Montgomery Parks’ historic Ovid Hazen Wells Carousel will provide its last ride at Wheaton Regional Park on Sunday, October 27, 2024. After that, the carousel, which has thrilled thousands of children, will be refurbished and relocated to its new home in Ovid Hazen Wells Recreational Park in Clarksburg. Tickets are still available for a nostalgic ride on the carved wooden horses.
The Montgomery County Board of Education has provided an update of this week’s news. The full update can be seen below: (more…)
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?”
On Wednesday, we reported that multiple businesses were broken into overnight at the Sunshine Square shopping center in Rockville. On Friday, the Rockville City Police Department (RCPD) released additional details about the incidents, along with surveillance photos of the suspects. (more…)
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Brandon Lopez-Lopez, a missing 15-year-old from Montgomery Village. (more…)
When I moved back to Northern Virginia after several years in New York, most of my old friends had moved away. I found myself rebuilding a social circle from scratch.
I had plenty of people I could connect with online, but that wasn’t translating into anyone to grab a beer with after work, play trivia with, or text when I wanted to get out of the house. Making new friends as an adult required far more deliberate effort than I remembered.
The Triumph Trek at the Rio is the ultimate celebration of strength, recovery and hope — and everyone is invited.
On Sunday, September 20, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation and Adventist HealthCare Home Care Services will gather at Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg for an untimed walk-or-wheel around the accessible lakeside path. This is not a race. Scooters, wheelchairs, walkers, strollers and every pace are welcome, and no one finishes last.
A Montgomery County woman is $1,000,000 richer after claiming a winning Mega Millions lottery ticket she purchased back in July at Quincy’s in Gaithersburg. Full story below courtesy MD Lottery: (more…)
Signage is up for Uncle Marcos’ Express at 239 Muddy Branch Rd in the Festival at Muddy Branch shopping center in Gaithersburg. The restaurant will be located in the space previously occupied by Boca Botanas, which closed on February 3. (more…)
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Allison Coaquira Huarcaya, a missing 17-year-old from Aspen Hill. (more…)
On October 24, at approximately 10:55 p.m., Takoma Park Police responded to the 7700 block of Takoma Avenue for the report of an attempted armed robbery.
It’s that time of the year again. Today we once again share the story of “The Headless Horseman of Game Preserve Rd.” From the Montgomery County Sentinel in 1876: “As the story goes, during the Civil War a soldier was decapitated by a saber in a skirmish around what is now Game Preserve Road. After the fight, his fellow soldiers hastily buried him in an unmarked grave, even though they couldn’t find his head to bury with his body.”
Sam’s Club at 610 N Frederick Ave in Gaithersburg is closed on Friday, October 25, after a raccoon was reportedly spotted in the store’s bakery.
Whether you are participating in the big race or cheering on your loved ones at the finish line, let Metro take you to the 2024 Marine Corps Marathon. All lines will open at 5 a.m. on race day, Sunday, October 27, with no scheduled track work on any line.