BERLIN– The town will host a field hearing for a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Sen. Ben Cardin this month.
On Thursday, Aug. 17, the Town of Berlin will host a field hearing for the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The committee, chaired by Cardin, will be hearing testimony related to small business resiliency.
“I am honored that the Town of Berlin has been chosen to host the United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship’s field hearing,” Mayor Zack Tyndall said. “Our town has a vibrant small business community, and I look forward to welcoming the committee members.”
Tyndall announced earlier that history was being made in Berlin as it would for the first time in 155 years of incorporation be hosting a field hearing for a U.S. Senate committee. The focus of the hearing, which is set for 1 p.m. on Aug. 17 at town hall, will be “Small Business Resiliency: Learning to Succeed in America’s Dynamic Economy” and will include testimony from four business owners and economic development professionals from the Eastern Shore.
“It’s going to be something different than what we’re used to,” Tyndall said, adding that it was essentially a Washington D.C. hearing that would simply be taking place in Berlin.
Tyndall said he was in regular communication with Cardin’s local representatives. When he was advised there was an opportunity for a field hearing in August, during the week that the Maryland Association of Counties was hosting its summer conference in Ocean City, Tyndall said the town expressed interest in hosting it. He said it was good for the local business community as well as the town’s residents to hear from others about how their small businesses had found success and adapted since the pandemic.
“Anytime we’re able to hear from others and get new perspectives it can spark ideas locally,” Tyndall said. “the ability to experience that is going to be good for all of us.”
The four individuals expected to testify at the hearing include Cassandra Vanhooser, director of economic development and tourism for Talbot County, John “Nick” Hargrove, owner and operator of Tilghman Island Seafood and Wittman Wharf Seafood, Roxanne Wolf, program director for Shore Gourmet of Denton, and Richard Loeffler, business consultant for the Maryland Small Business Development Center of Cambridge.
Tyndall said they’d be sharing information about how businesses had changed following the pandemic.
“It’s an opportunity for our folks to hear about ways business professionals across the Eastern Shore have adapted to changes in the economy,” Tyndall said.
He said Cardin was also expected to go on a walking tour of Berlin prior to the start of the hearing.
“We’ll talk about our business community and how we weathered the pandemic and how our businesses have adapted,” the mayor said, adding that the conversation could address ways the federal government could support small businesses in the future.
While members of the local community can sign up to attend the Aug. 17 hearing, Tyndall stressed that it was a Senate committee event and would follow a different format than Berlin’s typical town meetings. The hearing will be focused on the testimony of the listed witnesses.
“We’re working with Senator Cardin’s team to make sure we have everything in place,” Tyndall said.
He said town officials were grateful that Berlin was selected as the hearing location.
“The ability to experience this is going to be good for all of us,” he said.
More information on the hearing is expected to be available in the coming weeks.