Pohanka Commercial

09/07/2026

🎉 Delmarva, y'all showed up! Building Momentum Delmarva on September 9 is almost full — and honestly? We're not mad about it. 🙌

"Projects & Access" is shaping up to be one of our best sessions yet — real projects, real dollars, real names, straight from the people who fund and build across the Shore. No fluff, no slides. Just answers.

Seats are going fast, so if you've been on the fence — now's the time to RSVP. 📩 [email protected]

📍 Pohanka Lewis Steel Building, 112 West Gordy Road, Salisbury, MD
🕗 September 9 | 8:00–9:15 AM

Stop Networking. Start Solving. 💪

09/07/2026

09/06/2026

Building Momentum Delmarva

09/04/2026

Steve Miller — meet our panelist for September 9's Projects & Access panel, and the one who'll change how you think about Parks and Recreation.

He directs Wicomico County's Department of Recreation, Parks & Tourism, over 50 parks and outdoor facilities strong. Say "Parks and Rec" and most people picture ballfields and summer camps. Steve runs an economic engine. The Civic Center brings events, events bring visitors, visitors fill hotels and restaurants. Tourism IS economic development.

He just proved it. On August 3, the Wicomico Civic Center cut the ribbon on a $15 million renovation, the biggest investment since the building was rebuilt after a 1977 fire. Funded by $5.5M from a federal EDA grant, $4.3M from the county, $495K from the state. New box office and lobby, better ADA access, an expanded food court, tighter connectivity to Wicomico High. First event back: WWE NXT Live, August 14.

His words at the ribbon cutting: "This is the community gathering place. This is where people graduate. This is where people get married. This is where people vote. See their first concert, go to sporting events, play high school basketball, you name it. And this is where memories are made."

He's not stopping there. Pirate's Wharf Park is already open and drawing visitors, with a boat ramp and fishing pier coming in Phase II. He's also exploring a 50,000-square-foot indoor recreation space the county has needed for years.

Steve started as the department's Tourism Manager and was promoted from within. BA in English, Eastern Nazarene College. Sits on the Wicomico County Tourism Advisory Board with Dave Ryan and Chris Hall (TidalHealth). Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce member.

Come hear what he has to say September 9.

September 9, 2026 · 8:00 AM
Pohanka Lewis Steel Building, 112 West Gordy Road, Salisbury, MD
Free. Space is limited. RSVP at [email protected] — bring someone who needs to be in this room.

09/04/2026

HE'S BEEN CALLED THE MAN WHO PUT WICOMICO COUNTY ON THE MAP. AT 30 YEARS INTO THE JOB, DAVE RYAN ISN'T SLOWING DOWN.

He's the guy companies call before they call their lawyers. For three decades, Dave Ryan has been the Executive Director of Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development — quietly brokering the deals that turned empty land into industrial parks and skeptical CEOs into Eastern Shore believers.

"Nobody wanted to do business here," insiders on the other side of the bay used to say. Ryan's response? Millions in loans. Thousands of jobs. A small business incubator built from scratch. A telecom manufacturing cluster nobody saw coming.

The résumé reads like a highlight reel: Chamber Hall of Fame. 2024 Maryland Manufacturing Star. A seat on more boards than most people can name — TidalHealth, Salisbury University, the airport commission, and beyond.

And right now? The Shore is having a moment. Amazon just moved in. A major Baltimore developer is breaking ground on two new business parks. The airport landed state money for aerospace jobs. Downtown's Riverwalk got the governor's fast-track treatment.

Ryan's been in the room for every bit of it — and on September 9, he's telling the rest of us how it happened.

🗓️ September 9, 2026 · 8:00 AM
📍 Pohanka Lewis Steel Building, 112 West Gordy Road, Salisbury, MD
Free. Space is limited.
RSVP: [email protected]

09/03/2026

Who Is Economic Development Director Susan Banks?

Meet the third panelist on our September 9 Projects & Access panel — the one covering the other side of the bridge.

Susan Banks is Director of Dorchester County Economic Development, based in Cambridge. Director since 2019, with the office since 2014 — that's over a decade of helping business owners navigate the financial, regulatory, and workforce landscape on the Shore.

Before economic development, she spent five and a half years at Cambridge International, a global industrial manufacturer headquartered in Cambridge — so she knows what it looks like when a major employer operates in your backyard, because she worked inside one. Before that, she ran communications for Environmental Concern Inc. in St. Michaels, a wetland restoration and environmental education nonprofit. When Susan talks about balancing growth with environmental stewardship, she's lived both sides of it.

She holds a BA in Political Science from Salisbury University, a master's in Environmental Policy and Management, and — as of 2025 — a certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Career Empowerment from the University of Maryland. She also sits on the board of the Business Finance Group, a leading 504 lender in the mid-Atlantic, so she knows how the money actually moves.

Here's what I'll tell you: Dorchester County is moving. [Whatever the tech park milestone is — hold the specifics]. I'm not giving away the rest. You need to be in the room September 9 to hear it from Susan directly.

If you've been wondering whether Dorchester County is a place your business can grow, Susan Banks can tell you exactly where the doors are and how to walk through them.

September 9, 2026 · 8:00 AM
Pohanka Lewis Steel Building, 112 West Gordy Road, Salisbury, MD
Free. Space is limited. RSVP: [email protected] — bring someone who needs to be in this room.

09/02/2026

Meet The Panel.

Who is Danny Thompson?

Meet the fourth panelist on our September 9 Projects & Access panel — and the one who covers the Lower Shore's westernmost county.

Danny Thompson has been the Executive Director of the Somerset County Economic Development Commission since January 2004. That's over 22 years in the same seat — and 34+ years in economic development total. When Danny talks about what's happening on the Lower Shore, he's not reading a report. He's been in the room the whole time.

He's a former president of MEDA — the Maryland Economic Development Association — which means he knows the state-level pipeline and how Eastern Shore projects connect to it.

Here's what I'll tell you: Somerset County is moving. There are things in the pipeline right now — advanced manufacturing, new industrial park development — that are going to change the conversation about what's possible on the Lower Shore. I'm not going to give it away here. You need to be in the room on September 9 to hear it from Danny himself.

If you've been wondering whether the Eastern Shore's economic momentum is real — Danny Thompson is one of the people who's been building it for over two decades. Come listen to what he has to say.

September 9, 2026 · 8:00 AM
Lewis Steele Building, 112 West Gordy Road, Salisbury, MD

Free RSVP Required, share with someone who needs to be in this room.

09/01/2026

THE ONLY WAY YOU FAIL IS WHEN YOU GIVE UP.

08/28/2026

"Access isn't given. It's built."

Space is limited for Building Momentum Delmarva: Projects & Access, and seats are filling fast.

The inside look: this isn't a handshake breakfast. September 9, 8:00-9:15 AM at the Pohanka Lewis Steel Building, four (4) economic development directors sit on one panel with one job: tell you what's funded, who decides, who to call.

Three pillars. One goal. Your business forward.

Find money. Find people. Manage money.

If you've ever wondered who controls the purse strings on a project you want in on, this is that room. Co-hosted with the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce.

RSVP: [email protected]

Seats won't last. Show up.

08/28/2026

Access Isn’t Given. It is Built!
Building Momentum Delmarva