Marriott International Expands Group and Meetings Portfolio with Acquisition of Gaylord Hotels Brand and Hotel Management Company for $210 Million

Expects transaction to be EPS accretive in 2013.

Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Gaylord Entertainment Company (NYSE: GET) to acquire the Gaylord brand and hotel management company for $210 million. The transaction is conditioned on Gaylord Entertainment’s shareholders approving the company’s conversion into a real estate investment trust. If approved, Gaylord will continue to own the existing Gaylord hotels and Marriott will assume management of these properties under long-term agreements. The transaction will add 4 hotels and approximately 7,800 rooms to Marriott’s portfolio.

Gaylord Hotels include Gaylord Opryland® in Nashville, Tennessee; Gaylord Palms® in Kissimmee, Florida near Orlando; Gaylord Texan® on Lake Grapevine near Dallas, Texas, and Gaylord National® on the Potomac in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. Gaylord Hotels are uniquely positioned in the group and family leisure segments with approximately 2 million square feet of meeting and event space. They offer multiple opportunities for recreation, shopping, and dining, as well as entertainment, such as the partnership with DreamWorks ™.

Arne Sorenson, Marriott International president and chief executive officer, said, “We are excited to add Gaylord Hotels to our brand portfolio and are thrilled Gaylord Entertainment selected us to manage their properties. We have long been impressed with the hotels Gaylord has created, as well as their skill in hosting major meetings and events and attracting the family leisure market. This is a tremendous opportunity to advance growth and opportunity for both Marriott International and the Gaylord hotel brand.

“Gaylord properties will benefit from Marriott’s economies of scale, including lower costs for central reservations, procurement and other services, plus strong sales, revenue management, marketing and distribution systems, while Marriott will be able to capture even a greater share of the major event market. Gaylord’s “everything-in-one-place” properties are very attractive to group meeting planners. As a new REIT owner, Gaylord Entertainment should benefit from improved hotel profitability associated with Marriott’s ability to generate substantial cost savings and incremental demand.”

Robert McCarthy, Marriott International chief operations officer, said, “Both Marriott and Gaylord have well-defined cultures that revolve around putting people first and we expect Gaylord’s ‘STARs’ and Marriott associates will find significant opportunities for career growth in this combination. Gaylord customers will continue to enjoy the outstanding service for which that brand is known.”

"We chose Marriott – a brand that is a recognized leader in the hospitality industry - due to their focus on providing the highest quality experience for both group and leisure customers,” said Colin V. Reed, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gaylord Entertainment Company. “According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of Gaylord in February of over 400 high-quality meeting planners, Gaylord ranked first in all under one-roof offerings and amenities and Marriott ranked as the number one preferred group destination provider overall due to its service standards and wide distribution.”

Upon completion of the transaction, Marriott will operate the hotels under management agreements with an initial term of 35 years. Marriott International expects to earn an incentive fee in its first full year of management, based on improvement in Gaylord Hotels’ profitability, and further expects the transaction to be accretive to Marriott’s earnings per share by approximately 2 cents in 2013.

The agreement is subject to the previously mentioned Gaylord Entertainment shareholder approval, which is expected in August, as well as lender consent to amendments to Gaylord’s credit facility and other customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close by October.

Mr. Sorenson will participate in a conference call Gaylord Entertainment will hold at 10:00 a.m. eastern time today to discuss this announcement. The call can be accessed at Gaylord Entertainment’s Investor Relations web site at http://ir.gaylordentertainment.com.

Read full release here.

Thanks, Nancy LaJoice, for Twelve Years of Great Service to the Corridor…

After twelve fabulous years of service to the members of the Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber (BWCC) we announce that Nancy LaJoice has resigned her position as Membership Director and is moving on to new challenges with the Greater Washington Board of Trade. On behalf of the membership, board of directors and staff, we wish Nancy the very best!

With huge “shoes” to fill, the BWCC is in need of a fulltime Membership Director as outlined in the job description below:

The Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber, a regional business membership organization with over 500 members located in Laurel, MD, seeks a full-time Membership Director. The successful candidate will be responsible for identifying, contacting, recruiting and orienting new members to the organization (15-20 per month). This position is also involved, with others, in retaining the current membership and marketing the organization.

Other duties include the coordination, development, maintenance and timely distribution of membership information and materials. Candidate will be responsible for updating and maintaining membership information on website, as well as identifying and developing leads from a variety of sources for ongoing use as well as for membership campaigns, etc. Incumbent has the primary responsibility for developing and maintaining a centralized prospect file and tracking system, and is the key liaison between new members and the organization to ensure that new members are welcomed and have received their membership materials. Incumbent serves as staff liaison and provides direct, ongoing support to the various committees of the organization.

Candidate will serve as a key source of support for the recruitment/retention efforts established by the Board of Directors and the Membership Committee, and manage the production of the organization’s membership directory, as well as work with members to encourage communications between members via Social Media platforms.

The Membership Director is also primarily responsible for management of the membership retention process to include monthly reviews, communication plans and retention data updates for financial reporting.

Requirements for the position include a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing or Business Administration or equivalent work experience, plus at least 3 years of successful business to business sales experience in the service sector or a not-for-profit association environment.

Position reports directly to the President & CEO of the Chamber.

Salary range is negotiable based on experience, and will be a blend of salary plus commission.

We have already received resumes and inquiries, so if you know of interested candidates, please urge them to send their information to shirley.redd@bwcc.org.

Economic Pulse - Outdoor Activities Bring $4B to Delmarva

Click here to review the Economic Pulse, an overview of Maryland's economic indicators.

Online Learning in Maryland Fails to Make the Grade

Despite advances in technology and proliferation of online education options, state lags behind

ROCKVILLE, MD — The Maryland Public Policy Institute today released a study examining the state’s legislative foot-dragging in the creation of virtual learning opportunities. In “Online Learning Lessons for Maryland,” Maryland Public Policy Institute visiting fellow Lindsey Burke writes of the state’s restrictive online learning environment, and offers policy examples — culled from success stories around the country — that Maryland should emulate to bolster its own program.

While Burke points to — and lauds — online programs such as Maryland’s Virtual School, and district programs scattered throughout the state, she notes that, for the most part, the state’s online learning landscape remains barren. This, she writes, “despite the many tangible benefits digital learning and hybrid schooling provide for students.”

Throughout the country, states are bolstering their virtual education programs, through district online learning programs, blended or hybrid online learning, online charters, and online supplemental courses. While the nuts and bolts of these programs vary from state to state, the motivation behind them is consistent.

These options exist to ensure that educational opportunities for children are not solely determined by their ZIP code. Burke calls on Maryland legislators to create similar options in the Old Line State. “With online learning, the world becomes one big classroom,” said Maryland Public Policy Institute President Christopher Summers. “The last 10 years have seen a veritable explosion of technological advances.

To say that online learning is the wave of the future is to venture out onto a pretty sturdy limb. Technology rules the lives of our kids. They don’t talk — they text. Confining the Facebook generation to the brick and mortar schoolhouse, with few other options, is doing them — and Maryland — a grave disservice.”

Whiteford Opens Office in Bethesda

Washington, DC, May 23, 2012 ­­­– Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP announced that the firm has opened its eighth office, located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 700W, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.

Martin T. Fletcher, the firm’s managing partner, said, “Our suburban Washington practice has been growing rapidly. This new office will help us better serve our expanding client base. Together witih our offices in downtown Washington and Falls Church, we now have convenient coverage of the entire D.C. metropolitan area for our clients.”

In addition to the three offices in and around Washington, the firm has offices in Baltimore, Towson and Columbia, Maryland, as well as Wilmington, Delaware, and Dearborn, Michigan. Whiteford Taylor & Preston provides an extensive range of business and litigation services to business corporations, non-profit institutions and individuals.

About WTP:
The 160 attorneys at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston are dedicated to helping our clients grow their businesses through strategic legal counsel.  We serve our clients in the region, across the nation and around the globe from our base of eight offices in Maryland, Delaware, Michigan, Washington, DC, and Virginia.  For more information, please visit our website at www.wtplaw.com.

CARDIN INTRODUCES NEW BILL TO INCREASE FEDERAL SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES

Adding $11 Billion in New Opportunities for American Small Businesses Creates American Jobs

Washington, DC – At the start of National Small Business Week, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, has introduced new bill that would that would help more small businesses compete for federal contracts by raising the government-wide small business prime goal from 23 percent to 25 percent. Government-wide subcontracting goals would be increased from 35.9 percent to 40 percent.

“Across the United States, small businesses are responsible for creating two out of every three new jobs.  These 27 million American small businesses nationwide provide the services and products that Americans need every day. With millions of small businesses out there in every conceivable industry, it makes sense to ensure that we are using and employing their proven expertise in making the federal government more efficient,” said Senator Cardin.  “Maryland has over 500,000 small businesses that employ more than a million people.  Continuing to invest in these small businesses is the smart thing to do for our state and for our nation.”

In FY10, the most recent data available, total Federal contracting spending was $538.4 billion.  During that same year, the Federal government achieved 22.7% or $97.947 billion in small business prime contracting and 35.4% in small business subcontracting. Increasing the contracting goal by just 2% would add approximately $11 billion in new opportunities for small business contractors. Original small business contracting goals were first established in the Small Business Act in 1953.  The prime percentages were last increased from 19% to 23% in 1997.


SMALL BUSINESS GOALING ACT OF 2012

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS


Section 1.  Title - The Small Business Goaling Act of 2012

Section 2.  Government-wide Prime and Subcontracting Goals.

This bill raises the current government-wide prime and subcontracting goals from 23% and 35.9%, to 25% and 40%, respectively.

The bill defines the goaling base for small business contracting to ensure these entities get their fair share of the work.  These entities include service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and women-owned businesses.

The bill requires that small business procurement goals established by the head of each federal agency participating in federal procurement contracts to: (1) be in the same format as the goals established by the President; (2) address both prime contract and subcontract awards; and (3) establish a plan for achieving each goal with responsibilities apportioned among employees of the agency having procurement powers.  Requires each agency head to: (1) consult with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) in establishing agency goals, and requires the Administrator to ensure that federal agencies’ goals collectively meet or exceed the government-wide prime and subcontracting goals.  Disagreements between agencies and the Administrator will be submitted to the Administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy for a final determination.  In addition, the bill requires that agency heads:  (1) make a consistent effort annually to expand participation of all small business categories in procurement contracts to that agency; and (2) communicate importance of achieving goals to key procurement employees and program managers.

Section 3.  Reporting on Small Business Goals.

The bill also revises requirements for information that is to be included in annual reports from: (1) agency heads to the Administrator concerning the extent of small business participation in that agency's procurement contracts (including the number and dollar amounts of the contracts, whether the agency achieved its goal and whether, and justifications for any failed goals); and (2) the Administrator to the President and Congress on whether the government-wide goal and individual agency goals were achieved, as well as reasons for any failure to achieve such goals.

Section 4.  Senior Executives

Also, the bill requires training programs established for the development of federal senior executives to include training with respect to federal procurement requirements, including those under the Small Business Act.  In addition, the bill requires that small business participation and assessment be included as a critical element in all federal senior executive’s annual performance plan.

OBA Bank Expands To Arundel Mills

OBA Bank, headquartered in Germantown and founded in 1861, has opened a Commercial Banking Center and Full Service Branch Facility in Arundel Mills at 7556 Teague Road, Hanover, MD. lt is the bank's sixth location.

The bank features experienced bankers with local roots along with products and services that are designed to support local companies and help them prosper.

Commercial Bankers servicing clients at the Arundel Mills branch are Dave Gramil, Senior Vice President and Commercial Banking Manager; Ken Williams, Theresa Fodel, Bruce Hollander, and Pam Roberts, Vice Presidents and Commercial Banking Officers. Patricia Fricke is the Commercial Branch Manager at the new location.

OBA Bank, with assets of $382.0 million and 66 employees, is committed to serving the needs of the businesses and the communities of Central Maryland.

Arundel Mills
7556 Teague Road
Hanover, Maryland 21076
410-799-0720

obabank.com

Member FDIC

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT DARLA ROSENBERGER, 301-916-0742x:253.