Dear Chamber Member,
The global COVID-19 pandemic is well on its way to being a bad memory, a historical reference evoking loss, both human and financial. Many of us will continue to deal with elements of this situation for the rest of our lives, but rapidly improving health metrics, vaccinations and easing restrictions allow us to seek a return to more favorable conditions.
As I’ve mentioned many times over the last 14 months, I was never as proud to lead this Chamber as I was during this difficult time for us all. Our members exhibited incredible resilience, fortitude and creativity in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Words like “pivot”, “shift” and “adapt” took on new meaning when our traditional approach to our businesses was redefined through no fault of our own.
As many of you know, we reside in the ROOT Building at 118 North Market Street in downtown Frederick. ROOT is owned by the Frederick County government, so the general restrictions placed on County-owned facilities have applied to us as well.
In the last few days, County Executive Jan Gardner has announced policy measures leading to the reopening of County buildings, including the ROOT building. While we’re committed to respecting and adhering to County policies, we do have some unique elements that are worthy of note.
Executive Gardner’s plan calls for limited public access to buildings beginning on August 2nd.
– Beginning on August 2nd, we will allow our members to return to our office suite, by appointment. We will only be accepting appointments for small groups (fewer than 10) for the use of our conference and meeting rooms. You can make those appointments via email with anyone on our staff. We will ask you to wear masks when entering the ROOT Building and in all public spaces within. Once you arrive at our office suite (Suite 200), you will be subject to our protocol, which requires masks to be worn for anyone who has not been vaccinated. For those that have, they will be able to remove masks, if they remain within our space. Our lobby door will be locked at all times, requiring a buzzer to gain entry.
– Beginning on Sept. 1, we will once again allow our members the use of our facilities and conference rooms (all of which require a reservation) to the full capacity of those facilities. We’ll mirror the County mask requirement for the unvaccinated, but expect a return to a more normal routine. One of our permanent changes is that our actual lobby entrance will be always locked. From now on, all visitors will need to ring a bell and be admitted by a staff member. This is a consequence of our staffing reduction as well as a little enhancement of our security protocols for the safety of our personnel and resources.
We will continue to offer free paper masks and hand sanitizer for the foreseeable future as well. Our entire staff team has been fully vaccinated, a step we all agreed to take in order to get back to normal as soon as possible.
– Rick Weldon, President & CEO
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