If I've learned one thing over the course of the last 5 years, it's that Frederick is a great little town! There are so many talented professionals packed into this quaint little city, and each one of them with a willingness to share, to pitch in.
From the retailers downtown (which make this a popular destination for tourists) to the B2B set, to the huge corporations- they all make up the rich, vibrant quilt that remind me how lucky I am to live downtown.
A few of the associations that help drive this professional community are The Downtown Frederick Partnership, The Greater Frederick Advertising Federation (the GFAF) and The Frederick Chamber of Commerce. I've been a member of two of them and love the services they all provide!
This year, I made a promise to myself to become a more active member of the Designer/Developer community and I've attended some really great meetups. The GFAF has monthly roundtable discussions that Immersion Active sponsors. There is a Young Professionals Community (which I am too old to join;). I also attend the Baltimore PHP meetup monthly, which reminds me I need to talk to some Frederick peeps on creating a Frederick version of this.
We have two PHP development houses in Frederick (that I know of), Orases and Yakabod. I have spoken with people from both companies and they're great peeps! There are quite a few Design Shops in Frederick as well, all tightly knit and source each other out from time-to-time- again, all great peeps. Frederick is a great place for professionals of all stages and ages.
Yep! I love living in this little town. I just wish I actually worked in it! ;)