Meet Bechtel Power

Five Questions with Sonia Taylor, Communications Manager, Bechtel Power Corporation

5275 Westview Drive, Frederick, MD 21703

301-228-6000

www.bechtel.com

How long have you been in business?
Bechtel has a 115-year legacy of building the world’s largest, most complex projects. The company’s power business, which is based in Frederick, has been designing, building and executing projects in the power industry for more than 65 years.

How many employees do you have?
Bechtel’s power business has about 1,400 employees in Frederick and more than 3,000 employees supporting our power projects across the globe.

Why do you believe you will continue to be successful in Frederick County?
Frederick has been home to our power business since 1999. The safety and well-being of our people are of utmost importance to us, which is why we value a warm community where our people can live and prosper. A very high percentage of our Frederick based employees live in Frederick County, and we believe the County has been a welcoming community to our colleagues that live and work in the area. We anticipate a continued healthy and prosperous relationship in the future.

If your company is involved in community outreach, please share with us your involvement.
Bechtel is a very active supporter of the community. We are helping to build the next generation of engineers by supporting programs that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math. For example, our engineers support regional competitions for First Robotics, National Engineers Week, Engineers Without Borders, and Junior Achievement.

Employees from Bechtel’s power business are very active with mentorship in the County. Bechtel Power started the Frederick Chapter of National Society of Black Engineers and sponsors the ACE Mentor program through the support and partnership with Frederick County schools and ACE National. We also provide mentorship and tutoring to TJ Middle School and Frederick High School.

In addition to the above community efforts, Bechtel Power recently sponsored and celebrated the dedication of two new homes on 7th Street in Frederick with Habitat for Humanity after a year-long build. We also continue to support additional community organizations like United Way of Frederick, Celebrate Frederick, and we are active on the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce.

What are you most proud of?
We are proud to build power projects across the globe that change and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Meet Sofpak Technologies, Inc

Five Questions with Mona Lim, Owner, Sofpak Technologies, Inc

1501 Tilco Drive, Frederick, MD 21704

301-696-7001

www.sofpaktech.com

How long have you been in business?

We've been in business for over 30 years and currently operate in a facility that is 25,000 square feet.

How many employees do you have?

We have 12 employees and are looking to hire additional personnel.

Why do you believe you will be successful in Frederick County?

Frederick County has been attracting diverse business industries and we wanted to expand our customer base to include Frederick County. In addition, the location is ideal to accomodate our customers in the vicinity of Baltimore, Howard and Arundel Counties, Virginia, as well as the Washington DC metropolitan are.

If your company is involved in community outreach, please share with us your involvement.

Although we have not supported any specific outreach programs yet here in Frederick County, we have participated in various fundraisers over the years and are scheduled to support the Special Foreces Association in May of this year.

What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of our employees, their work ethic and being able to work with them in such a positive environment every day.

Meet Hood College

Five Questions with Dave Diehl,  Executive Director, Marketing and Communications at Hood College

401 Rosemont Ave, Frederick, MD 21701

301-663-3131

www.hood.edu

When was the College established?

1893. Prior to that, it was called the Frederick Female Seminary and it was housed in Winchester Hall. Winchester Hall was designed by Hiram Winchester for the seminary.

What separates Hood College from other colleges and learning institutions in the area?
It is the only four-year college in Frederick.

In what ways does Hood College give back to the community? Please see this link: http://hood.edu/about-hood/hood-at-a-glance/our-impact.html

What would you say has been the most important accomplishment of Hood College?
So many to list. Hood College continues to grow and meet the education needs of the Frederick Community. See this link, also: http://hood.edu/about-hood/hood-at-a-glance/our-college.html