Devaney & Associates
Devaney & Associates won seven awards in the 2009 Public Relations Society of America’s Best in Maryland Awards, a competition open to all public relations, communications and marketing professionals who work in Maryland.
Bank of America
Bank of America Corp. will repay the entire $45 billion it has received in aid from taxpayers provided under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). BoA went under a lot of scrutiny as the government became one of the bank’s biggest shareholders. Limits on bonuses and employee pay were placed on the bank this year because it was one of seven companies that received “exceptional assistance” from the government. To date, BofA has paid more than $2.5 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury on the TARP investment. Repaying TARP will save the company approximately $3.6 billion in annual dividend costs from TARP, the bank says.
Reliable Repairs
When Jo Ellen Soesbee opened Reliable Repairs, it was tough for her to get taken seriously in the home improvement business. "I'm in a field that's mostly men, so I don't get the same respect," she said. "When I would go to meetings to meet with construction people, they would just ignore me." The Pasadena woman had to be persistent in her mission, constantly networking and talking to those in the renovation and repair trades to prove she knows what she's talking about. Soesbee has been recognized by those who know what it's like to be in her shoes, in the Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise Awards, which recognizes 100 of Maryland's most outstanding minority and women business owners.
We’d like to also congratulate Casey Baynes of Casey Cares Foundation, Jo and C. Lorena Streb of CertaPro Painters who also placed in the Top 100.