As the 2024 season begins, these 50 standout athletes are set to dominate the gridiron. From committed college recruits to rising stars, this list highlights the best talent in Montgomery County (MCPS) football. Check out the top players to watch this season:
The Montgomery County Planning Department has released the design concepts (available below) for the Damascus Placemaking Festival, a free, two-day community event that will be held on Saturday, October 19 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.and Sunday, October 20, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The festival will take place along one block of Main Street in Damascus (9801 Main St, Damascus, MD 20872).
Talent is one of the most important factors influencing where companies choose to invest, expand, and grow. As competition for skilled workers intensifies, employers are embracing a broader talent strategy: one that leverages partnerships. Last week, almost 120 business leaders, elected officials, and members of Montgomery County’s business community attended the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation’s (MCEDC) panel, “The Talent Advantage: A Growth Strategy for Companies in Montgomery County, Maryland,” to hear how local businesses are capitalizing on the County’s world-class academic institutions, innovation ecosystem, quality of life, and economic development resources to attract and retain top talent.
Moderated by Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG), the panel included executives from businesses and institutions across industries, including Lockheed Martin, TrilliumBIO, Thales Defense & Security, Johns Hopkins, Montgomery College, and AstraZeneca, who discussed their companies’ strategies for developing their workforce.
Talent as a Business Strategy
For companies competing in highly specialized industries like the defense industry, access to talent directly influences where they choose to locate and grow. For Lockheed Martin, which employs nearly 1,000 people in Montgomery County, talent is one of the primary reasons the company chose to be headquartered here.
“Talent is in the top one or two reasons why we are in the County,” said Todd Cohen, Senior Lead of Strategic Workforce Development, Lockheed Martin.
According to Cohen, Lockheed Martin begins working with partners to develop their talent pipeline well before students enter the workforce, including partnering with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) on programs such as coding challenges. Lockheed Martin also maintains close relationships with local higher education institutions, including the Universities at Shady Grove (USG).
That local talent pipeline is also an important factor for AstraZeneca, which employs more than 5,000 employees and contractors in Montgomery County. According to Tiffany Lukis, Director of STEM and Community Engagement at AstraZeneca, the company often taps into its alumni base from Montgomery College (ranked #26 nationally among community colleges) and USG (which offers nine different public universities onto one campus), and other local institutions to fill highly technical roles.
Local Companies Are Developing Talent and Not Just Finding It
According to the panelists, investing in existing employees is just as important as recruiting new ones.
At Suburban Hospital, workforce development is closely tied to talent retention. The hospital partners with local educational institutions to provide employees with opportunities to gain new skills and advance their careers. Programs include a Certified Nursing Assistant program through Montgomery College and English as a Second Language classes.
“A huge part of our talent strategy is to prioritize holding on to our top tier talent,” said Corey Lewson, MSW, Program Manager, Workforce Development, John Hopkins Medicine.
For smaller companies, developing talent internally can be especially valuable. Lane Edwards, Vice President of Operations, TrilliumBIO, a biomarker discovery company with fewer than 20 employees based in Rockville, described the challenge of balancing the need for highly specialized expertise with the realities of building a team at an early-stage company.
“When it comes to hiring, we have to be very strategic,” Lane said. “Do we have someone who has the expertise or someone that we can build on?”
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a tractor trailer for on the inner loop of I-495 between Connecticut Ave and Georgia Ave on Friday morning.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Jessica Garcia, a missing 16-year-old from Silver Spring. (more…)
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Catch every live out-of-market Sunday game with NFL Sunday Ticket this football season at Lucky Strike Rockville!
Come enjoy the day at our annual Washington Grove Arts and Craft Festival in a beautiful outdoor setting. This festival highlights local artisans including wood creations, pottery, visual art, household products and so much more. We also have food trucks from El Parente Tacos, El Jeffe Wood-fired pizzas, Bruster’s Ice Cream and beverages from Saints Row Brewery. Bring the whole family because we have a kids activity area too. Pets on a leash are welcome too!
Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church will hold its annual Greek festival starting Friday, September 6th and running until Sunday, September 8th. The festival will take place over three […]
After a five-year hiatus, the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce (GGCC) has announced the return of the Germantown Oktoberfest on October 5, a free, family-friendly event that will celebrate the community’s diversity with live music, a parade, food trucks, kids’ activities, and local business showcases.
As the 2024 high school football season kicks off, teams across MoCo are gearing up for what promises to be another exciting year. With standout players and championship aspirations, here are the top 10 teams to watch as they look to make their mark on the gridiron:
Moe’s Southwest Grill at 19222 Montgomery Village Ave in the Montgomery Village Center has been closed the past week. Despite being listed as “open” on Moes.com and Google, a representative from Moe’s told us, “Our records indicate that this location is currently closed.” The restaurant originally opened in February 2022.
Back in May we let you know that Ruta Ukrainian Restaurant was coming to 4862 Cordell Ave in Bethesda, the former site of Momo Chicken. The restaurant opened last month and our very own Mr. MoCo recently stopped by to support the restaurant (video below).
Peter Mason by Montgomery Custom Tailors is set to open soon on the lower level of Montgomery Mall, across from the Cheesecake Factory. The shop is being launched by Peter and Lisa Lim, who also own Montgomery Custom Tailors, located nearby on the lower level near the escalator to the food court, close to Lucky Strike.
District 4 Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) Commander David Smith shared information regarding a several arrests that were made on Thursday night, two individuals wanted for armed carjacking and another person for selling crack while in possession of a gun.