Chamber Events

Join us! The DEI&B committee will focus on advancing the DEI&B goals of our organization by advocating for economic inclusion, growth and competitiveness of our community’s diverse business population. Our goal is to ensure that the diversity of cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, races, and experiences within our business and non-profit communities is reflected in every aspect of the Chamber’s operations.

Committee Chair: open

This meeting will be held in person monthly. 2nd Thursday each month at GGCC. We hope to see you all there!     

Program for October:  We will review upcoming issues that will be of interest in the 2025 MD State Legislative Session, as reported by the MD Chamber Federation. GGCC will be monitoring several issues and pending pieces of legislation before the session begins.

Through the Gaithersburg-Germantown Economic Development & Legislative Affairs (ED&LA) Committee, the Chamber will proactively work with City, County and State Leaders to support the Economic Development of Gaithersburg, Germantown and surrounding jurisdictions, and represent the GGCC and its members in a pro-active manner in the formulation of state and local legislation and policy affecting the business community. These meetings are open to all members to attend and learn more about the various economic and legislative topics impacting businesses in our area.

Please join us for lunch at:

Laperaux- an unpretentious, welcoming spot where families, couples and busy individuals enjoy enticing dishes prepared in our open kitchen and served with professionalism and courtesy. A premium independent coffee cafe & farm-to-table restaurant. You are going to have a fabulous lunch!  

Bring your elevator speech, your business cards, and a desire to make the most out of our time together. Please share this event with your connections, clients, prospects, associates and friends.

Join us for lunch, advance registration is required.

Cost: $25 Members / $45 Non-Members.

Are you interested in better understanding credit reports, credit scores, and how they work together?

Millions of people are unaware they have errors on their credit report. This webinar can point you in the direction to find out if you are one of them and equip you to take action to correct inaccuracies.

Maybe you know what is on your credit report but are unsure how it all comes together to calculate a credit score. GreenPath will discuss the factors impacting a credit score, how to build or improve your score, and debunk common credit myths.

Register here:  Free Webinar | Understanding Your Credit Report and Score (greenpath.com)

Join us in the ribbon-cutting celebration for our chamber member Flagship Carwash as we celebrate its new renovation!

Join us for a delicious lunch and joint networking with several great business networking organizations: Connect Network, GGCC, and FNG! Our topic of discussion will be Business Operational Security.

Sponsored by Capital Bank and Beltway Merchant Services! Thank you also to Reliable Technology Services and Lowe-Tillson Insurance for your sponsorship support! 

Expand your network of business friends and referrals. Bring your business cards! Lunch and beverages will be served. 

All proceeds from this event will equally benefit these local 501c3 nonprofit charity organizations: Cornerstone Montgomery and the GGCC Community Foundation. 

Please register at this link.  

Thank you to these sponsors:

“You’re invited! On Tuesday, October 22^nd, Councilmembers Balcombe, Katz, and Luedtke will be presenting the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce with a proclamation celebrating its 75^th anniversary. The proclamation presentation will be held at 9:15AM at the Council Office Building, in the third floor Council chamber. We would love to have you join us for this celebration! The councilmembers will also be hosting the GGCC’s networking breakfast at the Council Office Building at 7:30AM on October 22^nd before the proclamation presentation. If you will be attending, please RSVP so that we can collect a headcount for food.

The Council Office Building is located at 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850. The building’s public parking garage can be accessed off of East Jefferson Street; parking is free for the first four hours. Please note that you will be ticketed if you park in the jury lot. If you are unable to find parking in the Council’s garage, there are a number of public parking garages and street parking available in Rockville Town Center. There are two public entrances to the Council Office Building on the 1^st and 2^nd floors. To enter the building, you will have to go through security and then take the elevator up to the 3^rd floor for the proclamation presentation, or the 6^th floor for the networking breakfast. The security teams on the 1^st and 2^nd floors can help guide you to your destination. If you have any questions that morning, you can reach out to Councilmember Balcombe’s staff at wafa.jawad@montgomerycountymd.gov.

We look forward to seeing you at the Council Office Building on October 22^nd!”

If you need accommodations to comfortably access this event, please email info@ggchamber.org.     

TOPIC: NONPROFIT ACCOUNTING

SPEAKER: SCOTT RODGVILLE, DIRECTOR GORFINE, SCHILLER & GARDYN 

Avoid confusion and learn to provide a picture of the finances that users can truly understand. We’ll go through practical guidance and provide insights on what makes accounting for nonprofits different. 

• Nonprofit organizations are allowed to have profits? 

• Tax Reporting: Form 990 

• Restricted Contributions 

• Financial Statement Basics Budgets and seeing the big picture 

Scott Rodgville has been with Gorfine, Schiller & Gardyn for over 20 years and has 25 years of experience in public accounting. He serves as one of the leaders of the firm’s Accounting and Auditing Practice group and is a team leader of the firm’s not-for-profit and employee benefit plan service areas. Scott’s experience involves financial statement preparation, audit and tax services, specifically in the areas of not-for-profit organizations, real estate, employee benefit plans including 401(k) profit sharing plans, labor unions and various other commercial industries. 

As a CPA, Scott provides valuable support to clients in streamlining and strengthening their internal controls and operating efficiencies. His understanding of the needs of not-for-profit organizations, employee benefit plans and real estate operations, amongst other industries provide an opportunity for him to help clients manage their organizations more effectively.

Cheers to YOU! Cheers to the GGCC!

Join us for a fun evening of GGCC celebration, as we recognize our members for ALL. THE. THINGS. and more!

As we approach the official celebration of the GGCC's 75th anniversary at our Gala in December, this event provides us an opportunity to kick back, relax, and recognize our exceptional members. We will have the farm to ourselves. Enjoy mingling, networking, and appetizers in the taproom and patio. Play lawn games such as cornhole, giant jenga, connect4 outside. First 150 registrants receive their first drink on us! Appetizers served, cash bar available. 

Free to all members to attend.

Thank you to these sponsors (add your logo here with a sponsorship!)

The Membership Attraction and Retention (MAR) Committee is charged with: maintaining a strong growth in membership through targeted new member recruitment activities that effectively communicate the value of membership to community businesses; Promoting the ongoing value of membership to member businesses through personalized contacts with member business representatives and other initiatives that monitor member needs, member satisfaction, and their perception of Chamber Value; communicating the Return On Investment to Members and engaging them in GGCC activities.

All Chamber Members Welcome to Join and Attend our Meetings

In this meeting;  Dan Kaplan from Confident Communicators, LLC  will present Communications Training For Leaders, Managers & Teams. Identifying & Adapting To Your Customers’ & Prospects Communication Styles using the DISC        

It’s common practice to mirror a customer or prospect’s body language, but what if you could take this concept deeper and communicate in the very way they think, act, and see the world? You could quickly build rapport, connect, and influence buyers with more confidence.        

Using over 70 years of behavioral science, the DiSC Sales & Customer Relationship model helps us understand people’s communication preferences, blind spots, and buying tendencies.        In this fun, interactive, engaging workshop, participants will understand their own sales tendencies, how to quickly read people to understand their buying style, and how to better navigate conversations and communicate more effectively for better results. Discover new strategies for stretching beyond their natural preferences to make external relationships more productive and successful, regardless of the customer’s communication style.        

Learning Objectives - By the end of this session, attendees will be able to -        

• Know Their Sales Style: Participants will learn about their own sales and communication style using the DiSC model.        
• Identify Customer Preferences: Attendees will understand how to recognize different customer communication and buying styles.        
• Build Better Connections: Participants will learn how to quickly build rapport and influence customers by matching their communication style.        
• Adapt Your Approach: Attendees will practice adjusting their sales approach to better suit different types of customers.        
• Use Behavioral Science in Sales: Participants will apply basic behavioral science principles to improve their conversations and results with customers.

This is your "Chamber 101" learning opportunity! 

Led by President & CEO Paula Ross, you will learn how to maximize your Chamber membership and learn all about the benefits of the GGCC. Learn what the Chamber can do for you, how to get involved, meet the team, meet other new member partners, learn about programming & events, ways to volunteer and so much more! Come and discover the best way to get a return on your investment in yourself and your business.

All members are welcome, no matter how long ago you joined. Advance registration is requested. Thank you.