By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Prince George’s County native Ramond J. Sneed recently became the new general manager of Hotel Revival Baltimore, an art boutique hotel in the Mount Vernon neighborhood. The 43-year-old brings 21 years of experience in the hospitality industry with him. “Hotel Revival has a name for itself,” said Sneed. […]
Author Archives: Megan Sayles AFRO Staff Writer
Megan Sayles is a business reporter for The Baltimore Afro-American paper. Before this, Sayles interned with Baltimore Magazine, where she wrote feature stories about the city’s residents, nonprofits and initiatives. Her love of music inspired her to be a writer. At a young age she realized it was not the melody that she was so infatuated with, but the lyrics that made up the song and connected with listeners. Sayles grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Maryland, where for her senior capstone project she reported on how the coronavirus and inequality intersected in Baltimore. She also worked as a staff writer and copy editor for campus publications, including Stories Beneath the Shell and The Black Explosion. Sayles teamed up with a partner to report on how the pandemic had put many more responsibilities on the oldest child in families. The Associated Press and other news organizations picked up her story.
Posted inBaltimore News
New Song Academy students win $13,000 to address food deserts
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Four eighth-grade students from New Song Academy recently won big at the Philanthropy Tank Finals Event in Pikesville, Md. Aniya Ponton, Samahj Chestnut, Ryeona Watson and Logan Reynolds received $13,000 for their business pitch, an initiative to improve access to healthy food choices, called Bmore Fresh. The social […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Inside look: the AFRO speaks with Black businesses at the new Sycamore & Oak Retail Village
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The Retail Village at Sycamore & Oak opened to D.C.’s Congress Heights community on June 14. The 23,000-square-foot community-led and sustainable development is now home to 13 local, Black-owned small businesses ranging from restaurants to apparel stores. The retail village is expected to create more than 100 jobs […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Vaughn Greene Funeral Services: a legacy of top-tier service in the Black community
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Nearly three decades ago West Baltimore native Vaughn C. Greene established Vaughn Greene Funeral Services. The year was 1996. What started out as one location on the 5100 block of Baltimore National Pike has grown to six company locations— four in the Baltimore area and two in Philadelphia, […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
National Park Service releases RFP for long-term operator at Fort Washington Marina
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The National Park Service (NPS) is in search of a new long-term operator for the Fort Washington Marina in Prince George’s County, Md. The agency released a request for proposal (RFP) for the boatyard on June 20 and gave a September 5 deadline for submission. This new RFP […]
Posted in!Front Page Maryland New
Ben Cardin and Fearless host roundtable for minority- and women-owned business owners
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) led a roundtable discussion with Maryland’s minority- and women-owned businesses alongside Fearless CEO Delali Dzirasa in Baltimore on June 16. During the conversation, Dzirasa asked Cardin about how policymakers can advance minority and women entrepreneurs through existing and emerging legislation, his contributions to these enterprises during […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. ranks as most expensive place for early childcare in the U.S.
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that Washington D.C. is the most expensive place in the country for child care. According to the 2023 Kids Count Data Book, the annual cost for center-based toddler daycare is $24,396, while home-based toddler daycare costs $19,291. Comparatively, […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore husband and wife team to host wealth summit at Morgan State University
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Baltimore husband and wife team Raven Paris and Anthony Parker are set to host Wealth Summit Live on July 8 at Morgan State University in the Murphy Fine Arts Center. The event will bring together students, financial experts and successful business leaders to discuss financial literacy, wealth-building and […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Starting a business over 55: advice from JPMorgan Chase senior business consultant Darla Harris
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com According to a 2019 report from the JPMorgan Chase Institute, individuals aged 55 and older start about 15 percent of new businesses. These business owners are more likely to survive than their younger counterparts, according to the “Gender, Age and Small Business Financial Outcomes” report. The AFRO connected […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Towson Wines and Spirits owner calls Black customer racial slur on camera
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The owner of Towson Wines and Spirits in Towson, Md. was caught on camera calling a Black customer a “ni**er” on June 16. Shaka Pitts, a communications associate for the Baltimore County Register of Wills Office, went into the store, located at 6 W Pennsylvania Avenue, to buy […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Buying Black for Juneteenth: five businesses to shop with today
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Juneteenth, or June 19, commemorates the day that enslaved Black Americans were freed after the Civil War. On that day in 1865, the Union Army troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to emancipate the last of the enslaved people in the U.S. Though the holiday was celebrated in different […]
Posted inBaltimore News
AFRO spotlight on Black excellence: Morgan State University’s ROTC Bear Battalion
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Since its inception in 1948, the Morgan State University (MSU) Bear Battalion, has graduated nearly 1,800 graduates. In 1979, George M. Brooks became the first general officer in the U.S. Army to graduate from the historically Black institution’s program. Today, the Bear Battalion is one of the top […]