Products And Services

Deborah Bryan Sales and service associate U.S. Postal Service, Woodstock Salary --$45,000 Age --41 Years on the job --18 How she got started --After graduating from Towson University with a degree in business administration, Bryan went to work at the post office. For the first 15 years she worked in the back, getting mail ready for carriers to deliver. Not quite three years ago, she switched to working the front window at the Woodstock branch. She's currently on a temporary reassignment, working out of the main branch of the Baltimore post office assisting business customers.

The chief executive of Vertis Communications, a Baltimore advertising and marketing company, assured analysts yesterday that its turnaround initiatives are showing progress after reporting that its second-quarter loss nearly quadrupled and revenue declined. In a news release late Thursday, Vertis said it lost $19.7 million in the three months that ended June 30. That compared with a loss of $5 million in the second quarter last year. Vertis, a privately held company, announced financial results because its debt is publicly traded.

After an afternoon of beauty, Celeste from the SPCA gives new meaning to the term glamour-puss.With Americans spending billions of dollars each year on products and services for their pets, we decided to feature four-footed makeovers in this Sunday's Focus Page. Also, a list of the hottest beauty products for pets. Page 6L

USinternetworking Inc., an Annapolis company that offers business software over the Internet, has become Wall Street's latest upstart high-tech darling.In its first day of public trading yesterday, the company saw its stock zoom from an opening price of $21 to close at $57.50 on the Nasdaq market. USinternet-working was the 10th most active stock on U.S. markets, with 12.68 million shares changing hands.This near-tripling of USinternetworking's value came in spite of the fact that the company was founded just a year ago January and has yet to turn a profit.

Names in the newsFrank Moran has been named director of sales for Galaxy Automotive of Glen Burnie, Ellicott City and Columbia. Moran, who has 28 years of experience in the Baltimore market, will oversee new and used vehicle sales for Galaxy's three area locations. Galaxy is owned by March Hodge Master Management, which has dealerships across the country, and was named 1999 Automobile Dealer of the Year by Black Enterprise magazine.Melanie Clay has been named director of cable products and services for Millennium Networks.

First Union Corp. plans to hire as many as 80 people in Baltimore to service small-business customers over the telephone, according to an executive with the company.Gary Will, vice president and site manager of First Union's business banking center at 7 St. Paul St., said he expects to fully staff the operation by next fall."I am interviewing like crazy," Will said. "We hope to add about six to eight people a month."Will is building a staff that will service the bank's small-business customers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Connecticut.

NationsBank Corp., said yesterday that net income jumped 26 percent in the third quarter, propelled by gains from its acquisition of Boatmen's Bancshares Inc. and across-the-board increases in revenue.Net income rose to $788 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with $625 million for the same period a year earlier. NationsBank earned $1.11 per share in the quarter, up 4.6 percent from the $1.06 per share earned in 1996's third quarter.Third-quarter results included the benefit of several acquisitions completed this year and in 1996, including St. Louis-based Boatmen's, which was finalized in January.

ECONOMIC theorists have often stood by their numbers, but what happens when they're off by almost $100 billion? For some, it means panic. For others, it's just old news.The gap is between the two broadest indicators of the health of the country's $8 trillion economy -- the gross domestic product and the gross domestic income.The more commonly known GDP is the sum of the value of products and services produced in the United States. GDI measures how much is being earned from the sale of those products and services.

PeopleLinda Rogers has been named client services coordinator at Paragon Computer Services Inc., an Ellicott City systems integration firm. She will be responsible for client requests for products and services, and for ensuring quality, efficiency and courtesy in client relations.Nancy Aversa, formerly with Senior Connection's Elder Daycare Center, has been appointed recreation director at Harmony Hall Retirement Community, a division of Lorien Health systems. She will be responsible for developing new programs for the Columbia senior community.

A roundup of new products and servicesAccident AidYou never know when a car accident will happen, say the lawyers' TV commercials. So be prepared for one with AxiKit, an accident-documentation kit from AxiKit Inc. of Owings Mills. The statements of witnesses, good documentation and photographs taken at an accident scene can make a world of difference when you're trying to prove what did and didn't happen. AxiKit can help you get these things quickly, with its loaded 35 mm camera, pens and simplified information forms.

Appointments *Paul D. Edmeades, president of Edmeades & Stromdahl Ltd. Architects/Planners in Bel Air, has been named vice chairman of the Maryland State Board of Architects. The board licenses architects in Maryland and issues architectural work permits. *E. Scott Johnson, chair of the intellectual property practice at Baltimore-based law firm OberKaler, was elected chair of the Maryland State Arts Council. His one-year term will end in July. Closings *Northwoods Restaurant in West Annapolis said it will close Aug. 16 after 23 years in business because of the downturn in the economy.

Exclusively For Women, "A Day That Inspires," a women's expo featuring products and services women need, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen. About 70 vendors will offer products and services with interactive presentations. The first keynote speaker will be Monyka Berrocosa, a Mid-Atlantic advocate for women in business and women and family-centric nonprofits, who will present "Everyday Women Are Empowering" at 11:15 a.m. Jill Moss Greenberg, executive director of the Maryland Women's Heritage Center, will present "Women Leading the Past, Present, and Future" at 1:30 p.m. Seminars will be offered throughout the day. Topics include plastic surgery, finding balance in life, financial independence and finishing rich, living a life of purpose, networking, and becoming a jewelry expert.

Vertis Communications, the Baltimore printing and advertising company trying to turn around its business amid an industrywide decline, called off a proposed deal yesterday to acquire one of its largest competitors. But Vertis said it was willing to continue further discussions with American Color Graphics in Brentwood, Tenn., which had cautioned that it could face a shortage of cash if the merger does not go through. Vertis executives have said the deal could help them better compete in an industry that has seen its profits fall steadily in recent years.

The chief executive of Vertis Communications, a Baltimore advertising and marketing company, assured analysts yesterday that its turnaround initiatives are showing progress after reporting that its second-quarter loss nearly quadrupled and revenue declined. In a news release late Thursday, Vertis said it lost $19.7 million in the three months that ended June 30. That compared with a loss of $5 million in the second quarter last year. Vertis, a privately held company, announced financial results because its debt is publicly traded.

Deborah Bryan Sales and service associate U.S. Postal Service, Woodstock Salary --$45,000 Age --41 Years on the job --18 How she got started --After graduating from Towson University with a degree in business administration, Bryan went to work at the post office. For the first 15 years she worked in the back, getting mail ready for carriers to deliver. Not quite three years ago, she switched to working the front window at the Woodstock branch. She's currently on a temporary reassignment, working out of the main branch of the Baltimore post office assisting business customers.

David Gibson, commodore of Club Beneteau, sailed last summer from Annapolis to Black Island, N.Y., on a weekend trip. Along the way, he listened to repeated weather broadcasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, as well as a weather routing service from a private-sector source. "We listened to NOAA the whole way," he said. "I look on the NOAA broadcast as a safety assistance, just like the weatherman on TV. They don't always get it right. No one does. But they provide a particular service for the short-term sailor and the weekend sailor.

Many questionable spending decisions stem from emotional distress and lack of knowledge. That's why many people overspend on funerals and burial services. Few events are as stressful as the death of a loved one, and there are few purchases consumers are so clueless about. "Most adult Americans - I don't care if they have a Ph.D. in economics - know nothing truthful about death, dying and funerals," said Joshua Slocum, executive director of the non-profit Funeral Consumers Alliance in South Burlington, Vt. "It's one of the most misunderstood transactions we ever encounter.

Brigette Higgins Cable technician for Comcast Corp. Age: 37 Years in business: 11 Salary: The median salary for an experienced telecommunications technician in the Baltimore area is $52,571, according to salary.com. How she started: Higgins attended a trade school for travel and tourism in Kissimmee, Fla. She worked for a while at a hotel there and other jobs including Circuit City. She soon decided she wasn't an indoor person and returned to Baltimore, where a relative suggested she apply to Comcast.

General Electric Co. has always been the largest individual holding in my portfolio. Should I keep it that way? - G.C., via the Internet This giant conglomerate with 11 operating segments and a history of creating shareholder value continues to offer cause for investor optimism. Profits from its NBC television network and hit movies such as Meet the Fockers and Ray have been strong, as have its health care and transportation division results. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt predicts that, barring significant increases in raw material prices, earnings could increase as much as 17 percent this year.

Chamber to present business awards at member luncheon The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce will hold a member luncheon at noon March 11 at Wakefield Valley Golf and Conference Center. Small-business awards will be presented. The cost is $18, and reservations are required by March 4. Information: 410-848-9050. Agency caring for seniors marks 2nd year in region Visiting Angels, a national provider of assisted-living services for seniors, is celebrating its two-year anniversary in the region.