Business Awards

Joseph E. Blair Jr., chairman of Baltimore Life Cos., received the Stuart M. Macht Award in recognition of a career of community and business leadership Thursday at a ceremony honoring winners of the 2000 Baltimore County Business Awards. The County Executive's Award for Economic Development went to the Allison Transmission Division of General Motors Corp., which is investing $217 million in a White Marsh manufacturing plant. Grillo & Company, a Towson gift and specialty shop, won the Revitalization Award for commercial improvements in older communities.

The League of American Bicyclists awarded a bronze Bicycle Friendly Business Award to Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, in North Laurel. APL was recognized for promoting employee health and social responsibility through its cycling club and cycling amenities. Some members of the APL cycling club commute daily and travel more than 24 miles each way.

Sun business columnist Jay Hancock and real estate reporter Jamie Smith Hopkins were named winners of Best in Business awards Friday for their 2010 work from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. Hancock was recognized for his column writing under the category for dailies with 200,000 to 500,000 Sunday circulation. His work included columns about the investigation of stent use at Towson's St. Joseph Medical Center. Smith Hopkins won for her coverage of real estate in a category that included media of all sizes.

Sun business columnist Jay Hancock and real estate reporter Jamie Smith Hopkins were named winners of Best in Business awards Friday for their 2010 work from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. Hancock was recognized for his column writing under the category for dailies with 200,000 to 500,000 Sunday circulation. His work included columns about the investigation of stent use at Towson's St. Joseph Medical Center. Smith Hopkins won for her coverage of real estate in a category that included media of all sizes.

Nominations sought for county's annual business awards The Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce Inc.'s annual Business Awards dinner will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. June 19 at the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Hotel, 80 Compromise St., Annapolis. The awards given out will include Business Leader of the Year, Community Outreach, Nonprofit of the Year, Minority Business Advocate of the Year, Women in Business Advocate of the Year, Legislator of the Year, Environmental Awareness and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, received the Stuart M. Macht Award in recognition of a career of community and business leadership yesterday at a ceremony honoring winners of the 2001 Baltimore County Business Awards. The County Executive's Award for Economic Development Impact went to T. Rowe Price Associates, which has invested more than $200 million in its Owings Mills Financial Center, home to more than 2,000 workers. Booth Properties won the Revitalization Award for commercial improvements in older communities for its development projects along Frederick Road in Catonsville.

Chamber accepting nominations for business awards The Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations for its annual business awards. Seven awards will be presented from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. June 18 at the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Hotel, 80 Compromise St. Awards will be given for Business Leader of the Year, Community Outreach, Nonprofit of the Year, Minority Business Advocate of the Year, Women in Business Advocate of the Year, Legislator of the Year and Environmental Awareness.

In Baltimore County Christian Workcamp seeks volunteers to help repair homes TOWSON -- The Baltimore County Christian Workcamp will be repairing the homes of families with limited incomes July 15-20 and is seeking volunteers, skilled or unskilled, supplies and donations. The program, in its 18th year, is run by lay people and includes United Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians and members of other denominations. Each year, more than 20 homes are repaired, from Dundalk to Parkton to Catonsville.

Buschman Design-Build wins Remodeler awardBuschman Design-Build of Marriottsville was recently honored with a Remodeler of the Year Award by the Maryland Improvement Contractors Association.The award, which recognizes remodeling contractors for design and craftsmanship, was presented during a banquet at the Museum of Industry in Baltimore last month.The winning project, in the category of "Best Residential Exterior," involved the exterior remodeling of the front of a ranch-style house in Howard County.

Ernst & Young has named seven Maryland winners of its 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year awards, drawing from fields that range from biotechnology to engineering to automotive services. The winners, who were presented at a Baltimore gala event Thursday night, now go on to compete for national entrepreneur award titles to be announced at an annual Ernst & Young event in Palm Springs, Calif., in November. Maryland's youngest winner was Pikesville native Jason Goldsmith, 32, chief executive of CARCHEX, which assists consumers and dealers with the online sale of new and used cars and warranties.

Sun personal finance columnist Eileen Ambrose was named a winner of a Best in Business award yesterday for column writing from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. Ambrose was recognized for a portfolio of her work during 2007. Judges called her work "very reader friendly" and noted that she addressed subjects that other columnists overlooked. "While others were still writing about subprime loans, Ambrose found another area that should be of concern: the pitfalls of pay-day loans," the judges wrote.

Three Sun journalists who produced the revelatory series "Crab Factory," which detailed the rise of Asian crabmeat and its effect on Maryland's ailing seafood industry, won a Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business and financial journalism last night. During a ceremony at a restaurant in New York, reporters Gady A. Epstein and Stephanie Desmon and photographer Chiaki Kawajiri won in the medium-sized newspaper category - those with circulations of 150,000 to 350,000 - for the two-part series, the first article of which ran on April 30, 2006.

Albert Clark never thought hairdressing would be his business. The Washington native had a passion for theater and a background in military service. But nearly 30 years after opening the Victoria & Albert Hair Studio with his wife, Victoria, Clark has found success in helping the business grow in its Columbia location to serve more than 12,000 clients and train dozens of stylists. The salon recently was nominated for an international honor from the Global Salon Business Awards. The 40-employee operation has seen profits and revenue increase 7 percent to 9 percent annually, Clark said.

Nominations sought for county's annual business awards The Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce Inc.'s annual Business Awards dinner will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. June 19 at the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Hotel, 80 Compromise St., Annapolis. The awards given out will include Business Leader of the Year, Community Outreach, Nonprofit of the Year, Minority Business Advocate of the Year, Women in Business Advocate of the Year, Legislator of the Year, Environmental Awareness and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Three years ago, Jeff Kaufman and Jody Cutler opened their whole foods store with a $200,000 loan backed by the Small Business Administration, and lots of hope that Roots Market would grow in the community. Today, the 11,000-square-foot store in Clarksville employs 40 - up from 25 when it opened - and the business has grown appreciably each year, so much so that the owners are hoping to open a second location in Montgomery or Baltimore county. With three years in business, the grocery store has been named an Entrepreneurial Success by the Baltimore District office of the SBA, which will present the award during the Maryland Small Business Week Awards ceremony next month.