselves with great team members, with leaders and employees who believe in the organization’s core values and mission.”

Naleppa, who has served as PRMC’s president in 2008 and its CEO in January of 2010, is responsible for the leadership of Maryland’s ninth largest hospital by bed count with 275 licensed acute care beds and nearly 1,000,000 square feet of space on the Salisbury campus. Its annual system budget is close to $500 million.