Columbia Bank

Developer acquires Ellicott City buildingDeveloper Donald R. Reuwer Jr., founder and president of Land Design & Development, has acquired the historic stone Colonial building at 8000 Main St. in Ellicott City. The building will also serve as offices to another Reuwer company, American Real Estate Services L.L.C., a brokerage specializing in land, farms and commercial properties.The former high school history teacher has been active in the restoration of a number of similar Ellicott City properties, including Tiber Place Antique Mall and the former County Health Department Office, now occupied by Tersiguel's French Country Restaurant.

New positionsHayleck, Keller take posts with Baltimore ZooThe Baltimore Zoo named Lorraine M. Hayleck controller and Andrea J. Keller public relations manager for the 123-year-old zoological facility.Hayleck, a certified public accountant, formerly was controller for Federal Filings Inc., a Dow Jones & Co. subsidiary. A graduate of the University of Maryland, she resides in Dayton, in Howard County.Keller, a Loyola College graduate, is former director of marketing for the Frederick Brewing Co. The Washington resident will coordinate external communications and assist in Web site development and strategic public relations planning for the park.

U.S. Food Service buys Oregon distribution centerU.S. Food Service Inc., a Columbia-based national distributor of food and related products to restaurants and institutions, has purchased a warehouse and distribution center in Ridgefield, Wash., 14 miles north of Portland, Ore.The purchase will allow the company to develop its markets in the Oregon and Washington areas and expand its product lines to include meat, produce, seafood and dairy.U.S. Food Service, which employs more than 12,000 workers, markets and distributes 40,000 brand items to more than 130,000 food-service customers.

U.S. Foodservice announces agreement with collegesU.S. Foodservice, with headquarters in Columbia, has entered into a prime vendor relationship with the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education and its 118 member colleges.The agreement calls for U.S. Foodservice to supply food and related products to the organization's affiliates -- historically and predominantly black colleges and universities. In return, U.S. Foodservice will support the association's national conference and president's meeting and begin an incentive program involving scholarship funds for students attending the colleges.

Banking and financeWalker named assistant VP of the Columbia BankThe Columbia Bank appointed John R. Walker assistant vice president, commercial lending. Operating from the Columbia Town Center branch, he will be responsible for new business development of small- and medium-sized clients. Formerly with American Credit Indemnity, the Columbia resident is a graduate of the University of Maryland and received his graduate degree from the Johns Hopkins University.Peisach selected manager at Key Bank & TrustKey Bank & Trust selected Jeff Peisach as manager, equipment leasing for the Owings Mills-based financial institution's newly formed equipment leasing division.

New positionsRadcliffe is programs chief for Lear Siegler ServicesLear Siegler Services has appointed Harry Q. Radcliffe director of federal programs for the Annapolis-based aircraft and vehicle logistics, transportation and maintenance management firm. He is responsible for management oversight and program development for fixed-price services. The Bethesda resident formerly was a general manager with Lockheed Martin Corp. and served as a pilot in the Marine Corps.Kanarek is media director for Baltimore Co. collegesCommunity College of Baltimore County named Harold Kanarek director of media relations.

PeopleRobert W. Locke III has been promoted to executive vice president, business banking, at the Columbia Bank, headquartered in Howard County. Locke, who was formerly senior vice president of business banking, is one of the founding members of the bank, which began operations in 1987. Before joining the bank, he was employed with Maryland National Bank and the National Bank of Washington. He began his career teaching reading in the New York City school system.Michael Andrews, Haener Elie, Terri-Ann Jones, Carianne Pittman, Seong Lee, Art Anderson, Brandy Smith, Elizabeth Trollinger, Stacey Lincoln and Joe D'Alonzo -- all employees of Columbia-based Amerix Corp.

Dancel, High join directors of Columbia arts festivalBernaldo J. Dancel, founder and chief executive officer of Amerix Corp., and Scott S. High, Washington Zone administration manager for Chrysler Financial, have joined the board of directors of the Columbia Festival of the Arts.Dancel, an Ellicott City resident, founded Amerix in 1996. The Columbia-based debt management program processor provides services to the credit counseling industry and negotiates with creditors on behalf of consumers.

Chamber talk to focus on attracting OlympicsThe Howard County Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Baltimore Alliance will present a talk by Dan Knise, "The Olympic Dream," from 11: 30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at Ten Oaks Ballroom, 5000 Signal Bell Lane, Clarksville.Knise is chairman of the 2012 Coalition, which is attempting to bring the Summer Olympics to the Baltimore-Washington corridor.The cost is $25.The chamber will sponsor a brown bag lunch with Jason Graham, of Graham Fitness Enterprise, who will speak about making fitness a part of the daily routine, at noon Thursday at the chamber offices, 5460 Sterrett Place, Columbia.

Hopkins physics laboratory announces staff changesThe Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel has announced the appointments of two assistant directors and a new head of its Business and Information Services Department.Ed Portner, formerly assistant director for business operations, was named assistant director for laboratory operations.Ruth Nimmo has been named assistant director for business operations. She was head of the Business and Information Services Department.

An Ellicott City church's request for county government help in reducing borrowing costs on up to $10.1 million for school buildings is raising questions about the separation of church and state. The issue, in the form of a County Council resolution approving economic development revenue bonds, will be discussed at Monday night's public hearing, and is scheduled for a vote July 30. "We want to serve the community," said Glen Mar United Methodist Church's pastor, Andy Lunt, about the facilities under construction on the church's new 22-acre campus on Route 103 at New Cut Road.

Columbia Bank's parent to get federal loan funds Fulton Financial Corp., the parent of Columbia Bank, announced yesterday that it will receive $375 million from a federal program designed to spur lending. Fulton, of Lancaster, Pa., said it received preliminary approval from the U.S. Treasury under the government's $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program, which sets aside $250 billion to inject cash into banks in exchange for shares. Fulton will sell senior preferred stock and warrants to purchase common stock to the Treasury in exchange for the cash.

Executives at Baltimore's regional banks said they're hopeful that the federal government's plan to buy stakes in banks will help ease the economic crisis by stimulating lending and restoring consumer confidence in the financial system. Under the voluntary plan announced yesterday, the U.S. Treasury Department will purchase as much as $250 billion of preferred stock in up to thousands of small to large banks and thrifts as a way to spur lending to consumers and businesses. At a time of heightened anxiety about the stability of financial institutions, some banking officials and experts welcomed the action.

Columbia Bank to merge with two others The Columbia Bank said it is merging with two of its sister banks, Hagerstown Trust Co. and The Peoples Bank of Elkton. The Columbia Bank will have total assets of $2.4 billion when the merger is completed. The three banks are all subsidiaries of Fulton Financial Corp. The merger, which is subject to the approval of bank regulators, is expected to be completed during the third quarter of next year. Andrea K. Walker Big fall in energy drops consumer prices WASHINGTON : Consumer prices in August posted the first monthly decline in nearly two years as Americans finally got some relief from surging energy prices.

Knight used to woo bank customers Employees with the Columbia Bank and a knight in shining armor from Medieval Times restaurant at Arundel Mills mall went door-to-door delivering gifts of three jars of fruit preserves to residents of the Arundel Preserve community in Hanover to promote the opening of the bank's newest branch. The Columbia Bank's first branch in Anne Arundel County is at 7692 Dorchester Blvd. in Hanover. Clear Choice receives $70,000 grant The Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp.

FIRN elects Meiser Verena Meiser, an attorney in the Howard County law firm Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny LLC, has been elected to the board of directors of the Columbia-based Foreign-born Information and Referral Network (FIRN). Meiser represents individuals, business and associations, and provides representation to clients in estate planning, probate, trust administration and real estate matters. She is fluent in German and Spanish, and has reading, writing and speaking skills in French and Turkish.

River Hill's Garcia wins scholarship Leo Carelle Garcia, a senior at River Hill High School, is one of 20 students around the country to receive a Citigroup Academy of Finance Scholarship of $20,000, or $5,000 a year for four years, to be used for tuition, room, board and other educational expenses. In addition to receiving the award, Garcia will be paired with a Citigroup mentor and given a summer internship at one of Citigroup's subsidiary companies in the United States or abroad. As a student in the Academy of Finance, part of a national program of specialty classes, he has served as state president of DECA, a student organization focused on business and marketing.

Columbia Bank to expand branch The Columbia Bank has announced plans to expand its West Friendship branch at 12800 Route 144. The bank has received naming rights for the shopping center formerly known at West Friendship Plaza, and has re-branded it "The Columbia Bank Plaza." The bank intends to more than double the present size of its branch's 1,200 square feet of space, and create larger offices for the bank's business banking and customer service representatives. The common areas and lobby will also be enlarged.

Trinity names head of middle school Stephen Wilson has been appointed the first full-time head of Middle School at Trinity School, an independent Catholic primary and middle school in Ellicott City. A career Catholic educator, he has been middle school principal at St. Mary's Catholic International School, an all-boys school in Tokyo, Japan, for 12 years. Trinity, a coeducational school, is sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Columbia Bank hires senior vice presi dent Annie L. Geiermann, formerly senior vice president of the Citizens National Bank's Business Banking Group, has been hired by The Columbia Bank as senior vice president of its recently-formed community business banking division.

Clarice A. Jones and John B. Wood II will be married January 12, 2008 at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, MD. She received a BA in Economics from Johns Hopkins University and a MBA from the Robert G. Merrick School of Business, Baltimore, Maryland. The Bride is a Vice President in Commercial Lending with Chevy Chase Bank. She is the daughter of Bessie Jones of Baltimore, MD. The Groom is a Senior Vice President in Commercial Lending with The Columbia Bank. He attended East Carolina University receiving a BA in Finance.