Month: April 2022

Parking was at a premium in front of the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce building Tuesday afternoon. A special ribbon cutting was being held to celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of Kelly Cornwell’s Dream Vacations. The business’ original opening took place in February of 2020 just before the COVID pandemic brought the entire travel industry to a halt.

Cornwell found it both heartwarming and encouraging to see so many chamber members gathered to help her celebrate the relaunch of Dream Vacations.

No one was more surprised by the great turnout in the chamber building at 1 Holly Avenue than Cornwell herself. She’d donned her company’s new Live Your Dream T-shirt in honor of the occasion and then wondered if anyone else would attend aside from her daughters Siobhan and Eva and her son Maurice.

Looking around the room, she discovered the familiar faces of chamber members she’d met at previous events – members aware of the challenges Cornwell faced as a result of COVID restrictions who had been rooting for her.

She was astonished when League introduced her and they all stood, applauded and offered words of welcome.

Those chamber members were from a diverse range of small businesses and included, among others, Mark Belzer from First Financial Residential Loans, Jean Andrews from Long & Foster Real Estate, Jay Wenhold from Green Home Solutions, Laura Colquhoun from Macaroni Kid Pasadena , Christine Richardson from WLC Home Solutions, Danielle Ortiz from Cascades of Wellness , and Dawn Edgerton-Cameron from Edward Jones Investments.

Corwell first thanked everyone for coming. Then, asked by League how Dream Vacations came about, she explained.

“I have always loved to travel,” she said. “I was working at a job that wasn’t the best when my husband Maurice asked, ‘Kelly, why don’t you do something for yourself?”

She immediately replied that she didn’t know if she’d want to do that. But then her thoroughly unfulfilling job grew worse.

“I decided maybe I did want to do that. That’s when I discovered Dream Vacations online and fell in love with it,” she said.”

Dream Vacations is a franchise operation, however. At the time, Cornwell didn’t have the money to acquire a franchise but she really wanted one. As a person of faith, she asked the Lord for help. That very week, a belated inheritance from her father who’d passed away years earlier arrived in the form of a check for almost the exact amount of money she needed.

“I said a grateful ‘Thank you’ and bought my Dream Vacation franchise in September of 2019, started attracting clients, and left my job in February of 2020. Then the pandemic happened, and things were really rough. But I was never discouraged even when travel agents were saying they were going to quit because I knew that, if I’d gotten this far, it was supposed to happen and was going to get better.”

In answer to League’s inquiry whether she handled any trips during the most restrictive times of the pandemic or even when things improved, Cornwell replied that she booked and booked and booked but then cancelled, cancelled, cancelled.

In addition to the fact that she and her husband travelled in 2020, she did have two other people who booked trips with her that year.

Cornwell has been very thankful to see all forms of travel opening up from air travel to cruises and things getting back to normal. Her favorite place to visit at the moment is Puerto Rico but she’s traveled to so many places that she’s expert at arranging trips that suit her clients to a tee. She’s also a Certified Travel Advocate for people with health or mobility issues who can supply everything from wheelchairs or oxygen for people who need them to baby food.

“We’ll do everything for you but pack,” she says with a smile.

As happens at most ribbon cuttings, a number of political representatives were in attendance with citations to present Cornwell as a new but thriving member of the business community. Among them were Anne Arundel County Council Member Amanda Fiedler who praised her for her resiliency and determination and Maryland State Delegate Heather Bagnall who congratulated her for her long-awaited reopening and for making travelers’ vacation dreams come true.

Near the end of the event, there was a mad scramble, as attendees gathered in the center of the room for the ribbon cutting. Following the dramatic countdown and Kelly Cornwell’s quick snip of the ribbon, well-wishers crowded around her to offer congratulations.

For information on Kelly Cornwell’s Dream Vacations, visit Kelly Cornwell, Dream Vacations | Facebook.

New owners for Park Home

Tuesday afternoon’s sunny weather brought lots of customers through the door at Park Home which was wonderful for the shop’s new owners Brittany and Ted Meade. The couple had been working on the store for about a month after buying the business from former owners Scott and Heather Summers and opened their doors just two weeks ago.

Brittany, who brings an interior design background to the shop, was off on a buying trip but Ted was clearly enjoying helping the customers. He explained that he and Brittany have kept the coastal look for which Park Home has been known but added their own twist by adopting a nautical theme.

With more inventory still on the way, the shop’s furniture, artwork and accessories already exhibit that nautical flair.

The Meades really like their Park Home location at 568 Ritchie Highway in Park Plaza. Both are looking forward to the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber’s SHOP LOCAL Fun Fiesta on May 7th in which they’ll be participating. For more information on the shop, visit Park Home – Beautiful Furnishings for Beautiful Homes (parkhomestyle.com) .

Macaroni Kid Pasadena Family Fun Fest

Laura Colquhoun has been busy giving out flyers for the Macaroni Kid Pasadena Family Fun Fest being held May 15 at Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Arnold. The Family Fun Fest will take place from 1 to 4 pm and will feature games, giveaways, door prizes, face painting, balloon twisting and the famous Jing Ying Lion Dance among other things. For information, visit Events & Activities for Kids and Families, Pasadena, CA, Things to Do | Macaroni KID Pasadena .

Judging from the overflow of Easter boxes surrounding Michele Sabean on the floor of her office at SPAN, Inc. headquarters at 400 Benfield Road, the Easter Bunny was one busy hare.

“Actually, we’ve had 100 ‘bunnies’ in the form of generous donors providing Easter dinners for 100 families served by SPAN,” Sabean said. “Each box or bag contains the makings for a nice dinner and a gift card for perishables like a ham along with chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Easter peeps or other treats for children. Some boxes also contain useful items like diapers that are always in high demand.”

Sabean, SPAN’s Director of Development, and Maia Grabau, the Director of Operations, spent the past two weeks shifting bags and boxes from table to floor as more and more donations poured in. By Monday, they’d become even busier as families began stopping by to pick up their Easter boxes.

According to Sabean, the Easter dinner initiative is a lesser-known part of SPAN’s Holiday Caring Program that is supported primarily by the congregations of Our Lady of the Fields Roman Catholic Church for the dinner boxes and St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal Church for Easter baskets. There were other donors, however. Some were former clients “giving back for the help they received by helping others”.

Looking beyond Easter, both Sabean and Grabau are excited by upcoming programs and events. In fact, they are currently looking for volunteers to help with the relaunch of the annual Turkey Trot 5K at Kinder Farm Park in November following an absence of two years due to COVID 19. The annual fundraiser – SPAN’s biggest – is not only coming back on Saturday, November 5 but will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary.

The race around the park’s 2.8 mile paved perimeter trail is very popular with runners from around the county. There is also a 1-mile walk around a special loop better suited to families with children. Having the course loop back to the starting point means kids who move at different speeds can’t really get lost.

“The 5K is great as a fundraiser since SPAN collects registration fees from the competitors and also receives sponsorships from local businesses,” Sabean said.

Spectators are encouraged to cheer the competitors on from multiple points along the course or at the finish line. After the race, there are sponsors’ tables to visit and refreshments to sample.

Anyone wishing to volunteer for the Turkey Trot 5K can visit the website at SPAN Serving People Across Neighborhoods (spanhelps.org) or by contacting the office at 410-647-0889.

Almost back to its normal schedule, SPAN, Inc. already has a loyal group of volunteers to help with other programs and events. They’ll have a booth at The Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber’s May 7th SHOP LOCAL Fun Fiesta on May 7. On July 4th, they’ll march in the Severna Park Independence Day Parade with their shopping carts.

On September 10th, SPAN will present a cabaret benefit concert featuring a return performance by popular vocalist Laurette Hankins-O’Connell at Boone Station Hall. In October, SPAN will have a booth at the chamber’s SHOPTOBERFEST and, of course, will be staging the Turkey Trot 5K in November. By then, SPAN will already have kicked off its Holiday Caring Programs for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The contributions of donors for the Holiday Caring Programs take on added importance this year. Not unexpectedly, Grabau and Sabean have noticed that the number of clients asking for financial assistance or help from SPAN’s food pantry has risen as inflation has soared.

According to Sabean, a client who came in earlier mentioned that her family was happy if they could manage the cost of the bare necessities, but she was asking for toilet tissue and toiletries, paper towels, and other necessities that are hard to afford.

She and Grabau are crossing their fingers that inflation doesn’t hamper the ability of their donors to contribute to SPAN and its food pantry. Funds are particularly needed to help with client evictions and medical and utility bills.

Follow SPAN on Facebook for the latest news at SPAN, Inc. | Facebook.

A job well-done for the Easter Bunny at Lisa’s Cakepops

A sigh of relief was heard from the Lisa’s Cakepops bunnies (aka Lisa, her husband Glen and their staff) as the last of 14,000 bunny, chick and egg cakepops were shipped off. Founder and owner Lisa Edelman Schneiderman has seen her business boom over the last few years both locally and nationally. The company was simultaneously marketing Easter Cakepop Decorating Kits that are a hit with children.

From the moment she opened Lisa’s Cakepops, Schneiderman had great success with the custom-made pops she’s specializes in. Thanks to the amazing creativity of Lisa, Glen and staff, ecommerce sales for their customized pops (which began in 2017) were doing very well. That’s before the Schneidermans began working closely with two Maryland-based catalogue companies with national distribution.

In spite of the recent Easter rush, Lisa commented that she and Glen were feeling somewhat refreshed.

“We never take any time off but after the heaviest Christmas and Easter seasons we’ve experienced, we were at the end of our ropes,” Lisa said. “We took a couple weeks off and had time to enjoy ourselves and think about things. And now I’m feeling excited and looking forward to spring with its graduations and weddings. I’m also pleased that we’re now creating pops featuring company logos. We’re doing tons of them. ”

Glen, who emerged from the kitchen, was working with a staff member on several different varieties of cakepops that would fill the top shelves of the showcase. He, too, was happy to be back to work.

For information on Lisa’s Cakepops or to place an order, visit Lisa’s Cakepops (lisascakepops.com).

AAUW hosts Maryland branches in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Title IX

The Anne Arundel County Branch of the American Association of University Women recently held a statewide convention at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Annapolis. AAUW members from nine branches around the state attended. The event celebrated the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

Title IX is the law that ensures that all education programs and activities receiving federal funding must protect students and employees from sex-based discrimination.

Speakers included two-time Olympiad Nancy Hogshead-Makar and Title IX expert Sara Colina, a professor at Georgetown University. Afterward, attendees toured the State House and dined at Latitude 38.

For information on the Anne Arundel County branch of the American Association of University Women, visit AAUW Anne Arundel County (MD) Branch.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

The moment you walk through the door of the Partners In Care Maryland Boutique at 8151-C Ritchie Highway, you’re aware of that warm, familiar feeling you’ve experienced since the organization opened it in 2007. With the exception of the period when retailers were closed because of COVID, the upscale retail boutique (PIC’s primary fundraiser) has drawn a steadily growing clientele.

Staffed by volunteers, the boutique is a busy, happy workplace. From manager Paul Loomis at the counter who had a friendly word for everyone, to volunteers on the floor like June Sumner who was helping customers, it was clear they loved what they were doing.

Sumner, a Severn resident, has been a volunteer for three-and-a-half years. She takes special pleasure in talking with customers about vignettes like the one below which are cleverly staged by a group of talented volunteers who’ve been humorously referred to as “the designing women”.

Much of the important work involved in getting donated items ready for display takes place behind the scenes. One group of volunteers was accepting donations being dropped off behind the building, sorting them out, and then delivering them to other volunteers in the pricing room who cleaned and valued the items.

Dotty Cappi, who lives nearby and has been a volunteer for more than a year, was having a fun time working with two colleagues who greatly enjoy each other’s company. Cappi was busy pricing a stack of China plates, a lamp, and, of all things, a pair of boxing gloves. To her right were pages of price stickers and a book she occasionally relied on to determine the value of patterns, brands or categories of merchandise she was unfamiliar with.

Opposite her, Vera Herath was polishing and pricing different objects using an assortment of cleaning solutions to make them shine. Behind the Arnold resident, a rack of bridal gowns was being readied for display in the near future. Another rack held casual wear suitable for spring. Herath also volunteers with Partners In Care as a driver providing much appreciated transportation for seniors to medical appointments or shopping.

A few moments later, Cappi and Herath were joined by Patti Barker, the third member of the pricing trio who joked that she is the one who “cracks the whip”.

Barker, a Pasadena resident, has been a volunteer for less than a year. Formerly employed by an auction house, she has past experience to draw on. She sometimes works out front at the jewelry counter or helps bag purchases when check-out lines are long. On this occasion, she happily joined the others in getting some Easter items ready for the floor.

Not only was the boutique busy but so were the adjoining offices where the team of people who are the backbone of Partners In Care Maryland were meeting to discuss plans going forward. They included Executive Director Mandy Arnold, Deputy Director Michael Jette, Member Care Director Sharon Zentgraf, Volunteer Coordinator April Stup and Communications Specialist Derek Roper.

Arnold started things off with an accounting of just how much progress PIC has made in restoring its many programs to capacity now that pandemic restrictions are lifted.

“Though we had to tone operations down during the past couple years, we were nevertheless able to institute some new programs,” she said. “Spurred by the effects of the pandemic, we were able to obtain a grant from the State of Maryland’s Department of Aging to purchase 125 tablets and start a Tablet Program for vulnerable seniors. We offered one-on-one training to the seniors who were then able to keep the tablets. The program helped in multiple ways. It helped reduce social isolation since they were able to communicate with family and friends, explore social media networks, schedule tele-health visits, or do online grocery shopping. The program had a wonderful impact.”

She added that, as a result, PIC was able to get an additional grant to start a Tablet Program for 60 seniors served by their Frederick, Maryland branch.

PIC received another important grant from the Goula Foundation for a program educating seniors about cybersecurity. Offered in different locations and free to the general public, the program is meant to educate older area residents about internet theft and fraud.

Jette gives the program high marks because it gives seniors ways to protect themselves online, removing some of their fear of navigating cyberspace.

Since its founding in Severna Park in 1993 by Barbara Huston, Sandra Jackson and Maureen Caviola, Partners In Care has steadily grown from a small group of volunteers to an organization with thousands of members. Jette noted that Partners In Care Maryland now has branches in five counties.

“PIC has two main branches, this one in Anne Arundel County and the Frederick branch. In addition to offering our cost-free time/service exchange programs like Member Care, Repairs with Care, and Ride Partners that are designed to help seniors remain healthy, active and independent, Frederick now has its own boutique, ” Jette said. “We’re also on the Eastern Shore in Talbot and Caroline Counties and Hagerstown as part of a Community For Life program. We hope to further expand to Montgomery County. We’re now able to offer some fee-based services for those unable to volunteer.”

As the creator of Partners In Care’s Veterans Helping Veterans program which pairs volunteers who are veterans with veterans in need of help, Sharon Zentgraf is thrilled that the effort is again gaining momentum.

“We’ve recently partnered with the American Legion of Anne Arundel County – a wonderful match for us. Last Tuesday we coordinated with them in holding Welcome Home gatherings for Vietnam veterans at three different locations,” she said. “We hope some of their members will join us in serving the approximately 60,000 veterans in this community.”

April Stup, who is likely to pop up anywhere in the community, said she has been out talking to anyone who will listen to her because, in order to make Partners In Care work, the non-profit needs volunteers. She added that she’ll have a table at the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber’s Spring Shop Local Fun Fiesta on May 7th and will probably have a volunteer or two with her so everyone is invited to stop by.

When not out and about, Stup can usually be found on the floor of the boutique or in the back checking on her volunteers or the merchandise. She sometimes helps customers including a gentleman she met Tuesday afternoon who was color blind and asked if the piece of pottery he held had a purple tag. Tuesday was Purple Tag Day when every object bearing a purple tag was offered at 75% off.

Stup is delighted by the way those who stage items that are homemade by PIC volunteers are able to display them artfully. As proof positive that anyone can be a volunteer, she showed off one of the delicate handbags made by a volunteer who is blind. The lady has made them for all five Partners In Care branches.

Stup is particularly enamored of the stagers’ creativity in highlighting certain items in those great vignettes which she’s convinced lead to increased sales.

“If some of the objects were just sitting on a shelf, people wouldn’t notice them but, in a vignette, they look amazing,” she said.

As Communications Specialist, Derek Roper keeps the public informed about the latest programs and events. But he also fills in elsewhere when needed. Roper stressed that it’s easy to follow the activities of Partners In Care or to make a donation or volunteer by visiting them at Home – Partners In Care Maryland or on Facebook at Partners In Care Boutique | Facebook.