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January 11, 2026

Cambridge Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Cambridge

1C Commerce Commerce Notes

The Baltimore Sun Names Qlarant A Winner of the Baltimore Top Workplaces Award

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Qlarant, the nation’s leading Quality Solutions and Fraud Prevention firm, has been named to The Baltimore Sun’s 2020 list of “Top Workplaces”, receiving the recognition for the third time since 2017. The award is based solely on employee feedback through an anonymous survey that uniquely measures 15 drivers of engaged cultures. Qlarant employees evaluated the company on several factors including engagement, work/life balance, pay and benefits, and company leadership.

Qlarant has nine offices throughout the country, with its headquarters in Easton Maryland.  It employs over 500 people nationally, with approximately 200 in the state of Maryland.

“The Top Workplaces award is a reflection of the company culture we have here,” said Bonnie Horvath, a Qlarant associate and Project Director for the Columbia office. “Being a three time winner of this award showcases our culture of commitment to our staff.  We are dedicated to our clients and it shows in all that we do. Our leadership has done a tremendous job ensuring that all of our associates are safe, healthy, and able to navigate the shift from in-office to working from home during COVID. This was not something anyone predicted but we were prepared. Communication has been key to keeping everyone engaged.”

“We’re very proud to be recognized by The Baltimore Sun as a Top Workplace for the third time,” said Qlarant CEO Dr. Ron Forsythe, Jr. “2020 has put organizations to the test in regards to employees work-life balance and this award is reflective of the effort our team has put in. We truly do have the best people here and we’re thrilled to share this honor with the entire organization.

About Qlarant

Qlarant is a not-for-profit, nationally respected leader in fighting fraud, waste, and abuse, improving program quality, and optimizing performance. The company uses subject matter experts and innovative data science and technology to help organizations see risks, solve problems, and seize opportunities. Solutions are customized for state, federal, and commercial agencies across the nation. The Qlarant Foundation— the mission arm of the organization—has provided over $5.5 Million in grants to charities throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. Qlarant employs nearly 500 people nationally and has a 45-year record of accomplishment improving the performance of some of the nation’s most important programs.

For more information visit www.qlarant.com

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Anna Clough Celebrates 20 Years with Shore United Bank

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Anna Clough

Shore United Bank is proud to congratulate Anna Clough on twenty (20) years of service. Anna began her career with the Bank in December of 2000. Ms. Clough started at the Bank in the bookkeeping department.   She later held a position with the finance department during her years at the Bank. Anna’s current position is Electronic Banking Specialist where she is responsible for assisting customers with online banking, wires, ACH and POS transactions and any other digital service-related questions.

“Anna likes to help customers with their banking needs, her knowledge of the digital banking products and services makes her a valuable team member.  She is committed to helping each customer no matter how big or small their request may be,” says Lorrie Twilley, Senior Deposit Operations Officer.

Ms. Clough resides in Easton, MD with her husband Roscoe and has two children, Michael and Amanda. She enjoys reading and spending time with her family. Anna is actively involved in the community with the Girl Scouts of America as a Service Unit Manager and Troop Leader.

For more information about Shore United Bank, visit ShoreUnitedBank.com

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Vicki Wood Dean Rejoined Shore United Bank as Relationship Manager

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Vicki Wood Dean, Shore United Bank Relationship Manager

Shore United Bank is proud to announce that Vicki Dean has rejoined the Company as a Relationship Manager. Vicki will be working from our Commerce Street Office in Centreville, Maryland. Vicki joins Shore United Bank with over fifteen (15) years of banking experience and three (3) years of property and casualty insurance experience.

“We welcome Vicki back to the Shore United Bank family.  She is an experienced banker with strong personal and business relationships in the community who enjoys helping new clients and community members grow their businesses,” says Heather Bacher, Market Executive for Shore United Bank.

“I am very excited about this new opportunity. I have lived and worked in this community my whole life, I know where and how this community has grown and struggled.  Having this knowledge allows me a unique insight and understanding as I work with my clients,” says Ms. Dean.

Vicki is currently the President of the United Way of Queen Anne’s County and volunteers in many fundraising events with local nonprofits.  She resides in Talbot County, Maryland with her husband, Brad, and their two sons, Victor and Barley. Whether she is watching her boys climb into a combine with their grandfather, or cheering them on in sports, Vicki enjoys watching them grow up on The Eastern Shore.

For more information about Shore United Bank, visit ShoreUnitedBank.com

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Easton Robotics to Host International Event

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For the fifth edition of FIRA, the International Forum of Agricultural Robotics, Easton Robotics has agreed to be a sponsor for this year’s all-virtual event.  The annual conference brings together the top agricultural robotics companies and engineers from around the world and is widely known as the premier event for agricultural robotics.  Planned for December 8-10, 2020, this year’s agricultural robotics conference includes a strong group of agricultural robotics companies and technical presentations on leading edge research, including manufacturers and engineers from the US, France, Denmark, and Germany.

The theme for this year’s event is “Agricultural Robotics:  Part of the New Deal?” and the event organizers expect more than 3,000 participants.  The virtual format makes it possible to include many more participants than the prior events have typically seen, which expands the potential reach of the event and the leading-edge robotics manufacturers.  Typically held in Toulouse, France in early December each year, for 2020 the Covid-19 conditions have imposed constraints on assembling in person, but this may in fact greatly increase the event’s global reach.  For more information about the event and FIRA, see www.fira-agtech.com.

Easton Robotics is one of several US companies participating in the all-virtual exhibition.  While many of the robotics manufacturers with mature products will be providing live demonstrations during the conference, Easton Robotics is still in the early stages of product development and will not be providing demonstrations this year.

 

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USDA Awards $470,800 Grant to Maryland’s Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center

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Today, Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center (ESEC) announced the approval for a $470,800, two-year long grant by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This grant funding award is in support of establishing the Chesapeake Agriculture Innovation Center (CAIC) on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with the long-term goal of creating a “national hub” for the development of innovation and new technologies in agriculture and aquaculture.

The CAIC and its preceding programs are intended to be a program that enables the applied commercialization of innovations and technologies of value-added products that respond to real-world problems and challenges, helping to increase yields, improve the food supply chain, and generate new markets and revenue streams, all of which address the need of 56% more food by 2050 for a growing and more affluent global population.

ESEC is a private sector, nonprofit organization serving the eight rural counties of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. ESEC’s mission is to provide technical assistance, programs, and other services that are targeted toward high-growth, innovative, and scalable entrepreneurs, innovators, and startups. One of ESEC’s principal initiatives is the F3 (Farm · Fish · Food) Tech Accelerator program, which has an industry sector focus on agriculture and aquaculture. The F3 Tech Accelerator builds upon the region’s traditional industries of agriculture and seafood, elevating them through the use of innovation and technology, increasing yields, creating jobs, and generating wealth and economic prosperity throughout the region. Since 2017, ESEC’s ambition has been to provide the same kind of technical assistance and scalable opportunities to value-added producers that they already provide to more tech-oriented agritech and aquatech businesses.

“We are extremely proud and grateful to be representing Maryland as one of the three winners of this national competition put on by the USDA,” stated Mike Thielke, executive director of the F3 Tech Accelerator and its parent organization, Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center. “Maryland’s agricultural industry is thriving and we’re looking forward to using this investment from the USDA as a chance to expand the use of innovation to feed and better serve our communities.”

The approved grant funds will be used for a plethora of action items, including but not limited to consulting services for legal, accounting, and technical services to be used by the recipient for the purpose of establishing and operating the Center, hiring the Center’s employees, along with making grants to agricultural producers.

About Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center

Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center (ESEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to help advance an entrepreneurship ecosystem on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. This includes the counties of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester. ESEC has two initiatives currently underway that are part of an overall strategy to encourage the organic development of high-growth, innovative, and scalable businesses and the jobs they create, with an emphasis on the region’s traditional industries of agriculture and seafood — hotDesks and F3 Tech Accelerator.

HotDesks is a network of coworking spaces that serves the needs of entrepreneurs and innovators throughout the Eastern Shore. Through programs and events targeted to innovative, high growth, and scalable startups, hotDesks helps connect the Eastern Shore with the rest of the statewide innovation and startup ecosystem in the Baltimore/Washington corridor.

F3 Tech Accelerator advances innovation and technology in the sectors of agriculture, aquaculture, and the environment. Through a pipeline of programs targeted to idea, early-stage, and scalable startups, participating F³ Tech organizers and partners strive to position Maryland as a nationally-recognized leader in agritech, aquatech, and envirotech.

For more information, please visit Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center’s website: https://ventureahead.org/.

ABOUT USDA’s RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service offers programs to help businesses grow as well as job training for people living in rural areas. Its programs help provide the capital, training, education and entrepreneurial skills that can help those living in rural areas start and grow businesses or find jobs in agricultural markets and in the bio-based economy. USDA and our public and private partners are connecting rural residents to the global economy by supporting business growth and development, assisting with creating wealth and supporting rural America, improving the effectiveness of programs serving cooperatives, creating and keeping jobs through recreation as well as restoring, conserving and managing rural America’s natural resources, and bringing fast internet to more homes and businesses. These investments support America’s long-term prosperity by ensuring that our rural communities are able to take care of themselves, grow and prosper.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.