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Sure it might be April Fool's Day but YES, NO FOOLING, we really are publishing a My ArundelBiz Podcast episode on a Saturday - and we're doing it for a VERY special reason:

2023 is AAEDC’s 10th year of managing the VOLT Fund - a casino revenue-funded program that assists small, minority-owned, woman-owned, and Veteran-owned businesses in Maryland by offering them loans from $25,000 to $500,000 - on behalf of the MD Department of Commerce, and April just so happens to be the month when we received our first VOLT Fund funds (on April 17, 2013 to be precise).

SO, with that in mind, we’re happy to share that we'll be celebrating the occasion by featuring ten of the 135 total business owners (and counting!) who have received a total of nearly $17,000,000 in VOLT Fund loans from AAEDC.

We sat down with our first VOLT Fund series guest, Forward Brewing founder Cam Bowdren, to discuss:

• How he and his wife, Claire, went from being craft beer-loving Annapolitans to the owners of a craft beer-brewing business in Eastport - including the role of the Brewers Association of Maryland and, of course, a VOLT Fund loan.
• How he learned about the VOLT Fund (spoiler alert: Severn Savings Bank), what made it a great option, and what the loan was used for.
• Some of the highlights of Forward's first three years, from launching beer clubs and hosting weekly running and biking groups to putting New Roots Farm pork on its menu and collaborating with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Annapolis Pride, and Watermark.
• Some of what he's looking FORWARD to, from working the Annapolis Cup Croquet Match in April and celebrating Forward's three-year anniversary in May to seeing Forward's logo on the Annapolis Blues professional soccer team's jerseys and taking boat trips aboard the Sally IVth.
• PLUS some of his favorite places to visit in Anne Arundel County and some of his top tips for business owners.

So tune in to learn more about Anne Arundel County's newest brewing business and how a loan from AAEDC helped it get going!