Local Companies, CEO Recognized as on the Leading Edge

Karen Smith Hupp
Assistant Vice President, Media/Community Relations
College of Southern Maryland
The 16th Leading Edge Awards celebrated the success of six businesses and executives within Southern Maryland during the annual ceremony held June 8 in Waldorf.
Recognized this year are Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa as Calvert County Business of the Year; NDG Communications, Inc. as Charles County Technology Company of the Year; Calvert Memorial Hospital as CSM Foundation Partnership in Education; Avening Management and Technical Services LLC as SBDC Small Business of the Year; Noel Cervino, president and CEO of University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, as CEO of the Year and LEAP Forward, Inc. as Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.
“What an amazing group of local businesses and entrepreneurs – starting businesses and creating jobs here in Southern Maryland,” said Dr. Daniel Mosser, College of Southern Maryland’s vice president of Continuing Education and Workforce Development.Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa as Calvert County Business of the Year
The Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa, boasting the largest charter fishing fleet on the Bay, has evolved over 70 years from the Rod ‘N’ Reel Restaurant and Marina into a year-round haven featuring mouth-watering meals, exciting entertainment, fishing on the Bay, gaming rooms and a pampering hotel and spa.

The Rod ‘N’ Reel Restaurant and Marina have graced the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay since 1946 and this rich history is immortalized throughout the resort with vintage photographs. When the hotel and spa were built in 2004, Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa was born, recapturing the original intent of the founders of this small town – a bayside resort just close enough to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Annapolis and beyond.
Later this year, Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa will begin a two-year major expansion project to include tearing down the lowest (and oldest) part of the property, the current Rod ‘N’ Reel, and building a structure compliant with current flood regulations. A spectacular sky-lit glass atrium will connect the existing hotel with the new structure. The new Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa will include a two-story Rod ‘N’ Reel Restaurant, three levels of hotel suites, retail units, an arcade, boardwalk promenade, restaurants, gaming and bingo areas, a rooftop pool and bar, and a parking facility for guests.
The design is consistent with the character of the community and owners Gerald and Wesley Donovan are proud to recreate the history of the Chesapeake Beach town center as they strive to maintain all current operations open and all employees employed during the project.NDG Communications, Inc. as Charles County Technology Company of the Year
NDG Communications, a full-service advertising and marketing agency, based in La Plata, has built a reputation for hard work and collaboration between its team of talented professionals and its clients. NDG’s digital innovations provide numerous opportunities to improve the sales process for homebuilder clients and their customers.

In 2015, NDG developed and implemented sales center touchscreen technology that is now used by Beazer Homes nationwide, as well as Winchester Homes, Mid-Atlantic Builders and Brookfield Residential.
NDG is currently developing a first-of-its-kind mobile app for Brookfield Residential. The agency has helped its clients earn multiple awards, including the 2015 Great American Living Awards honoring the best of the homebuilding industry in Maryland, Virginia and D.C.; the Maryland Building Industry Association’s MAX Awards; and the prestigious Gold Award for Best Digital Marketing Campaign at The Nationals℠ presented at the NAHB International Builders’ Show.
NDG also provides marketing and technology support for University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center and was instrumental in creating its Estimated ER Wait Time clock, Community involvement has long been an important part of NDG’s mission, and its team helps prepare and serve meals for homeless individuals multiple times each year through LifeStyles of Maryland’s Safe Nights program as well as is involved in “A Season of Giving” and in supporting local nonprofits.Calvert Memorial Hospital as CSM Foundation Partnership in Education
Calvert Memorial Hospital in Prince Frederick, is a not-for-profit, community-owned, acute care hospital. There are over 200 active and consulting physicians on staff representing over 40 medical specialties.

 In addition to the hospital, Calvert Health System includes satellite facilities located in Dunkirk, Solomons and North Beach providing residents in Calvert County with ready access to primary care, urgent care, specialists and diagnostic services. Joint ventures in diagnostic imaging, physical therapy and radiation oncology help ensure local residents have access to the care they need. Each year more than 140,000 local residents turn to the hospital for care and services.
Calvert Health System is actively involved in helping encourage healthcare career development in the region. Calvert Health System has partnered with the College of Southern Maryland to provide a clinical site for nurse and allied health training programs, has supported the RN to BSN program with the University of Maryland, and has supported scholarship funding for allied health students. More recently, Calvert partnered with CSM to develop a training site for its own workforce and is holding leadership training and IT training programs at the Prince Frederick Campus.Avening Management and Technical Services LLC as SBDC Small Business of the Year
With more than double growth in its revenues in two years, Avening Management and Technical Services LLC has been rejuvenated under the fresh leadership of CEO Lee Platt as a female-owned, veteran-owned small business focused on providing strategic management and technical support services to Federal Government organizations.

Transitioning the business from her husband’s ownership to hers, Lee Platt began working with the SBDC in 2013 to successfully create management strategies and financing options. By 2015, Avening grew from $600,000 in revenues to more than $1.5 million while her staff expanded from eight employees to more than 30, working in Alaska, Guam, Okinawa, Virginia, Indiana, Hawaii and Maryland last year.
Avening’s expertise includes requirements development, acquisition support, web and software development services and subject matter expertise in information, network and systems security, while Platt’s focus includes intelligence, command and control, law enforcement, and information and systems security.
A veteran of the U.S. Army with 30 years of experience as a contractor, Platt has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as an “INC. Military Entrepreneur Special Delegate” to the major “Inc. 500/5000” business event in Phoenix and accepted into the Veteran Institute for Procurement 27-hour course.Noel Cervino, president/CEO, University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, as CEO of the Year
Joining University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center (known then as Civista Medical Center) as Chief Financial Officer in fall 2008, Noel A. Cervino, assumed the role of CEO and president in February 2009.

UM CRMC has achieved positive financial results during his tenure and he has overseen the growth of the hospital campus and services to include the expansion of Emergency Department, the addition of the Centers for Wound Healing, Urgent Care and Outpatient Rehabilitation, the enhancement of technology capabilities such as UM eCare telehealth in the Intensive Care Unit, and the expansion of the hospital’s emergency power capabilities. In addition, more than 20 community physicians have been recruited to Charles County in the past eight years.
Notably, in July 2011, Cervino guided the transition of Civista Health through a two-year management agreement to full affiliation as a member of the University of Maryland Medical System.
Under his leadership, UM CRMC has earned numerous awards  including four consecutive years of being recognized as a Joint Commission Top Performer on Key Quality Measures for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes, as well as receiving the Delmarva Foundation Excellence Award for Quality in 2013 and 2014, the 2014 Minogue Award for Patient Safety Innovation by the Maryland Patient Safety Center, and the Workplace Excellence and the Health & Wellness Seal of Approval awards from the Alliance for Workplace Excellence. The Center for Wound Healing at UM CRMC was recognized as a Center for Distinction for the third consecutive year by meeting high quality standards. By achieving this milestone, the center was also awarded the prestigious Robert A. Warriner III, M.D., Center of Excellence Award.LEAP Forward, Inc. as Southern Maryland Minority Chamber Business of the Year
Dedicated to providing hope and opportunity for youth, the nonprofit Launching Educational Assistance Programs Forward, Inc. (LEAP Forward, Inc.) has a dream to increase the number of opportunities for minority youth from underrepresented ethnic and cultural backgrounds in math and science careers. Organized unofficially in 1998 and officially recognized in 2001, LEAP Forward, Inc. seeks to expose youth to math and science careers with an emphasis on engineering; provide educational financial assistance to economically disadvantaged youth through scholarships; expose youth to technical careers options through seminars and  industry tours; introduce college life through college visits and tours; and advocate and assist in preparing necessary documentation to pursue post-secondary education or vocational training.

The potential for youth to enter careers in math and science is limitless especially since this society is becoming more technologically dependent and needs competent and talented professionals.  LEAP Forward is committed to creating a generation of diverse youth (from underrepresented ethnic and cultural backgrounds) that are prepared to accept the challenges to engineer a world that is a better place for all of us by promoting awareness and providing access to programs and services.
The Leading Edge Awards are presented annually by the College of Southern Maryland in partnership with the Charles County Technology Council, the Calvert County Department of Economic Development, The Corporate Center at the College of Southern Maryland, the Small Business Development Center, the CSM Foundation and the Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce.
Platinum sponsors for this year’s program include CSM, Greater Waldorf Jaycees, Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce, Southern Maryland Newspapers and University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center. For photos from the event, visit http://csmphoto.zenfolio.com/16lea.