June Market Report
BERLIN – June figures from the Coastal Association of REALTORS® (CAR) reflect an across-the-board increase in sales of single-family homes in Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset counties.
Wicomico and Somerset counties saw the most drastic increase in new sales/contracts, each showing a roughly 66 percent spike compared to June 2013. Worcester County saw a 20 percent increase.
Settlements remained steady, apart from Wicomico, which saw a 10-percent decrease compared to June 2013.
The encouraging figures mirror a decrease in the sale prices of single-family homes in Worcester and Somerset counties. Despite Wicomico’s uptick in sale prices, all three counties saw REALTORS® selling single family homes for closer to their listing prices.
These trends appear to be consistent across the country. The National Association of REALTORS® is reporting a 6.1-percent rise in new sales/contracts for the month of May, which is reportedly the largest month-over-month gain since April 2010, when first-time home buyers were rushing to sign purchase contracts before a popular tax credit program ended. NAR’s figures for June have not yet been released.
“We’re seeing a boost in consumer confidence on the Shore, which not only strengthens the local real estate market, but also stands to positively impact the local economy as a whole, as more people begin buying homes and utilizing local resources like contractors, retail stores and more,” said Sheila Dodson, executive director of CAR.
New Employees Join Firm
SALISBURY — Becker Morgan Group has announced the addition of two new employees.
Garrett Neeb
Garrett M. Neeb joins the Salisbury office as a survey technician. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from West Virginia University. His project experience with Becker Morgan Group includes surveying at Seaside Village Subdivision in Ocean City; 1111 Edgewater Avenue Condominium in Ocean City; Sandy Spring Friends School Solar Array in Sandy Spring; Batson Creek Estates in Roxana, Del.; and Bay Forest Club in Millville, Del.
Eric Singleton
Eric J. Singleton joins the Wilmington, N.C. office as an Architectural Designer. He graduated from Wake Technical Community College with an Associate Degree in Architecture. Singleton has eight years of professional experience and previously worked as a Senior Architectural CAD Designer.
Pharmacist Recognized
SALISBURY – Apple Discount Drugs, a locally owned Health Mart pharmacy, is proud to announce owner Jeff Sherr will be honored with a Health Mart® Community Healthcare Excellence Award for consistently providing care and services that add measurable value to patient health care and community wellness.
Sherr is one of only 10 pharmacists across the country to be receiving this prestigious award, which will be presented at the Apple Discount Drugs Fruitland location on July 14 during a visit from the Health Mart® Healthy Living Tour, which will offer complimentary health screenings from 3-6 p.m.
“The Customer is First” motto didn’t change when Sherr took over as President of Apple Discount Drugs in 1998 when then owner Len Winkleman retired. Sherr graduated with a B.S. Bachelor of Pharmacy from University of Maryland in 1978 and applied what he learned and his experiences in the healthcare industry when he started working for Winkleman.
Over the years, Sherr grew the business and formed Apple Infusion, a separate corporation, to handle home IV, chemotherapy, pain management, IV antibiotics and enternal therapy. In 2011, the Apple Fruitland location expanded into a 20,000-square-foot space equipped with a Compounding Pharmacy, Specialty Pharmacy, Medical Equipment and Services department and an Accredited Diabetes Center which provides free diabetes counseling.
Apple also provides certified fitters for braces, supports and mastectomy products and the respiratory team offers CPAP fittings, training and supplies, nebulizers and home oxygen equipment. In addition to providing traditional pharmacy services, Apple offers Medication Therapy Management for all customers.
“It is quite an honor to be recognized among peers for the work the Apple team does every day,” said Sherr. “We are committed to initiatives within the pharmacy that promote better health outcomes for our customers. We are always looking for added value services to provide to our customers to make Apple a one-stop-shop for all the family’s healthcare needs.”
Sherr is a member of the Maryland Pharmacist Association, Board member and Vice President of EPIC Pharmacies Inc., Advisory Board Member of University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy, Regional Ambassador for Health Mart Franchisees and Consultant Pharmacist for Coastal Hospice of the Eastern Shore and Hudson Health Services Inc. Among his awards and accomplishments Sherr was the 2013 Recipient of the Outstanding Executive Leader Award from PSPC (Patient Safety Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative), 2012 Recipient of the PDS Entrepreneur of the Year and 2011 Recipient of McKesson’s Pharmacy of the Year for Outstanding Effectiveness.
“Health Mart® pharmacies fill a gap in today’s busy healthcare system by providing broader access to clinical services and medication counseling, and our pharmacists often serve as the first point of care for everyone from new parents to grandparents,” said Chuck Wilson, Health Mart® vice president. “We recognize that issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity are serious epidemics affecting millions of Americans, and these 10 pharmacists have proven themselves as go-to resources for those in their community managing these diseases.”
Bank Names Officer
BERLIN — Hampton Roads Bankshares, Inc., the holding company for The Bank of Hampton Roads and Shore Bank, has announced that Deborah B. Mast joined the company as Senior Vice President, Senior Business Development Officer.
Mast will be responsible for providing leadership in business development outreach and related initiatives, advising on cash management and customized deposit solutions, and working closely with Financial Center Managers and Commercial Relationship Managers to expand existing client relationships.
“Debbie has a strong track record of developing client relationships in the Hampton Roads market, and we are very excited to add her to our business development team,” said Donna W. Richards, President of BHR. “Our ‘One Bank’ strategy is about combining close personal attention with a strong understanding of the communities we serve, and we are confident that Debbie will help us deepen existing relationships and build new ones across our footprint.”
PRMC To Open New Pain Management Office
Conworth Dayton-Jones
SALISBURY — Peninsula Regional Medical Center and its Peninsula Regional Medical Group recently welcomed Conworth Dayton-Jones, MD and his pain management practice to its network of physicians. The new office will be called Peninsula Regional Pain Management.
Dayton-Jones, a specialist in both Pain Medicine and Anesthesiology, received his medical degree from George Washington University in Washington, DC. He completed an internship at New Britain General Hospital in Connecticut and a residency at Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa. Dr. Dayton-Jones is board-certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and has been a member of the PRMC medical staff since 1991. He has served in a number of medical staff leadership roles at PRMC including president of the medical staff in 2008 and 2009.
“We are pleased to have Dr. Dayton-Jones and his staff join Peninsula Regional and our Peninsula Regional Medical Group and to bring a much needed pain management component to our growing list of family medicine and specialty care practices,” said Thomas DeMarco, MD, Vice President of the Peninsula Regional Medical Group at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. “Dr. Dayton-Jones is not only extremely well-known and admired in the fields of anesthesiology and pain medicine, but is also a highly respected citizen, father and leader in our Salisbury community.”
Dayton-Jones’ practice will also be moving from its current location in the Pine Bluff medical complex to a new office on Route 50 and Tilghman Road in Salisbury Peninsula Regional Pain Management will be located in an out building of the shopping complex anchored by Food Lion and Ollie’s, and will open on Aug. 4
BERLIN – One local REALTORS® association is going to great lengths to ensure it remains the premier source of local real estate information and defender of private property rights for the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Members of the Coastal Association of REALTORS® (CAR), local business representatives and staff met with a marketing consultant on June 23 to begin the process of crafting a dynamic messaging plan aimed to reach more consumers.
“We want the consumers to know that we are the experts in local real estate because that is our only focus,” said Sheila Dodson, executive director of CAR. “CAR and its members are the source for all of your real estate needs.”
CAR’s Media Marketing Campaign Committee includes Nicole Abresch, Don Bailey, Lauren Bunting, Austin “Skip” Cox, Gee Dunsten, Ryan Haley, Donna Harrington and Susan Megargee, president of CAR.
The group met with Melynn Sight, president of nSight Marketing, who worked with CAR in the past to develop the organization’s Member Value Proposition of being “Vested in Your Success.”
Sight assisted the group in identifying its goals of promoting CAR as the thought leader for local real estate and defender of private property rights, as well as promoting the value of hiring a REALTOR®.
“Because we’re competing with different sources for the attention of the consumer, our focus will be on differentiating ourselves to offer what no one else does: accurate, local information,” Sight said.
Part of the process was identifying the concerns and needs of the public.
“Identifying these needs and worries helps CAR to determine how we can better serve the consumer as the only trade association that focuses on protecting private property rights and keeping the needs of the public in the forefront of our minds,” said Sarah Rayne, government and public affairs director for CAR.
Meantime, CAR is seeking suggestions from the general public regarding how the association can assist them. These suggestions could include the type of information a consumer in the buying, selling or investing process might look for on CAR’s website, www.CoastalMDHomes.com. Input should be sent to [email protected]. Please include whether you would be interested in participating in a focus group.