Chamber Director Named
BERLIN – The Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Melanie A. Pursel as the new executive director.
Pursel, who started her new role on July 9, received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Marketing from Salisbury University in 1997. She then received her Master of Science in Applied Industrial/Organizational Psychology in 2000 from University of Baltimore. I/O Psychology focuses on HR management, organizational behavior, training and development as well as employee motivation, job satisfaction and leadership.
She worked for the Maryland State Highway Administration as a Personnel Analyst and Recruitment Director until she moved back to the shore in 2001. At that time, she took a position as the Director of Workforce Planning with the Lower Shore Workforce Alliance, which serves businesses and citizens with workforce development resources and activities in Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset counties. She worked with a number of new workforce programs (e.g., mobile one-stop, shore works youth program, career resources lab) and was able to leverage additional resources through grants and community partnerships to support these initiatives. She was promoted to assistant director and then director during her time there.
After some time in administration, Pursel then took a position with the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University as the Undergraduate Programs Director. However, her true passion is building community partnerships through strategic planning with regards to business, workforce and economic development, hence her desire to work with the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce.
Melanie has been involved with a variety of community initiatives and committees such as the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Committee through the Tri County Council, Community Visioning for Delmarva, the Eastern Shore Society of Human Resource Management and the Maryland Workforce Development Association.
Melanie resides in Berlin with her husband and two sons, ages 2 and 4.
Hileman Top Agent Named
BERLIN – Hileman’s top agent for June is Sonia Zaffiris, according to Debbie Hileman, broker of Hileman Real Estate.
Zaffiris, Associate Broker, GRI, was named top listing agent and top sales agent for June.
Zaffiris has been with Hileman for 10 years and has many years of experience in both listing and sales and is licensed in Maryland and Delaware.
Designation Awarded
OCEAN CITY – John Allen III, branch manager of the Ocean City office of Merrill Lynch, has announced that Dennis R. Hudson, ChFC® has been awarded the designation of Special Needs Advisor (CSNA).
“By serving as a family’s single point of contact these Certified Special Needs Advisors using a team approach, can draw upon all the resources of Merrill Lynch as well as outside advisors, utilizing the Special Needs Financial Advisor Network,” Allen said.
The public can view the network resources on line at www.totalmerrill.com/specialneeds.
Excellence Award Announced
BERLIN – Joseph T. Dashiell Builders has been named a 2007 Excellence Award winner by (ITALICS)Residential Design & Build magazine.
The annual program recognizes residential construction and design firms for excellence both in business and design in the custom home market.
The panel of judges that selected the Excellence Award winners from hundreds of applicants consisted of an architect and two custom homebuilders, all previous Excellence Awards winners. As a highlight during a down year for the housing industry, the judges chose Joseph T. Dashiell Builders for its creativity and dedication to success.
“We are honored to receive this recognition. We are committed to designing and building the best quality homes in the Ocean City, Bethany Beach and the Rehoboth Beach areas,” Dashiell said. “We are not only committed to the priorities of our clients needs, but we pride ourselves on being focused on Design excellence, setting us apart in the marketplace”
Founded in 1995, Joseph T. Dashiell Builders provides Custom Homes and renovations on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.
Profiles of the firms and projects selected as winners of the 2007 Excellence Awards were published in the July/August 2007 issue of Residential Design & Build and on the magazine’s website at www.rdbmagazine.com.
“We are thrilled to recognize these leading custom home builders and designers for their success, and for helping to raise professionalism in the residential construction industry,” said Rob Heselbarth, editor of Residential Design & Build. “In a year when the housing market is slower than in past years, we’re excited to share the business practices and design creativity that have made these firms successful. Hopefully it can help other custom home design and construction firms improve their businesses.”
The magazine reaches both architects and builders in the luxury custom residential construction industry. It is the only trade magazine that serves the growing number of residential design/build firms in the industry.
PRMC Earns Designation
SALISBURY – Peninsula Regional Medical Center recently received designation as a Primary Stroke Center from the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Management Systems (MIEMMS).
Peninsula Regional’s Primary Stroke Center is among 15 Maryland hospitals to receive this designation. The Medical Center earned MIEMMS recognition by showing it has taken important actions to evidence and sustain its commitment to Primary Stroke designation and possess the necessary facility, equipment and staffing resources as required by Maryland Primary Stroke Center standards.
This MIEMMS certification follows Peninsula Regional’s prior certification as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in December of 2006. Peninsula Regional is the only hospital or medical center on the Delmarva Peninsula to be granted this certification in stroke care, and only one of ten centers in the state of Maryland to earn this JCAHO distinction.
“It’s our commitment to extraordinary care and implementing all necessary measures to achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients that has set the clinical standard for everything we do at Peninsula Regional,” added President/CEO Alan Newberry. “Having both MIEMMS and JCAHO certification verifies that our Primary Stroke Center meets or exceeds national and state standards and guidelines, and that we have the team and the resources in place here to significantly improve outcomes for our friends and neighbors who reach us within that all important three hour window.”
The Stroke Team at Peninsula Regional treats – on average – nearly 50 patients each month who arrive at the Medical Center’s Emergency/Trauma Center with stroke symptoms, volumes that rival centers like Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and others in much, larger, urban areas.
The prevalence of stroke regionally is clearly linked to public risk factors including tobacco use, diabetes, high cholesterol, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol consumption where the Delmarva Peninsula witnesses an equal or higher percentage of each compared to Maryland’s population as a whole. Statistics also indicate that upwards of 70 percent of the people who display symptoms here on the peninsula will suffer a stroke within 48 to 72 hours if they are not treated rapidly and properly within a three-hour window of opportunity from the first sign of those symptoms.