Tours Strum Contracting, Discusses Economic Recovery Efforts with Small Business Owners
ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan welcomed the nationwide Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices “Road to Recovery” series to Maryland, joining local small business owners for a roundtable discussion on the challenges they face to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Despite the unprecedented economic challenges of the past 19 months and battling the worst global pandemic in more than a century, keeping Maryland open for business has remained our mission and the primary focus of our entire administration,” said Governor Hogan. “Nothing better symbolizes the strength of Maryland’s economy than the resilience of our small business community.”
The roundtable—which included seven local small business owners who graduated from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program—focused on a number of critical issues that small businesses have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, including labor shortages, supply chain issues, and access to capital. The Hogan administration has provided more than $2.1 billion in state economic relief measures to help small businesses keep their doors open and retain employees.
Before sitting down with small business owners, Governor Hogan toured Strum Contracting—a minority-owned custom welding and light fabrication business in Baltimore City that has served a number of critical infrastructure and fabrication projects in the mid-Atlantic region.
In 2017, Governor Hogan joined former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, and renowned businessman Warren Buffett to congratulate the first class of Baltimore City graduates of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.
The State of Maryland has added more than 56,000 jobs so far in 2021, including 22,000 jobs in the month of July. The state’s unemployment rate is at its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and a new national survey recently ranked Maryland as the most improved state in America for business.
