Happy New Year!!! The SCBA looks forward to a fun, happy, and healthy year ahead for our members, guests, and community. Dues are now $150 for the year. Be sure to join or renew so you can be in our brand new directory which will be mailed to over 15,000 homes in Carroll County. Contact scbaoperations@gmail.com or Trembling Giant Marketing for more information. https://www.tremblinggiantmarketing.com/

Join us on Tuesday, August 13th at 7:30am at Liberty Chiropractic on 770 Old Liberty Rd, Suite 2 for a networking breakfast with the SCBA. Liberty Chiropractic is owned by Desiree Williams. Bring your name tag and business cards and enjoy this Free networking event. https://libertychiro.com/

Please note that SCBA Membership dues decreased to $75 on July 1st. This amount will remain the same through the end of this year. It's a great time to join! Please click on the Join button on the Home page or contact Patti Murphy at 410-861-0506 or scbaoperations@gmail.com for more information.

Letter from Larry Helminiak
SCBA Board member and Government Affairs Chairperson

December 2018

To all members of SCBA:

It’s the end of another business year. Christmas is near and it’s a good time to dwell upon 2018.

For business, this is one of the best I remember. More people are working than ever before.

It’s easier to get loans than in the past. And, most important, I think, we are not at war.

In my life, I remember many times when we had to send our young men and women to fight wars all over the world. We need to be grateful for all America has to offer.

The United States is the only country where people want to come from all over the world.

Take a moment to be grateful for this.

Merry Christmas.

Larry Helminiak

December 2018

 

To all members of SCBA:

 

It’s the end of another business year. Christmas is near and it’s a good time to dwell upon 2018.

 

For business, this is one of the best I remember. More people are working than ever before.

 

It’s easier to get loans than in the past. And, most important, I think, we are not at war.

 

In my life, I remember many times when we had to send our young men and women to fight wars all over the world. We need to be grateful for all America has to offer.

 

The United States is the only country where people want to come from all over the world.

 

Take a moment to be grateful for this.

 

Merry Christmas.

Larry Helminiak

Letter from Larry Helminiak
SCBA Board member and Government Affairs Chairperson

November 2018

To all members of the SCBA:

There is no greater right that we have than the right to vote.

If you have not voted in the Early Voting days, Tuesday is your last chance.

There is one thing that separates us from other Democracies, and that is the fact that we have the US Senate.

Each state, no matter how small, as 2 senators. No more. No less.

Tuesday is your last chance.

Vote.

Larry Helminiak

November 2018

 

To all members of SCBA:

 

There is no greater right that we have than the right to vote.

If you have not voted in the Early Voting days, Tuesday is your last chance.

There is one thing that separates us from other Democracies, and that is the fact that we have the US Senate.

Each state, no matter how small, has 2 Senators. No more. No less.

Tuesday is your last chance.

Vote.

Larry Helminiak

Letter from Larry Helminiak
SCBA Board member and Government Affairs Chairperson

October 2018

To all members of SCBA: 

If you are a member, you are an employer. If you are an employer, you have employees. They respect you. In one month there is an election. Who controls the country is actually at stake. However you feel, you should vote in November to support your favorite candidate. You should tell your employees to vote. Don’t wait until the day after the election and say, “I wish ‘so and so’ had won.”

Whomever wins will affect your business.

Vote. And have your family, friends, and employees vote.

Larry Helminiak

Letter from Larry Helminiak, SCBA Board member and Government Affairs Chairperson

September 2018

Let me remind everyone again that in two months we have another election. Marylanders have a habit of not turning out very well in election years where we do not vote for Governor. In these “off years” we vote for those who will represent us locally. I ask everyone to vote, and to encourage their families and friends to vote. 

Other countries can only DREAM of the right to vote to affect how they are governed. Please look over every candidate, read their literature, and decide who mirrors YOUR opinions. There will be public events where you can attend, and ask questions. Attend those meetings and ask questions that pertain to your business.

Larry

Letter from Larry Helminiak, SCBA Board member and Government Affairs Chairperson

August 2018

How many times have you heard someone say, “I didn’t vote because my one vote won’t make a difference.”    Fact is, in the primary election for county executive,  in Baltimore County, the winning candidate got only about 10 votes more than the losing candidate.   Nationwide, there are 231 million people eligible to vote; but only 139 million actually voted.

If you remember the presidential election in 2016, it was 3 o’clock in the morning before states like Florida and Ohio were finally decided.

You’ve heard the word “Gerrymandering”.   What that means is that some districts are so outrageously drawn that the voting district looks like a salamander.   The roots of this word is from Massachusetts where, in the 19^th century, Governor Gerry drew district lines so odd that someone in the Boston Globe said that it looked like a salamander, so he combined the names and called it Gerrymandering.

This year in Maryland  we will vote for Governor.    What’s so important this year is that the person who wins the Governorship gets to supervise the drawing of the re-districting lines in 2020.   If you’ve ever seen an electoral map of the State of Maryland you’ll know how important this is.

On the national scene, both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are so closely divided that just a few votes (relatively) could decide which party controls the House and the Senate.

Please take the time to vote.    We learned in Baltimore County that you and the voting members of your own family may just decide who makes our laws for the next four years.

 

Letter from Larry Helminiak, SCBA Board member and Government Affairs Chairperson

July 2018

The Primary election ended on June 26th. Seems like primary voting has lasted forever, even though it was only 8 or 9 days. Frankly, I can’t understand why the primary election was moved from September to June. It’s unfair to anyone running in a primary. When the primary was in September, candidates had all summer to knock on doors or greet voters at fire carnivals. I hope it goes back to September.

For those who have not noticed, Maryland has moved from the 46th state in business friendly to to the 2nd in business friendly. Whomever you support, make sure you, your family, and your friends vote in November.

A Letter from Larry Helminiak, SCBA Government Relations Chair

June 2018

June 26th is the date we get to vote in the primary election. Early voting starts June 14th, at Westminster and the South Carroll Swim Club. The General Election is November 6th. So many people I talk to say they never vote in primaries. What would you say if I were to tell you that, in some jurisdictions, when the primary is over, the General Election is over?

There are some jurisdictions that are so overwhelmingly one party that the opposing party has virtually no chance. Carroll County and Baltimore City are two such Jurisdictions. 1996 was the last time I remember a Democrat being elected in Carroll County to a county office. Theodore R. McKeldin was the last Republican elected in Baltimore City and that was a half century ago.

So many people, especially young people, register as “unaffiliated.” Did you know that, as such, you can’t vote in the Democrat or Republican primaries?

Here are some facts about Carroll County: In 2014, 25.82% of registered voters voted in the primary, compared to 57.34% in the general election. This means that your vote counts more in the Primary than it does in the General election.

My advice to all new voters is this . . . . First – register as either a Democrat or Republican so that you can vote in the Primaries. Second, be sure to vote in the Primary because that is when the eventual winner is traditionally chosen in Carroll County.