Month: September 2020

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Arriving for school in the morning looks somewhat different for St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School students these days. Each day they arrive by automobile with a parent, have their temperatures taken and masks checked while still in the vehicle, then enter the school through one of multiple entrances earmarked for their particular class.

Once in the classroom, they head for desks that are set the prescribed distance apart.

According to Head of School Jamey Hein, the guidelines and protocols for the 209 member student body of preschool through eighth grade children are strictly adhered to and teachers receive tremendous support.

“We maintain classrooms of no more than 14 students with proper social distancing,” Hein said. “We see a great deal of outdoor time for the various classes. In addition to regular recesses, each student is given a St. Martin’s towel which they bring outside with them to the shaded areas or pavilion where some classes take place.”

Outdoor games for small groups like one imaginatively named “Gaga Ball” give children a chance to stretch their legs. Resembling 4 square/dodgeball , the game is great for burning off excess energy.

Wide-open spaces on St. Martin’s Benfield Road campus allow plenty of room for socially distanced mask breaks.

Though aware that adjustments may be needed on the long road ahead, Hein is pleased that the plans drawn up by a task force of administrators, staff and medical consultants enabled the school to “hit the ground running so our children are learning in person again”.

Good weather or bad, St. Martin’s spacious new Learning Center (opened last December) allows room for adequately spaced classes and small-group lunches while the adjoining Parish Hall provides ample overflow room for activities.

Hein observed that the school has a slightly different look and feel this year due to an increase in the size of the student body by 50 students – a quarter of the previous student population.

“We’re told by parents that the enrollment of our new students is completely due to where the public schools are at this time,” he said

Hein said the teachers are doing really well, the children seem happy to be back, and their families are ecstatic. He believes watching the process unfold over the past couple weeks has given them all a growing confidence.

St. John the Evangelist Catholic School, like all schools of the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, opened for in-person learning the week before Labor Day. The preschool through eighth grade parish school at the corner of Ritchie Highway and Cypress Creek Road is once again abuzz with activity.

From learning basic skills to projects like a fifth-grade science lab exploring how pressure affects the viscosity of fluids, students were enjoying learning.

“It feels good to be back,” said Principal Casey Buckstaff. “Our families have the option for their children to interact through remote learning or to be here in person. So our staff and teachers have been working extraordinarily hard.”

Though the school has expanded through new construction in recent years, enrollment was limited to more or less its standard target numbers to insure that there would be enough space for proper social distancing.

“The teachers are doing such a wonderful job and they love being back,” Buckstaff said. “They certainly have risen to the challenge of teaching in two places at once – being on-camera teaching children at home while also teaching the children in front of them.”

Severn School opened the school year with a “hybrid model” that combines on-campus learning with remote learning for grades 2-12 according to communication specialists Nicole Anderson and Erin Lewis.

The goal is to have as many students on campus as possible and still meet mandated physical distancing restrictions. Severn’s carefully considered plan divides students into two groups where one will be on campus and the other will be at home engaging with their teacher and fellow classmates via technology.

A several page online Return To School Plan gave parents a large amount of detail about health and safety protocols, family support, in-person and remote learning models and classroom technology.

Preschool and first-graders at the Lower School’s Chesapeake Campus on Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Arnold will be accommodated on-campus as fully as possible.

Other Lower School, students, along with Middle School and Upper School students from the Severna Park campus at 201 Water Street, will be able to  attend school on campus for part of the week (2 or 3 days ) and will be able to attend classes remotely using technology on the remaining days.  Thus far, the plan is working well.

Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament a great success

Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber CEO Liz League couldn’t be more excited. The organization’s Driving Force For Business Golf Tournament on September 14 was a great success.

A major fundraiser, the event was held at Chartwell Golf and Country Club and was the first staged by the Chamber since COVID-19 caused the cancellation of most other events.

“Oh my gosh, the tournament was spectacular,” League said. “The weather was outstanding and we had 113 golfers. We also had thirty sponsors and were able to position many of them on the holes. There was great food and many give-aways and people just had a blast.”

She added that many sponsors were quite involved like Lean On Dee Senior Advocates who provided the hot dog tent.

There was so much space for everyone that there were no problem social distancing.

Tournament winners shone including First Place winnerTeam Conway from Garry’s Grill,
Second Place winner Team Wyble from The Matt Wyble Team of Century 21 New Millennium , and Third Place winner Team Cassilly from Cassilly Financial Group. The Putting Contest was won by Chris Schenick of Chick-fil-A.

A final piece of interesting news from League was that Landmark Roofing sponsored a “Pro Shot ” opportunity that raised $1,000 for the Severna Park Community Center.

A trio of churches combine to create Severna Park Youth Collective

Aware that their relatively small congregations were having difficulty attracting youth, Pastor Stephen Mitchell of Trinity Bible Church, Pastor Dave Brown of Severna Park Baptist Church and Pastor Brian Miller of Bay Life Church joined forces to create a new in-person weekly youth ministry.

Each meeting begins with a game or activity that everyone can participate in. Photo by Pastor Dave Brown

“We’d all been struggling with our youth ministries when Pastor Dave Brown approached us with this idea,” Pastor Mitchell said. “It’s a project we’ve never attempted before but we felt the time is right to try this approach.”

The concept of partnering together with other churches to be able to attract more middle school and high school students to a faith-based youth group occurred to Pastor Brown while considering Severna Park Baptist’s track record in attracting teens.

“We’ve had highs and lows with our numbers kind of like a roller coaster over the ten years I’ve been here,” he said. “Looking at how I could be more effective, I came up with the idea of partnering with two similar sized churches to make it more of a community effort.”

Severna Park Baptist and Trinity Bible Churches had worked together last year on a Grad Bag gift project for graduating seniors so coming together seemed natural. Bay Life Church recently had to relocate from Glen Burnie and is holding its worship services at Severna Park Baptists Church so they were a good fit Pastor Brown said.

“We alternate between the churches in hosting the weekly meetings,” Pastor Brown explained. “We meet Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 8 pm. Our purpose is to encourage youth in developing friendships and encouraging them in their Christian faith. We have activities, food, and a Bible lesson each week.”

All three ministers were pleased with the launch meeting on September 16. Drawing teens from each of the three churches, they ended up with a sizable group. With a socially distanced game to loosen everyone up, plenty of food, and a tent for a properly distanced Bible lesson, it was fun.

Hopefully, word will spread and other teens will join future meetings. For information, visit www.spbcmd.com

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

There couldn’t have been a more fitting day than September 11 for the dedication of the Gold Star Memorial & Heroes Monument at Hatton-Regester Green in Olde Severna Park.

Looking down on the ceremony from the Woods Church and Severna Park Community Center parking lots past a long line of police vehicles, latecomers were awed by the size of the crowd. Crossing B&A Boulevard, they were stirred by the sight of county and state police standing at attention saluting as singer Hannah Hall began the National Anthem and the American Legion color guard approached.

Flanked by American and Maryland State flags, Gold Star Memorial & Heroes Monument committee member Bob Bauman took the podium to introduce the guest speaker, retired colonel Mark E. Mitchell.

Marking the day as one of remembrance for the sacrifices of many following the day in 2001 when the War on Terrorism came to America’s shores, he related Mitchell’s background of service with the 5th Special Forces Group. The unit entered Afghanistan by helicopter, then traveled by horseback while working with the Northern Alliance. Mitchell led a fifteen-person special forces team of British and Americans to stop a prison uprising involving John Walker Lindh at Qala-i-Jangi. For his actions during the battle against 600 Taliban, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Subsequently serving in Iraq, he commanded the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula and later was Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict for the Department of Defense.

 “It’s my privilege to introduce Mark Mitchell to dedicate this Gold Star Family Memorial to commemorate our own fallen heroes” said Bauman. “I can’t think of anyone more worthy to do so. Please give a warm welcome to one of America’s finest….the decorated horse soldier himself, Colonel Mark Mitchell.”

Warmly applauded by the audience of law enforcement and military personnel, veterans, Gold Star families, American Legion members and local residents, Mitchell said he was humbled to be chosen to dedicate the memorial. He thanked the members of American Legion Post 175 and project sponsors for their determination to make the monument a reality.

Then he began an eloquent speech noting that he was honored to be with those gathered for the commemoration of that fateful day 19 years ago – to acknowledge and remember the victims of those attacks and to keep alive the memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice in service to our nation in the battles that followed.

“Today our focus is and must be on these men – PFC Eric Kavanaugh, Lance Corporal Eric Herzberg, Lance Corporal Taylor Wild, and Airman First Class Nathaniel McDavitt.,” he said. “I want to extend my humble gratitude to these men for the sacrifice they made and my sincere condolences to their families.”

Referencing his own pride in being a soldier, Mitchell emphasized that it takes a different kind of young person to volunteer to defend his or her country.

He acknowledged the mix of emotions of pain and pride the soldiers’ families must be feeling and expressed his gratitude to them. Then he moved to each memorial plaque and solemnly read the words inscribed thereon.

After reading the words on a central plaque dedicated to Gold Star Families and their sons who served in Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, he ended his speech as movingly as it began with the simple words, “We’ll never forget their sacrifice.”

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Following Mitchell’s touching address, Maryland State Delegate Brian Chisholm spoke on behalf of the memorial committee acknowledging and thanking the Severna Park businesses, Anne Arundel County political dignitaries, sponsors, committee members and American Legion members that made construction of the memorial possible.

The attractively designed and sturdily built gazebo – fitting tribute to the young men replaces an aging, original gazebo built when the Severna Park section of the B&A Trail was laid over the pre-existing Baltimore Annapolis Railroad tracks.

At the conclusion of the event, Chisholm invited attendees to step forward and visit the memorial and read the beautifully displayed plaques. He also invited attendees to a luncheon hosted by American Legion Post 175.

He noticed that much of the crowd gathered to chat with friends while examining the plaques. They remained there even as he stepped down to greet dignitaries including George Owings, III, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, Maryland State Delegates Sid Saab and Nicholaus R. Kipke and other dignitaries, business owners and committee members that supported the project.

For information or to make a donation, visit http://www.heroesofsevernapark.com/

A new business flowers on Severna Park streets

A very cheerful sight can be spotted these days across from The Big Bean on B&A Boulevard every Friday afternoon.

The Peaceful Petals Flower Truck is a joy to behold with flowers ranging from roses, hydrangeas, lilies, and lavender to vivid purple iris. Owner Megan Taylor and her “partner in crime” Suzanne Evans are doing very well with the budding business.

“I came up with the idea for the flower truck because I throw a lot of parties and have always loved to decorate,” Taylor said. “I began doing parties for friends and was kind of an an amateur event planner. But I work full-time so I didn’t want to do it professionally but as a labor of love.”

An inspired solution appeared in the form of a unique truck from Salt Lake City, Utah – the ideal portable retail platform.

Living in New York City before moving here, Taylor routinely purchased bouquets of fresh flowers from corner bodegas. She missed that convenience and was inspired to put “Petals to the metal” with the truck providing seasonal, locally-sourced fresh flowers to the people of Severna Park and surrounding Anne Arundel towns.

“We’d looked for a while, went to a bunch of auctions, and had our eyes set on this vintage 1958 VW transporter truck for all last year. We finally bought her in November and named her Josephine,” she said.

A friend from Image 360 created the floral scheme for the adorable truck as well as business cards, stickers, and other paraphernalia.

Not yet a year old, the business positively boomed as a flower delivery service from the onset of the COVOD-19 pandemic. They continue to do online sales at https://www.peacefulpetalsflowertruck.com/ but love bringing the flowers to the customer.

The truck attracts a lot of attention and they have lots of happy customers. After stopping to make a quick purchase, customer Tammi Molavi could be seen crossing the street with a Big Bean smoothie in one hand and a bouquet of lilies in the other.

Taylor and Evans park the truck in Severna Park each Friday, in front of a friend’s store called Details and Designs in Eastport on Saturdays, and next to a Blendabowl Food Truck on Ritchie Highway on Sundays. The schedule can be seen on their website.

In-season, they get much of their stock from local Maryland flower farms and out of season they work with wholesalers. Both women say they enjoy the camaraderie of selling flowers on the street.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Familiar faces about town, Treebranch Group, LLC partners Jennifer Triplett and Denise Hightower can be spotted at many community events. Partner Nelsa Nichols completes the talented trio that transformed their IT, website and marketing business from a small operation to one serving 90 clients.

Treebranch Group provides independent businesses the creative marketing services they need to grow as well as web site hosting, development and design, eCommerce solutions and virtual event support.

The expanding company recently moved into new, larger offices at 8375 Jumper’s Hole Road in Millersville. Added studio space for photographic and video equipment and training is enabling them to work more efficiently. That wasn’t always the case.

Triplett, the founding partner, president and creative director, recalls running the firm from her basement in its earliest years.

“When my children were born, I left my corporate position of many years,” she said. “However, I’d enjoyed the work and using my creative skills so I didn’t want to leave it behind entirely. In 2011, I began working on something for St. Martin’s-in-the-Field School and started the company which I initially called TreebranchDesign.”

Triplett is ideally suited for the work. Her background includes degrees in commercial and advertising design as well as environmental science.

She soon began popping up at community events including a volunteer thank-you brunch hosted by SPAN, Inc., an early client. She simultaneously joined The Greater Severna Park Chamber of Commerce, supported their many events, and became involved with various committees.

Over the next couple years, Triplett increased her client base and moved into actual offices. By 2014, Treebranch was further expanding its horizons through clients like the Annapolis Film Festival. .She served on the PR committee led by the late Carolyn Sullivan and the Social Media and Web teams. During the event, she provided professional photography and video for broadcasting. She continues to support the film festival.

By 2018, Triplett took on two partners – Hightower, who’d worked with her in the business almost from the beginning, and Nichols who happens to be her mother.

Hightower’s outgoing personality in combination with a Management Information Systems degree and 23 years in the IT world made her a perfect fit as Web services director.

Like Triplett, Hightower has been part of the Annapolis Film Festival PR and Social Media Teams and co-leader of the Website Team.

Nichols handles marketing communications coaching. She served as marketing director for Hiac Royco, a division of Pacific Scientific, for over 20 years. Her responsibilities there ranged from producing national magazine ads and international newsletters to trade show management, web site development and support and writing patent specifications. 

At the same time, she was a graduate advisor in the Computer Science Department of the University of Maryland where she participated in beta testing programs for the products that became the Mac and first IBM personal computers. 

The staff at Treebranch Group is rounded out by graphic designer Ali George and Spanish translation consultant Paulina Aguilar Snow.

Considering themselves equal parts techies/creatives, the partners work with or support community organizations and various local charities. They do platform design, video production, Spanish translation services and production support for the Maryland State Child Care Association’s Conference By the Sea 2020 for 800 attendees on September 24 – 27.

Triplett has recently devoted time to several chamber of commerce programs.

Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber CEO Liz League said Triplett is currently co-chairing a committee for the organization’s online program “Learn and Lead”.

The next program, “Learn and Lead with Todd Popham -Getting Things Done and Becoming a Productive Leader”, is next Tuesday, September 15 at 7:45 am. You do not need to be a member of the Chamber to attend and it is through Zoom  https://web.gspacc.com/events/Learnand%20Lead%20%20Getting%20Things%20Done%20Becoming%20a%20Productive%20Leader-326/register .

“Jenn and her co-chairman Todd worked very hard to put the program together,” League said. “When COVID first started they were doing it weekly and did a great job helping people learn how to work in cyberspace and keep their businesses functioning.”

Triplett also volunteers for a new organization – the Life of Joy Foundation which is dedicated to promoting mental health and preventing adult suicides. She’s providing support with virtual event production for the organization’s upcoming livestream concert-fundraiser.

To learn more about Treebranch Group, visit https://treebranchgroup.com/.

Fall Learn to Ride Classes begin at Pedal Power Kids

Pedal Power Kids owner Rachel Varn said safe, socially-distanced small group Learn to Ride classes and Bike Clubs for the autumn season will start Monday, September 14 in Annapolis and Severna Park.

Varn noted that Pedal Power Kids kept lessons going throughout spring and summer as a safe activity. Classes are small and the children are out in the open air and distant from one another.

Bicycle riding is not only fun but is a very healthy form of exercise for children during a time when options for physical activity have been limited. For information or to register your child, visit https://pedalpowerkids.com/ .

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN By Sharon Lee Tegler

This year has been devastating for businesses nationally and locally due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a multitude of restrictions stemming from it. But, as in any crisis where commerce suffers widely, there are some businesses that manage to be successful or even thrive.

With the local real estate market “red hot”, signs like realtor Deborah Laggini’s are popping up across the state. Laggini, an agent for Long & Foster Christie’s International Real Estate through Annapolis Fine Homes, focuses on a circle of properties ranging from Annapolis and Arnold to Severna Park, Millersville, Crownsville, Gambrills, Davidsonville, Edgewater and Riva.

“Housing sales picked up tremendously starting at the end of June and beginning of July,” Laggini said. “The first few months of COVID, we didn’t seem to know what to expect or how to move forward. Things were slow because sellers that didn’t have to sell were reluctant to show their properties for fear of exposure to the virus.”

She explained that local agents pulled together through multiple networking groups and Zoom meetings to come up with a COVID protocol that the governor would approve and would keep everyone safe.

“Once we figured that out buyers really came out of the woodwork,” the realtor said. “The combination of an already existing low inventory of homes that became even lower and low interest rates caused the demand for sale properties to explode in July. Buyers were literally waiting at the gate for anything nice that came on the market with multiple offers. Offers going above list price became the norm..”

Business continued to boom through July and August into September but Laggini isn’t certain whether it will last.

The Matt Wyble Team of Century 21 New Millennium based in Millersville is also experiencing explosive sales. The company serves Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Queen Anne’s, Prince George’s, Montgomery and Washington Counties.

President Matt Wyble said the combination of historically low interest rates, historically low inventory, and the fact that the Maryland market never closed (like other states) has fueled the residential real estate market to power through any negative effects of COVID-19.

“Many sellers who are priced correctly for their home’s condition are receiving multiple offers and using the proceeds to move-up or right-size. Even though the market is highly competitive for buyers, the good news is that their buying power is up roughly 12% from last year due to the low interest rates,” he said.

“We surpassed 2019 totals for sales and volume as of Sept 1. With no signs of the rates going up and inventory staying low, I see the hot market lasting well into the fall and possibly into an early spring market.”

Clement Hardware continued serving the public throughout the pandemic

From day one of the COVID-19 pandemic, Clement Hardware owner Gordon Clement was determined to keep his Severna Park store open as a place to buy household essentials and personal protective equipment.

Deeply involved with Severna Park customers through the family business opened by his father David in 1969, Clement felt he should keep the store open as a service to the public.

“I think staying open was good for our customers and good for us,” he said. “It kept our people working. At the beginning, given a choice, 45 percent said they didn’t want to work through the virus. But, after three weeks, they wanted to come back to work.”

According to Clement, the store remains extremely busy but not like in the earliest days of the pandemic when they were one of few retailers open.

“For the first three months, the store was so busy I don’t see how we could sustain it. I’ve never seen anything like it. We generally do well through hurricanes, snow storms, ice storms or wind storms but this seemed like a snow storm that never ended,” he said.

Essentials like toilet tissue, paper towels and masks and hand sanitizers flew off the shelves but people were also coming in for tools, paint and hardware for home improvement projects.

The pandemic nor only brought people back to the store, there were lots of new faces. Traffic counts were really good which is important since the last few years were challenging with Amazon and online sellers hurting retail.

“The three months of heavy sales not only sustained our business but provided a cushion for months when sales are slower,” Clement said.

Like other retailers, Clement Hardware sold completely out of many things and is having difficulty reordering and getting shipments due to supply chain problems. Otherwise, Clement and staff expect the usual seasonal slowdowns unless there are rain or snowstorms.

M&T Bank met challenges to thrive while helping others

Like all other M&T Bank branches in the Baltimore/Washington region, the drive-in window and ATM at the Severna Park branch remained open throughout the COVID-19 shutdown. Customers didn’t seem to mind waiting in line. They were able to make appointments to meet with a banker inside the branch if they needed to to discuss loans or other business.

According to M&T senior public relations manager, Scott Graham, the branches adapted well to handing a heightened load of customer transactions.

Graham added that, in the Baltimore-Washington region, M&T Bank approved 9,862 loans that provided nearly $1.75 billion in funds to help businesses cover payroll expenses for three months. … Those loans supported 191,006 jobs.

In addition, the bank approved more than 35,000 payroll protection program loans (more than any other bank Graham says) for upwards of $7 billion. Those loans supported about 756,500 jobs throughout the mid-Atlantic region. M&T also is the region’s leading SBA lender.

Obviously, foot traffic inside all the branches went down during the shutdown. But the corresponding move by customers was to do more of their banking with M&T online.

“While we anticipate branch traffic to rebound to pre-shutdown levels – and in some cases it already has – we also expect customers to continue to do more banking digitally,” said Graham.

He added that M&T is back to business as usual. An appointment is no longer necessary to visit one of the branches. But safety precautions like Plexiglas barriers between tellers and customers are still in place. Customers also are still required to wear a mask inside the branch.

M&T’s mortgage business was doing very well through the first half of the year, mainly because of refinancing. The booming real estate market can only bode well.

Severna Park Automotive increasingly busy

Severna Park Automotive, like Clement Hardware, is considered an essential business and was open and on-call from the moment the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“At first, things were very slow as everyone was home-bound and we were only doing emergency calls or essential repairs through April,” said owner Mike McNealey. “By adapting and offering free pick-up and delivery without the customer needing to leave the house and thorough sanitizing of the vehicle, we were able to maintain some sort of work flow. We reduced our employees’ hours but were able to keep them working.”

McNealey said, by mid-May and early June when things loosened up and people were going out, there was an absolute tsunami of car repairs. A lot of cars that had been sitting for a month wouldn’t start. Then there were folks that put off maintenance or repairs they’d have otherwise done.

“Everybody seemed to come in at the same time,” McNealey said. “We’re still very busy.”

Severna Park Automotive’s owner has a sense the people really want things to go back to normal so he doesn’t expect a downturn. However, business sometimes slows down as kids go back to school, Of course, going back to school has a different meaning this year so the staff doesn’t know what to expect.