The newly-formed regional chamber of commerce composed of the former Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber and the former West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce held its first board of directors meeting on Jan. 18.
The Executive Committee of the new board includes Chairman Dave Hillery, HeimLantz; Jeff Armiger, BB&T; Ellen Christian, Home Care Assistance; Michael Thibault, The Bank of Glen Burnie; Bobby Mitchell, Putting on the Ritz Catering; Mary Bello, Anne Arundel Health System; Ray Plummer, Bormel, Grice & Huyett; Randy Fisher, The Fisher Law Office; and Eric Harris, Marathon Financial.
Additional board members include Allyson Black, BGE; Bob Eitel, Landesign; Lisa Ennis, Eccentrics-The Spa Sanctuary; Sonja Gladwin, Anne Arundel Community College; Carmen Gonzales, Maryland Live! Casino; Melanie Graw, Coldwell Banker-Crofton; Steve Horne, Elm Street Development; Barney Hughes, M&T Bank; Kristi Korwek, Stone Circle Associates Tax & Accounting; Larry Letow, Convergence Technology Consulting; Becky Mangus, The Business Monthly; Tony Nelson, Bowie State University; Monica Johnson, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission; Rich Rounds, The Halle Companies; Sean Underwood, Poist Gas Co.; and Ron Voigt, PNC Bank.
“It is exciting and an honor to be leading such an impressive board and organization. This is a union of two chambers that are very involved in advocating for their members. The efforts to merge the two operations are going smoothly and word is already getting out that if you do business in central Maryland, you want to be involved with this group,” said Hillery.
“A strong board of directors is the backbone to a successful chamber,” said President and CEO Raj Kudchadkar. “As a result, pulling together a board of this caliber was the first critical step in launching this newly-merged chamber. The businesses that make up the chamber will benefit greatly from this new leadership.”
The chamber’s new slate of directors is now working alongside the chamber president to finalize a strategic plan that sets the mission of the organization, and begins the branding campaign that will include establishing the new name.