“Helping Businesses Prepare for Spring and Summer” will be the theme from 3-4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5, when Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Economic Revitalization and Recovery program continues its series of broadcast town hall meetings to keep businesses informed on programs and strategies for doing business as the health crisis continues.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich initiated the series of town halls held every other Friday to share updates on COVID-19 topics of interest to the business community. The town halls give businesses an opportunity to hear directly from County leaders.
Jerome Fletcher, the County’s assistant chief administrative officer for economic development, hosts the sessions and provides updates on active grant programs available to County businesses and other ideas that can help businesses.
The sessions are broadcast live via Teams. To join the broadcast, go to https://tinyurl.com/yyefem2x.
The town hall also will be broadcast on County Cable Montgomery (cable station CCM), which is available on Comcast and RCN (Channels 6 and HD996) and Verizon (Channel 30). The meeting can be viewed live via County social media at https://www.facebook.com/montgomerycountyinfo.
Sessions are recorded and available for 90 days at the County Business Portal Calendar at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Biz-Resources/index.html.
“We understand how challenging the pandemic has been for businesses,” said County Executive Elrich. “Business town halls are hosted every other week to keep businesses up-to-date on the current situation as it relates to business activity. Each forum will provide updates and suggestions to help our businesses. While we can’t solve all of the problems, it is important to stay in touch and help in ways that are possible.”
The Feb. 5 town hall will give businesses suggestions for how to prepare for the spring and summer months as it is estimated the health crisis will still have some impact even as vaccines are being distributed. The session will address operating with limited indoor activities—if that remains the case. It also will discuss how businesses can be creative, even as restrictions may be gradually lifted.
At this session, Earl Stoddard, the County’s director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, will provide tips on how businesses can plan for limited or outdoor operations or for continued telework. Specific business requirements are not yet known, but businesses should be starting to plan.
Travis Gayles, the County’s local health officer, will provide updates on the County’s vaccination efforts and share best practices for a post-vaccination environment.
