The year 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Maryland/Israel Development Center (MIDC) and Barry Bogage’s tenure as its Executive Director. Upon achieving this milestone, Barry has announced that he will be retiring. To recognize the achievements of the MIDC and thank Barry for his leadership and service, we will celebrate this occasion on Sunday, June 12, 2022, at 5:30 pm in downtown Baltimore. Co-Chairing the 30th anniversary event are longtime MIDC supporters and champions Howard Feldman, Partner, Whiteford Preston & Taylor and Lynn Shapiro Snyder, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker Green.
“We salute Barry Bogage’s steady, strong and outstanding professional leadership guiding the MIDC since 1992”, said Alvin Katz Chair, MIDC, “and we know the community will join us to mark these milestones. I am delighted Lynn and Howard are spearheading the planning as both have had longtime and strong relationship with the MIDC.”
For more information about the June 12th celebration and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Nancy Boguslaw, nboguslaw@MarylandIsrael.com.
Brief History:
After the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, Russian Jewry emigrated en masse to Israel. Unemployment skyrocketed to double digits. Baltimore business executives and Jewish community leaders Hanan Sibel, Marvin Schapiro, Roger Lipitz and Martin Waxman understood Israel needed to create jobs to absorb these new immigrants.
Recognizing that a Maryland/Israel economic development partnership would help create jobs in both communities, they enlisted the support of Governor William Donald Schaefer. In 1988, Governor Schaefer enthusiastically signed a Maryland/Israel Declaration of Cooperation with Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Moshe Arad. The declaration called for both sides to collaborate in high tech development and business cooperation.
To achieve the lofty goals set out in the declaration, the Maryland/Israel Development Center (MIDC) was established in 1992 as a “public private partnership” between Maryland’s Department of Commerce, Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Trade, and The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.
Led by Marvin Schapiro and The Associated, the great philanthropic families of Baltimore including the Blausteins, Hoffbergers, Meyerhoffs and Weinbergs provided the seed funding for the MIDC for an experimental two-year period. After early successes, The Associated incorporated the MIDC as constituent agency, and Governor Parris Glendening gave the organization its first state grant in 1997 through the Maryland Department of Commerce.
Since its beginnings, the MIDC has been a boon to both economies, creating jobs and fostering an ongoing partnership between Maryland and Israel’s elected officials and business community.