A Week In Business

CAR Reports Rental Market Booming

BERLIN — Rental companies affiliated with the Coastal Association of Realtors (CAR) are reporting a boom in resort area rentals.

“We are absolutely seeing an increase in our rental market,” said Pat Terrill, Rental Manager for Prudential Pen Fed in Ocean City. “Prudential Rentals are up 28% over last year and if someone is looking for a year round rental, there are no vacancies and a waiting list 10 deep.”

Vantage Resort’s Chris Jett said so far this year the recent trend of last-minute booking is not playing out.

“Our phones are ringing off the hook,” said Jett. “I noticed a trend that the usual renter has been booking later and later each year but this year they will be surprised with the lack of selection because of this new influx of people.”

Jett and Terrill reported an increase in prospective renters from New Jersey as a result of last fall’s devastating hurricane. Terrill shared that the families coming in from New Jersey are looking for large properties to accommodate big families.

“The inventory in New Jersey offers eight-bedroom homes,” said Terrill. “Ocean City, Md. does not offer many of those types of properties on the beach. So what the families are doing is renting several units in a building or area to accommodate the group that is coming in.”

Conversely, Ocean County, N.J. Board of Realtors CEO Mary Ann Wissel reported a decline in renter interest this spring.

“Mother Nature was quite selective with where she chose to devastate and where she spared when she hit us with Hurricane Sandy,” said Wissel. “It is not uncommon to see a completely pummeled beach front mansion in the same town as a little bungalow on cinder blocks that was untouched. We are significantly down in our rentals but we are stressing to the public to reach out to local realtors and find out what areas still have properties available for rent.”

The assumption that a trip to the Jersey Shore is out this year ended up being good news for the Maryland rental market, confirmed CAR.

“Our members are busy with both rentals and sales. Activity is strong and investors are seeing the value in the market,” said Sheila Dodson, CAR Executive.

Jett advised prospective renters to act quick on booking their summer vacation.

“People need book now if they want a space, added Jett. “And to put minds at ease I can honestly say that there was no increase in the rates because of the increase in demand. Prices remain stable.”

Top Company Agents

OCEAN CITY — The Mark Fritschle Group of Condominium Realty, LTD recently announced the company’s sales, settlement and listing leaders for April.

Top listing agents by unit were Wayne Phillips, Dave Whittingham and Bob Hammond.
Top listing agents by volume were Wayne Phillips, Bob Hammond and Nick Bobenko.
Top pending sales by units were Sheri Smith, Rusty Molnar and Grant Fritschle.

Top selling agent by units were Dave Whittington, Grant Fritschle, Jon Barker, Sheri Smith, Kevin Decker and Nick Bobenko,

Top settled agents by volume were Jon Barker, Nick Bobenko and Wayne Phillips.

Public Works Head Honored

OCEAN CITY — Town of Ocean City Public Works Director, Hal O. Adkins, was recently accepted as a “Public Works Leadership Fellow” by the American Public Works Association, Donald C. Stone Center for Leadership Excellence in Public Works. This designation affirms that Adkins has attained nationwide recognition for his contributions to the public works profession as a senior executive.

The Donald C. Stone Center was created to meet the critical need to foster and develop leadership skills for the next generation of public works executives. Considered succession planning on a grand scale, the center reinforces the importance in investing in the future of public works professionals through mentoring the next generation of leaders.

“For my entire career with the Town of Ocean City, I’ve had a plaque that resides on my desk that reads “Lead, Follow, Or Get Out Of The Way,” said Adkins. “For those who truly know me, they would say I live and breathe that statement.”

An induction pinning ceremony will be held in Chicago on Aug. 26, at the annual International Public Works Congress and Exposition, at which time Adkins will be formally recognized for his achievements and contributions to the public works profession.

Adkins, 50, started his career with the Town of Ocean City in 1984. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University Of Maryland Eastern Shore with a B.S. in Construction Management-Engineering through the Department of Industrial Education and Technology. He will complete his 29th year of service with the town later this month.

“I take great pride in the thought of someday leaving my current position of public works director and having the public in general never realizing I am even gone,” Adkins said. “If that seamless transition occurs, I will have succeeded at one of my most important goals, succession planning through mentoring.”

Agent Attends Conference

BERLIN — Local insurance agent Beth Gismondi recently attended the 2013 National Flood Insurance Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

The purpose of the conference was to obtain and share information on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Biggert-Waters Insurance Reform Act of 2012. The Gismondi Insurance Agency specializes in coastal property and flood insurance on the Delmarva Peninsula. The three-day conference hosted more than 30 workshops and town hall meetings.

Gismondi earned “Agency of the Year Award” in 2000 from the NFIP for adhering to underwriting guidelines, policy growth and flood awareness activities. Gismondi and her golden retriever “Cassie” were featured in an agent training video produced and published by FloodSmart.gov in 2012.

Doctor Gets Appointment

SALISBURY — The Board of the National Quality Forum (NQF), a nonprofit, organization with a mission to improve the quality of health care for all Americans, has approved the nomination of Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) hospitalist and Chief Medical Informatics Officer Chris Snyder, DO to serve a second term on their Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC).  This national appointment of Snyder to the HITAC is for a three-year term to conclude in June of 2016.

“It’s an honor to be asked to serve for a second term on the HITAC because it validates PRMC’s efforts at a national level,” said Snyder. “The focus of our health information technology (HIT) initiative at Peninsula Regional remains patient safety. Continuing to have a voice on this committee provides us another venue in which to share what we’ve experienced and to learn from the successes of others. Ultimately, that exchange of knowledge makes Peninsula Regional as well as other hospitals much more efficient and safer.”

The HITAC is a standing committee of the board that provides strategic guidance and input into matters and activities that involve health information technology.

Snyder has been in primary care and hospital medicine for 16 years.

Nurses Receive Awards

BERLIN – Every year, National Nurses Week focuses attention on the diverse ways America’s 3.1 million registered nurses work to save lives and to improve the health of millions of individuals. The American Nurses Association (ANA) selected "Delivering Quality and Innovation in Patient Care" as the theme for 2013.

National Nurses Week began on May 6 and ended on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, founder of nursing as a modern profession. This is always a full week for Atlantic General Hospital and its nursing staff, which celebrates a focus on quality patient care, best practices in nursing and continuing education. This is also the week that those clinicians who go above and beyond are recognized by their peers.

Honors presented during National Nurses Week at AGH included Nurse of the Year, Karen Christmas, RN, Medical/Surgical Unit; Clinical Associate of the Year, Katelyn Tingle, nurse tech, Medical/Surgical Unit; Transformational Leader, Matt Taylor, RN, IS Clinical Analyst; Team Innovation, Patient Centered Medical Home and The ER Team; Rising Star,

Nicole Hill, RN, Center for Joint Surgery; Friend of Nursing,

Atif Zeeshan, MD, Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit; and Retired Nurse, Elaine Gilgenast, Hospitalist Program.