Elkridge Business Competes For $10,000 And Needs Your Online Vote

ELKRIDGE, MD — An Elkridge landscaping firm is in the running for Howard Bank's "Keep It Local" small business contest. Intreegue Design is one of 15 businesses competing for $10,000.

Announcing its first ever "Keep It Local" contest, Howard Bank asked people to nominate their favorite local businesses in May for a contest to win $10,000. The 15 businesses that earned the most nominations according to the rules made it to the first round of online voting.

Nominees had to be in Howard Bank's branch footprint, which it defined as Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Harford and Howard counties as well as Baltimore City.

Vote here in the Howard Bank's Keep It Local contest.

"The Baltimore area has a particularly vibrant and diversified small business community and Howard Bank’s reason for being is to help those local businesses succeed," Mary Ann Scully, CEO of Howard Bank, said in a statement. "This contest is a great way to engage our neighbors in that mission as well as provides all of us in the community with a means to recognize all of the hardworking entrepreneurs and small business owners in the region."

Here is how the Elkridge business is described in the Howard Bank contest:

Intreegue Design, Inc. is a licensed, woman owned Landscape Architecture Firm, creating a presence in the city for green thinking in conjunction with community improvement. They work tirelessly alongside local entities, helping jumpstart improvements and stand as a voice for Environmental Stewardship.

Intreegue’s current ‘passion project’ (pro-bono) is working with Seawall Development, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Johns Hopkins to create a community space in the revitalized neighborhood of Remington. The project, the Remington Storefront Challenge, is converting a storefront into a space for a local small business. The winner will occupy the storefront rent-free for a year. Intreegue has worked with the development team to create an outdoor community space, with environmental enhancements. Through this process they became a mentor with the Urban Alliance. Intreegue mentors the students, teaching life skills and helping them achieve goal sets.

Intreegue, last year’s winner of the bridging the gap award, is involved in several projects around the city. They are providing workshops for Sandtown South community to develop a new park space. The community is heavily involved with Intreegue for this process, working alongside the Baltimore Green Network. The community and Intreegue are looking forward to an amazing outcome for this space.

Part of Intreegue’s Mission is to ‘Walk-the-Talk’, as environmental stewards. To set the example the founder is not only passionate about Landscape Architecture, but also a beekeeper, chicken farmer, a teacher at UMD, a mentor (locally and nationally), and a Cylburn Arboretum Board member helping the treasured city gem flourish.

The first round of voting runs until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 28.

Here are the nominees:

• ArtFarm Studios in Annapolis
• Caprichos Books in Bel Air
• Connie's Chicken & Waffles in Baltimore
• Domesticity in Baltimore
• Fadensonnen in Baltimore
• GoSeason in Baltimore
• Hair & Things in Rising Sun
• Intreegue Design in Elkridge
• Iron Bridge Wine Co. in Columbia
• Jolles Insurance in Ellicott City
• Mt. Royal Soap Co. in Baltimore
• Rise N' Grind in Rising Sun
• Shephard Design in Rising Sun
• Teal Antler Boutique in Elkton
• WATT Business Solutions of Baltimore

Five contestants with the most votes will move on to the second round of voting from July 8 to July 26. Then a winner will be announced Aug. 5.

Intreegue is located at 5668 Furnace Avenue, Unit A, Elkridge, MD 21075.