Names & notes

Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Robert Ramos and Joyce Cool recently attended the Financial Planning Association's annual conference in Anaheim, Calif.

The conference was focused on continuing education. The speakers this year featured some of the profession's best and brightest academics and experts in the fields of client trust and communication, longevity and health care, practice management, technology, risk management, insurance, tax and estate planning, and investments, according to a press release from Wealth Management Partners.

Ramos is a certified financial planner and a chartered financial consultant. Cool is also a chartered financial consultant.

Wealth Management Partners is a financial planning firm in Waldorf.

Mona Electric expands

Mona Electric Group announced the acquisition of the former 84 Lumber facility on Old Alexandria Ferry Road in Clinton.

Renamed the Mona Field Service Center and Pre-Fab Shop, the 5.5-acre property consists of two warehouse-style buildings, one 23,000 square feet and the other 10,000 square feet. There is an additional 13,000 square feet of overhead canopy that can provide either protected outdoor storage or covered parking.

The facility will allow Mona to consolidate its warehouse space and streamline the daily operations, while giving the company room to expand, according to a company press release. Mona's Fleet Service operation with responsibility for more than 200 vehicles will also be located at the new site.

Hancock joins staff of Erie Insurance

April Hancock of Indian Head has joined the staff of Olde Town Insurance Agency as an agent.

Hancock brings to the agency 30 years of insurance experience. She had served as a licensed representative for State Farm agent Mike Sprague in Bryans Road.

She is very familiar with the communities and businesses of western Charles County and looks forward to representing Erie Insurance in the area, she said in a press release.

Olde Towne Insurance, in Leonardtown and La Plata, offers property/casualty insurance products, including auto, homeowners and commercial insurance, as well as life insurance products and services from Erie Insurance Group.

Erie Insurance Group includes seven companies operating in 11 states and the District of Columbia and is rated A+ (superior) by A.M. Best Co., according to the release.

Leadership Southern Maryland announces Class of 2010

The Leadership Southern Maryland Board of Directors announced that 37 Southern Maryland leaders were selected to serve as the LSM 2010 class. They will participate in the program through May 2010.

Students from Charles County will be Barb Bausch, Donald Bouchard, Mary Braun, Stacy Cook, Claude Coucoules, Tom Davis, Mark De Luca, Mike Guy, Hayden Hammett, Emily Harman, Lee Platt, Kelly Robertson-Slagle, Marie Robinson, Kim Rosenfield and Aaron Tyler.

Attending from Calvert County will be Cindy Dinan, Nick Garrett, Michelle Goodwin, Stacey Hann-Ruff, Margaret Matthews, Ron Mould, James Shepherd and Laurie Uherek.

Students from St. Mary's County will be Michael L'Heureux, Wayne Lockley, Micheline Lopez-Estrada, Shane Mattingly, Denise McDowell, Mary Kay Myers, James Norris, Karen O'Conner, Cindy Randall, Annette Scriber, Mark Smith, Ed Turbush, Robert Vargo and Paul Waxman.

Program highlights include opportunities to engage with recognized leaders in academia, health care, government and industry, focusing on leadership development by highlighting regional issues, according to a release.

Leadership Southern Maryland is a nine-month program that charges a fee and is especially designed to develop leaders from Southern Maryland.

For more information, contact Executive Director Karen Holcomb at 301-481-2727, by e-mail at LeadSOMD@verizon.net, or go to www.leadsomd.org.

Online training course teaches how to win federal contracts

The U.S. Small Business Administration recently launched a new online training course to help strengthen access to contracting opportunities for small businesses, including those owned by women, minorities, disadvantaged individuals and veterans.

The training course, "Recovery Act Opportunities: How to Win Federal Contracts," is part of an initiative led by SBA and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

As part of the outreach to small businesses, the online course uses both audio and script to provide information about the federal marketplace, contract rules, how to sell to the government and where to find contract and Recovery Act opportunities.

The new training portal is a free online training course providing an overview of the federal procurement process.

The course is available at www.sba.gov/fedcontractingtraining.