Maryland businesses earn US Chamber honors

Listen to this article

“Humbling.”

That’s what Dwayne Myers, CEO of Frederick County-based Dynamic Automotive, called the company being chosen as the 2025 CO—100 Top Honoree in the Enduring Businesses category by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Such a citation would prompt any leader to reflection, especially when it was earned in competition with approximately 12,500 other entrants. Dynamic was co-founded by mechanics Lee Forman and José Bueso in 1995, and “built on a promise,” said Myers, “to treat customers like family and employees like owners.”

That commitment to the community was the genesis of Dynamic growing from a two-bay garage to seven full-service locations across Frederick and Carroll counties, with expansion on the horizon.

Another company that was founded in Frederick, Rehab 2 Perform, was also cited by the U.S. Chamber’s CO―100, as Top Honoree in the Growth Accelerators category. In 11 years, Founder and CEO Dr. Josh Funk has built the company to 14 locations in the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia region, with three more slated to open in 2026.

From within

While the successes of Funk and Myers were earned during different stretches of time, they were the result of similar approaches.

“We make our business about the people,” said Myers, who joined Dynamic in 1997 and noted its growth to $12 million in annual revenues by “empowering our team through education, community involvement and trust. That has allowed us to scale while building our culture.”

The C-suite allows employees to make decisions “if no managers are on hand to assist,” he said. “We think micromanaging destroys a healthy culture, because it demonstrates a lack of trust.”

Having that trust from the C-level starts with education.

“We invest in public schools that offer apprenticeship programs, which we’ve found are the best way to proceed,” said Myers. “We also try to create a career path for all of our employees and support their efforts.”

And that, he said, “is lacking in the automotive industry, since employees usually leave one shop for another or start their own,” he said, “as Lee and Jose did.”

Dynamic’s numbers prove Myers’ point: the company employs about 60 workers and boasts an 89% retention rate.

“Also, about 90% of our apprentices stay with us,” he said, adding the company currently has five workers enrolled in a three-year program for technicians at the Frederick County Career & Tech Center. “They comprise about 20% of our employee base.”

Still, most employees join Dynamic after graduation from high school, “so we also hire from outside,” said Myers. “Many of these young people have gone to college, served in the military or both. And a few have started their own shops.”

Such a sizable operation also needs professionals in management, sales, parts, etc., so “we’re using some as area leaders,” he said, “to oversee those functions in multiple stores.”

‘Intre’-preneurship

Growth came much faster for Rehab 2 Perform, which is now based in Germantown. Funk said the company anticipates 2025 revenues “of $16 million,” with three new locations soon to be added: two more in Maryland locations, including “our first urban market” and the Upper Eastern Shore; and Fairfax County in Northern Virginia.

R2P opened its first brick-and-mortar location in late 2014 in Frederick. Germantown was added in 2016, which was its “most challenging location to open,” he said, due to “a lack of defined standard operating procedures.”

While the company was profitable during COVID-19, “the need to distance from other people led to a revamped marketing approach. We’d relied on workshops and in-person drop-ins,” said Funk, “but we switched on social media, digital advertising, direct mail, [etc.] and a holistic marketing ecosystem.”

Like Dynamic, he said R2P’s approach of integrating with its employee roster of 114 and the community, notably in the youth sports and first responder communities, is what spurred its growth.

“Our customer service and employee feedback gave us confidence to expand,” said Funk. “We have a more than 80% retention rate that’s due, in part, to listening to our employees, in person and via anonymous surveys. Our benefits stand out, too; while 401(k)s are low-hanging fruit, we also offer educational support with loans, profit sharing, career growth tracks, flexible schedules,” Funk added.

Funk said its R2P’s approach to “intre-preneurship” that leads to its employees investing in the company, adding that an Employee Stock Option Program could become part of the mix, too.

All told, that approach has paid off, as R2P has placed in the Inc. 5000 for the past six years, peaking at 1,398 in 2021; and earned multiple certifications from Great Places To Work.

Support for all

Jeannette Mulvey, managing editor of the CO (pronounced coh) newsletter for the U.S. Chamber, said either company “could have entered the competition in various categories” because of their all-encompassing approaches to culture, operations, employee retention, customer service and community involvement, and basically because “they work to make their customers friends.”

And speaking of involvement, Mulvey pointed out that not only did Myers start at Dynamic as an entry-level, minimum-wage employee, but he’s also a military veteran. “We liked that he learned all aspects of the business,” Mulvey said, “from the ground up.”

Rehab 2 Perform was selected in large part because of its rapid expansion that resulted from “its commitment to delivering high-quality physical therapy services, while expanding into a fast-growing business with multiple locations across the region,” she said, adding it has “experienced remarkable growth” and “exemplifies the potential of every small business, no matter how humble their beginning.”

To Funk, it’s all about creating a template for success.

“I’m a big believer that people and companies compete on processes,” he said. “My job is to ensure that our staff has the best support to take care of our patients and our community.”

That general thought was echoed by Myers, even with the ongoing technological evolution from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.

“There is constant change,” he said, “but that presents more opportunity. Thankfully, we have the resources to address the evolving market.” But for now, his staff “wants to expand,” he said.

“There are many opportunities across Maryland. Our company proves that a small business can invest in its people and scale successfully,” said Myers, “without losing the culture, service and values that set it apart.”