OED Director Helen Propheter said, "Great things get accomplished with great companies who have bold, new ideas" and for them, they were honored. The 2015 Frederick County Business Leaders are:
- Patriot Technologies, named one of the world's Hottest CyberSecurity Companies by CyberSecurity 500.
- RoosterBio, Inc, a stem cell manufacturing company and product of Frederick's biotech incubator Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc (FITCI).
- Welocalize, recognized for the 11th consecutive year as a Fastest Growing Company by Inc. 5000.
- American Association for Laboratory Accrediation (A2LA), the only independent, non-profit, internationally-recognized lab accreditation body in the U.S. and headquartered in Frederick.
- GlamourView Farm who blends agriculture and technology in new ways with robotics.
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| From L to R: Helen Propheter, Director, Frederick County Office of Economic Development; Jan H. Gardner, County Executive, Frederick County Government; Gene Iager, Owner, GlamourView Farm; Roxanne Robinson, VP & COO, American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA); Steve Keefe, President, Patriot Technologies, Inc; Jon Rowley, Chief Executive & Technology Officer, RoosterBio, Inc; Bud Otis, Council President, Frederick County Government. Not pictured: Smith Yewell, President & CEO, Welocalize. |
Reflecting on 2015 as a year of positive growth for the department with a new name change and the move to 118 N. Market Street to create the new Downtown Innovation Center, Director Helen Propheter said, "The momentum is happening locally but also at the national level," pointing to a list national accolades received by Frederick County. She said new programs, business incentives and positive economic indicators were highlighted as evidence of a strong, local economy. Job growth in Frederick County has increased by seven percent and unemployment is down 2% since 2011. "Ninety percent of companies we visited this year said they expect business in 2016 to continue to improve. That's evidence of a growing economy," said Ms. Propheter.
There are several new projects on the horizon for 2016 including a Small Business Loan Guarantee, Small Business Tax Credit and expanded and revitalized agribusiness programs for the Frederick County Office of Economic Development. To view the video of award winners and the evening's presentation, please click here. To view more photos from the event, check out the photo gallery on OED's Facebook page. Videos are also available on OED's Youtube Channel.
The 2015 Frederick County Annual Business Reception was sponsored by Gold Sponsors: CorpOHS and Miles & Stockbridge. Silver Sponsors were Frederick County Bank, Sandy Spring Bank and Swift Systems. Bronze Sponsor was FCG TV.
