ARTICLE
On Saturday July 30, 2016, historic Ellicott City experienced unprecedented flooding, which destroyed over one hundred businesses. Since the founding of the city, over 200 years ago, the area has been a hub for Maryland small businesses. The historic area has also been a popular location for Maryland residents to live, work, play and dine. The damage caused by the storm on Saturday has left a large majority of these businesses devastated. Currently, there are several organizations supporting efforts to rebuild and assist those who have been impacted by the flooding. We are aware of several MBA member institutions that have contributed to the recovery efforts. As the only Ellicott City headquartered bank, Howard Bank, has provided valued insights on relief efforts. Specifically, Howard Bank recommends contributions to the Ellicott City Partnership. It is our understanding that at this time, the Ellicott City Partnership is the only organization working specifically with businesses from the Ellicott City area that have been impacted by the flooding. Howard Bank has supported this effort by providing a $10,000 contribution to the organization. In addition, the United Way is working to provide relief to individuals and residents. To date, United Way has raised $45,000 for the Ellicott City relief fund. Howard County government has endorsed both the Ellicott City Partnership and United Ways efforts. Maryland banks and bankers continue to assist in efforts to help the communities we serve. As such we thank all our members for all that you do, and respectfully call upon our members to join together to assist in the recovery of Ellicott City as one industry, one Maryland. Please contact MBA’s Alex Choi or Mindy Lehman with any questions.