20070418 April 18, 2007 Westminster Road Runners Club Westminster, Maryland Main Street Mile.

April 18, 2007 Westminster Road Runners Club Westminster, Maryland Main Street Mile.

By Kevin Dayhoff April 19, 2007 www.kevindayhoff.net

Posted March 23, 2008

I had all but finished the video below, about the April 18^th, 2007 Main Street Mile, some time ago… In the video please notice the quintessential Dave Herlocker moving the race finishers along at the finish line…

Other posts which mention Dr. David Herlocker may be found here: Westminster Road Runners Club or westminster road runners club

His obituary can be found here: 19401030 20080321 David Webb Herlocker

20070418 Westminster Maryland Main Street Mile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16U48TUjSB8

Video Storyboard:

Dave Herlocker and Caroline Babylon keep the finish line moving at the annual Westminster, Maryland Main Street Mile on April 18, 2007. That’s Dave on the left in the blue pants, yellow shirt and green sleeves.

Carroll County Times photographer, Kyle Nosal, runs to get a photo…

Carrie Ann Knauer, Carroll County Times Staff Writer, covering the event…

Her article: “Road runners” appeared in the Thursday, April 19, 2007 edition of the Carroll County Times…

Westminster Police officer Tony Ott (gray shirt - center) kept everything moving smoothly throughout the event…

Kenny Carlisle (L) and Tony Ott

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff http://www.livejournal.com/

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.” Tennessee Williams

_____

Other posts which mention Dr. David Herlocker may be found here: For other posts on running or the Westminster Road Runners Club please click on: Sports Running or Westminster Road Runners Club or Westminster Sidewalks and Trails or westminster road runners club or westminster sidewalks and trails. or westminster annual main street mile or sports running or dave herlocker. The Westminster Road Runners Club web site is here: http://www.carr.org/%7Ewrrc/

Co. looks into sales scenarios By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

Co. looks into sales scenarios By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

Friday, January 04, 2008

Business retains investment banks to explore options

Landmark Communications Inc., parent of the Carroll County Times and The Weather Channel, announced Thursday to its employees that it has hired national investment firms to explore selling the divisions of the company.

Frank Batten Jr., Landmark chief executive and chairman, sent out a memo Thursday to company employees announcing that the company has retained investment banks J.P. Morgan and Lehman Brothers “to explore strategic alternatives, including the possible sale of Landmark businesses.”

Pat Richardson, publisher of the Carroll County Times, told employees Thursday that she learned of the company’s decision Wednesday. An 18-year Landmark employee who served several years on the company’s newspaper acquisition team, Richardson said Landmark’s properties are prized assets that are likely to attract attention of other media organizations.

“There’s been a lot of consolidation of the media; we see it every day,” Richardson said. “We are still the local paper for Carroll County, and that’s not going to change, no matter who owns us.”

[…]

Other Landmark newspapers in Maryland include the Community Times, The Advocate weekly papers, Homes magazines and the recently purchased Capital Gazette Communications publications, including The (Annapolis) Capital, The Bowie Blade-News, The Crofton News-Crier, Waterfront Living Magazine, The Maryland Gazette, The West County Gazette and The South County Gazette.

The Virginian-Pilot contributed to this report.

Read Ms. Knauer’s entire article here: Co. looks into sales scenarios

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/01/04/news/local_news/newstory3.txt

20080104 Company looks into sales scenarios by Carrie Ann Knauer

20070912 Breakfast casseroles great way to start the day by C A Knauer

Breakfast casseroles great way to start the day

By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Yet another excellent article by Carroll County’s own Rachael Ray, but as I am sure that Ms. Knauer is aware, the best way to start one’s day is with a breakfast that includes grits. Perhaps we may look forward to an article in the future with some grits recipes? No Grits No Glory. See: Food Grits, Knauer watch,

Breakfast casseroles are quite plentiful on the Internet, and why not - it's great to be able to throw all your ingredients in one pan, bake, and have all your foods and flavors meddled together when you eat.

Our first casserole recipe today comes from Rosemarie Felton of Taneytown, with a recipe with sausage and crescent rolls that she said her children love. The second is for a kielbasa and potato dish that I found at www.razzle dazzlerecipes.com, which had a ton of breakfast casserole recipes available.

There are still two more weeks, send your breakfast recipes in now.

Brunch casserole

[…]

Calling all Cooks

Select your favorite recipes now to share with our readers.

To submit a recipe, please e-mail it to Carrie Ann Knauer at carrie.knauer AT carrollcountytimes.com; or mail it to Carroll Kitchens, c/o Carrie Ann Knauer, 201 Railroad Ave., Westminster, MD 21157. Please include your name, phone number, address, e-mail address and best time to be reached with your recipe so we can contact you.

Now accepting recipes for:

September: Breakfast

####

20070912 Carroll County EAC votes to promote recycling by Carrie Ann Knauer

EAC votes to promote recycling

By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council, charged with the task of reviewing solid waste management strategies, has started drafting a new framework of managing waste and a plan that does not include a waste-to-energy incinerator.

After months of listening to presentations on different solid waste management system alternatives, members of the EAC started discussing concrete recommendations to make to the Carroll County Board of Commissioners at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The six members of the nine-member board who were present voted unanimously to recommend the commissioners adopt a paradigm shift in the county from the old style of “solid waste management” to a new method of “resource management,” which emphasized waste reduction, reuse and recycling at the household and business level, before materials end up in the county’s hands.

A separate motion was passed to make recycling the driving element of the county’s resource management strategy by setting up a system that allows the county to manage the waste stream by increasing funds for public education of recycling efforts and by phasing in mandatory recycling of specific commodities.

Read the rest here: EAC votes to promote recycling

For other recent articles by Carrie Ann Knauer with the Carroll County Times, or click on Knauer watch.

For more information on Waste Management and Waste to Energy issues please click on: Environmentalism Solid Waste Management; Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Waste to Energy; or… Energy Independence or Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Recycling or the label, Environmentalism.

Report DEAD LINKS

20070827 A dream come true: Feather Fund helps girl purchase the pony she has always wanted By Carrie Ann Knauer, Carroll County Times Staff Writer

20070827 A dream come true: Feather Fund helps girl purchase the pony she has always wanted By Carrie Ann Knauer, Carroll County Times Staff Writer

Carroll County Times

A dream come true: Feather Fund helps girl purchase the pony she has always wanted

By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer
Monday, August 27, 2007

Skylar Hull, 9, pets her Chincoteague pony, Nevaeh’s Precious Angel, given to her by the Feather Fund, at her Manchester home Thursday.

Skylar Hull wrote in her Feather Fund application essay that she has wanted a pony since she was 5 years old.

“Every time I had a birthday, I’d ask ‘Is there a pony in the pasture for me?’ ” said the 9-year-old Manchester resident.

Skylar’s dreams came true this month when a local charity, the Feather Fund, helped her purchase a Chincoteague pony.

Each year, the Feather Fund receives about a dozen applications from children who want a Chincoteague pony, said Lois Szymanski, a member of the board of directors. The organization sees distributing the ponies as a way for children to learn responsibility, care and respect, as well as teaching the concept of “giving back” that was embodied by Carollynn Suplee, who inspired the creation of the organization.

The applications are evaluated by the board of directors. They are looking for children who can’t afford to buy a pony by themselves and for evidence of a strong work ethic.

Skylar was chosen for her efforts to raise money on her own, and for her passion for wanting a pony, Szymanski said.

“She eats, sleeps and dreams ponies,” she said.

Skylar’s mother Barbara Hull said her daughter had always loved ponies, but when she started helping their neighbor muck out horse stalls and clean their hooves, she and her husband realized it was more than a fleeting interest.

[…]

Read the entire article here: A dream come true: Feather Fund helps girl purchase the pony she has always wanted


Reach staff writer Carrie Ann Knauer at 410-857-7874 or carrie.knauer@carrollcountytimes.com.

HISTORY OF THE CHINCOTEAGUE PONIES

The legend is that these ponies swam ashore from a Spanish vessel that had capsized off the coast, around the year 1600. Once on the islands, they became stunted under the harsh environment. To keep from starving, they ate coarse saltmarsh cordgrass, American beachgrass, thorny greenbrier stems, bayberry twigs, seaweed and even poison ivy. The horses bred down to the unique breed known today as the Chincoteague Pony.

There are two groups of these ponies descended from the original Arabian horses that survived the legendary shipwreck.

The Virginia Herd consists of approximately 130 ponies and is owned by the Chincoteague volunteer fire department. The ponies graze in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, located on the Virginia portion of Assateague Island.

The Maryland Herd consists of approximately 140 ponies and is owned by the Maryland Park Service.

The famous annual “Pony Round-up” and “Pony Swim” is held each year during the month of July. The Chincoteague Volunteer Firemen herd the ponies off their island at slack tide, through the seawater channel to Virginia. On the last Wednesday of every July, the ponies are gathered for the sale the next day.

Source: The National Chincoteague Pony Association

THE FEATHER FUND

The Feather Fund was created in 2003 to carry on the memory of Carollynn Suplee, a woman who purchased her first pony to donate to Lois Szymanski’s daughters in 1995, even though they were strangers.The two families met at the annual Chincoteague Island Pony Swim and Round-Up sale. For the Szymanskis, it was a tradition, but Suplee, then a resident of Herndon, Va., was there for the first time on a visit to her husband’s mother.

Szymanski’s daughters, Ashley and Shannon, had saved $500 and wanted to buy a pony, though their parents knew that the ponies sold for much more. After watching 40 ponies sell at the auction at prices well over the girls’ savings, the girls started to give up hope, when they were introduced to Suplee.

Suplee had come to the auction to purchase a pony and donate it back to the island, part of her way of “giving something back” after recently surviving brain tumor surgery. Suplee had missed the opportunity to purchase the ponies that were set aside to be re-released, so she had decided to buy a pony for a child that couldn’t afford the price on their own.At first the family resisted, but then saw how much the act meant to Suplee and accepted. The girls bought a brown foal with a white feather-shaped mark on its shoulder and named him Sea Feather.

The Suplees continued to return to the island for several years to purchase ponies for children or to release them into the wild. But in 2003, her cancer returned, and she passed away that November. The Szymanskis, Suplee’s family and friends, decided to honor Carollynn Suplee’s memory by continuing her mission. They named the organization the Feather Fund because Suplee believed feathers were signs from God, as referenced in the Bible’s Psalm 91.

Source: www.featherfund.org

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2007/08/27/news/local_news/newsstory1.txt

20070827 A dream come true: Feather Fund helps girl purchase the pony she has always wanted By Carrie Ann Knauer, Carroll County Times Staff Writer

Labels: Annual events Chincoteague Pony Auction, Non-profits-charities The Feather Fund, Animals horses Chincoteague Pony, US state Virginia Delmarva Chincoteague, Media journalists Knauer - Carrie Ann Knauer

Related:

People Carroll County Szymanski – Lois Szymanski

US state Virginia Delmarva, Non-profits and charities Carroll Community Foundation, Animals horses, Non-profits and charities, US state Virginia, Maryland county Eastern Shore Delmarva

20070810 what does YOUR fridge say about YOU?

what does YOUR fridge say about YOU?

Thank Goodness it’s Friday, August 10, 2007

I was amused when I noticed this video (see below) on YouTube.

My relationship with my refrigerator is special.

Posted above is a picture of my refrigerator when I was in Key West Florida this past February 2007.

Here is a picture of me worshiping the refrigerator a number of years ago in Nags Head, the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

So what is in your refrigerator?

Carrie Ann Knauer, the Rachael Ray of Carroll County says that she has blueberries in her refrigerator at the moment.

####

20070611 Recent local newspaper coverage of the proposed airport expansion

A listing of recent local newspaper coverage of the proposed airport expansion

June 11^th, 2007

For more posts on “Soundtrack” about Carroll County Regional Airport go to: Carroll County Regional Airport

Kelsey Volkmann coverage in the Baltimore Examiner:

Airport’s night-light, fuel pump broken - 06/12/2007
Commissioners are scheduled to vote today on whether to lengthen the runway at Carroll County Regional Airport in Westminster. But a source familiar with airport operations questions whether an expansion is appropriate when it can’t seem to keep up with basic maintenance.
http://www.examiner.com/a-775756~Airport_s_night_light__fuel_pump_broken.html

Airport meeting disappoints - 06/08/2007
Residents opposed to the lengthening of the runway at the Carroll County Regional Airport said they were disappointed by their meeting with county commissioners Thursday.
http://www.examiner.com/a-770037~Airport_meeting_disappoints.html

Residents against expansion petition county lawmakers - 06/05/2007
It was a two-pronged attack.
http://www.examiner.com/a-763822~Residents_against_expansion_petition_county_lawmakers.html

Carrie Knauer coverage in the Carroll County Times:

Airport expansion: Impact of proposal examined

The much-debated airport expansion plan, which is part of the Carroll County Regional Airport Master Plan, includes a longer runway, new hangars and other amenities to attract more business to the airport and nearby business parks. But some residents... Jun. 11, 2007; scored 775.0

Residents share mixed feelings

On Tuesday, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on the Carroll County Regional Airport master plan, which includes recommendations to build a new 6,400-foot runway north and west of the existing runway. While residents who ... Jun. 11, 2007; scored 775.0

More ire for airport

Protesters seek injunction against commissioners After failing to receive an injunction to prevent the Carroll County Board of Commissioners from voting on the airport master plan today, members of Concerned Citizens United took their protest from th... Jun. 12, 2007;

Runway in need of funds

Airport expansion opponents who met with Carroll County commissioners Thursday walked away from the table discouraged, saying they believe the commissioners have already made up their minds to go forward with the expansion. Ron Buczkowski, Cheri Grub... Jun. 8, 2007;

Westminster Eagle coverage of the airport expansion matter:

Neighbors decry impact of airport expansion 05/30/07 - By Katie V. Jones

The deterioration of quality of life -- whether by pollution, traffic or lack of security -- was the biggest concern presented last week to the Board of County Commissioners at a public hearing re...

Issues related to airport proposal need clear review

05/24/07 - Guest Opinion by Cindy Parr — Chief of Administrative Services for Carroll County Government In recent months, much has been written about the Carroll County Regional Airport's (CCRA) proposed expansion effort.

This letter is intended to serve as a clarification of the facts as they...

News Briefs 05/23/07 - CCPS cuts $8.9 million from requested budget

As the Board of County Commissioners wraps this year's budget process, the public school system acted last week to trim $8.9 million from its initial...

Letters 05/23/07 - Airport debate hasn't been as open as it should be

I appreciate The Westminster Eagle's attestation that the nuances of the proposed airport master plan may perhaps be too much to be adequately ...

Airport options face public

05/16/07 - By Jim Joyner

To build or not to build ... or maybe to build a little or a lot.

Those are the questions being posed for the future of the Carroll County Regional Airport, and they are also the subject of ...

Airport master plan needs to circle the field before landing 05/16/07 - EDITORIAL

Next week's budget hearing on the proposed master plan for Carroll County Regional Airport promises to be high-flying -- the options for upgrades at the airport already have a followin...

Letters 04/11/07 - Residents will see airport expansion impact in taxes

Raise your hand if you own a corporate jet. I rest my case -- so much for an expansion of the airport directly benefiting local citizens.

W...

Dropping a hot potato in the commissioner's laps

04/11/07 - By David Grand

That's how I'd describe the dilemma the commissioners find themselves in, having to choose between expanding the airport's runway for the county's financial gain -- by being able to handle larger ...

No happy landing for Sage study 04/05/07 - By Katie V. Jones

Local residents took the opportunity on Monday to sound off on a recent study on the economic impacts of a proposed expansion of the Carroll County Regional Airport.

Many in the large crowd that...

News Briefs 03/28/07 - Sage to present findings of county airport study

Anirban Basu of the Sage Policy Group will host a public meeting next Monday to discuss the findings of a study on the economic impact of Carroll...

20070417 Woodbine farmer caters to horse farms

Woodbine farmer caters to horse farms

Carrie Ann Knauer, the Dean of the Carroll County Times’ newsroom is pictured above on March 14th, 2007, at her desk at the Carroll County Times. She has been writing for the newspaper since February 2002. She received her BA in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, in December 2001. She has made her home in Westminster and may very well be the longest serving Times reporter at this point. (c) Picture by Kevin Dayhoff 03/14/2007 www.kevindayhoff.net

Woodbine farmer caters to horse farm by Carroll County Times writer Carrie Knauer.

Posted April 21, 2007

I was tickled to be roaming through the Examiner and coming across a piece by Carrie Knauer, who writes for the Carroll County Times; that had been picked up by the Associated Press and published by the Examiner.

Woodbine farmer caters to horse farms

Apr 17, 2007 2:27 PM By CARRIE ANN KNAUER, AP

WOODBINE, Md.

When John Paul Harrison's grandfather, John Stanley Harrison, ran the family farm, he was managing 3,000 acres and had eight to 10 employees.

But John Paul, 32, is a one-man farming operation, renting 100 acres from his grandmother now that his grandfather is deceased, and renting another 300 acres between Md. 27 and Md. 97 in South Carroll.

Specializing in hay and custom farming for about a dozen horse farms, John Paul carries on the family tradition of farming, but in a new way.

John Paul grew up on the family farm and started with farm chores while still in elementary school. He grew up in 4-H and showed pigs and cattle at the fair, as well as hay and grain.

[…]

And all the while he's hauling truckloads of hay to his customers in Carroll, Frederick and Howard counties as they need it. While residential development may make large scale farming operations more difficult, many of the homes built in South Carroll are on lots big enough for families to have a few horses, sheep, goats or alpacas, making his hay, straw and wood shaving delivery business even more in demand, John Paul said.

"Around here you don't have a hard time selling hay," he said. "I could raise more if I wanted to, probably. This is the emptiest my "hay building has been in years."

The price of hay is controlled by supply and demand, John Paul said, and right now he's averaging $5 a bale. The lowest he'll go is $2.50 for rough hay, and there have been times when he's sold his best stuff for $8 a bale.

Most of his customers have found him through the county department of economic development's agricultural Web site, http://www.carrollag.org, John Paul said. The Web page has particularly helped him find people looking for someone to do custom farming for them - usually people with several acres of land and a few horses that don't have the equipment to make hay themselves.

Read the entire article here: Woodbine farmer caters to horse farm

####

20061115 Carrie Knauer and Mission to Baghdad.

Carrie Knauer and Mission to Baghdad.

November 15^th, 2006

Westminster – November 15^th, 2006. We can now put aside all the rumors that have been circulating in the greater Carroll County community as to the locational whereabouts of one of the Carroll County Times' star reporters, Carrie Ann Knauer.

Those of us who are used to all the wild conspiracy theories that circulate in the community knew to be suspicious when it was whispered that the real reason Ms. Knauer had not written any articles in the Carroll County Times recently was that she was “sequestered” with Vice-President Dick Chaney in an undisclosed location for national security purposes.

Many were curious when the accompanying photo surfaced depicting Ms. Knauer with the vice-president.

Then there was the trial balloon floated to put us off the track that she was really attending the 16^th Annual Conference of Environmental Journalists in Burlington, Vermont. We were not deterred.

As you are aware, Ms. Knauer took the local journalists’ scene by storm when she first appeared at the Carroll County Times in “February, 2002, after receiving a BA in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, in December, 2001,” according to her publicist.

Since then, it has been noticed by those of us who devour all the local newspapers that not only is she prolific, but she has the uncanny knack of getting it right, a refreshing approach for those of us who actually know the local news scene.

Then at the recent Carroll County 4-H FFA Fair, she was awarded, “Best Shoes in Show – as worn by a journalist.”

Well, since “Soundtrack Division” has no interest in mimicking the New York Times approach to recklessly endangering national security and the lives of those in harm’s way, we can now reveal, now that Ms. Knauer has re-surfaced in the Carroll County community, that she was indeed with Dick Chaney on a secret fact-finding mission to Iraq, “Mission to Baghdad.”

When contacted for comment about this fast-breaking news story, Ms. Knauer was unavailable for comment. As this intriguing story unfolds, please keep checking “Soundtrack” for up-to-the-minute reports, which will continue until Ms. Knauer breaks her silence and writes for all of us a column on her experiences at the SEJ Conference, because many of us are so jealous.

####

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org http://www.thetentacle.com/ Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report http://www.thewestminstereagle.com/ www.kevindayhoff.com has moved to http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

20060803 Best Shoes in Show as worn by a journalist

Best Shoes in Show as worn by a journalist.

August 3^rd, 2006

Carroll County 4-H FFA Fair update… And the award for “Best Shoes in Show – as worn by a journalist” goes to Carrie Ann Knauer of the Carroll County Times.

It is only fitting that Ms. Knauer won the award as she is frequently spotted around town in a t-shirt that says, “Walk in someone else’s shoes.”

Congratulations Ms. Knauer.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org www.thetentacle.com Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report www.thewestminstereagle.com www.kevindayhoff.com has moved to http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

20060306 Richard Haddad named new leader of Carroll Co. Chamber

Richard Haddad named new leader of Carroll County Chamber of Commerce

March 6th, 2006

It was recently just announced that Richard Haddad has been named President – or is it Executive Director of the

Carroll County Chamber of Commerce.

I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Haddad when I was the mayor of Westminster and many of us are expecting great things from him taking over the reins of this venerable organizations of business and community leaders.

For a bit of history on the Chamber – go here.

For more posts on the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce on “Soundtrack,” click here.

Carrie Knauer, who has won numerous journalism awards, (here and here,) has written a “Question and Answer” piece with Mr. Haddad. Her article appeared in the Carroll County Times on March 6th, 2006.

The Carroll County Times unfortunately does not use hyperlinks, so the entire piece, which belongs to Ms. Knauer and the Carroll County Times, is pasted below.

For more work from Ms. Knauer, click here. Or enter “Carrie Ann Knauer” in your favorite search engine.

By Carrie Ann Knauer,
Times Staff Writer Monday,
March 06, 2006

Q&A
Name: Richard Haddad

Age: 64

Residence: Westminster

Title: Carroll County Chamber of Commerce President

Last book read: "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Richard Haddad started his position as president of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Feb. 27. Haddad was a member of the Carroll chamber for a number of years, and as a volunteer, he chaired the chamber's business and education committee and also served briefly on the organization's board of directors. Haddad said he is excited to take this position toward the end of his career so he will be able to apply much of the management skills he has learned at other positions to help his local community.

Q: Where are you from and how did you come to Carroll County?

A: Brooklyn, N.Y., born and raised. I had been pretty well on in my career, I was maybe 30 and working at Citibank in New York, and I was doing EEO program development [Equal Employment Opportunity] for Citibank at the time. I was their first EEO officer, and this was like in 1969.

There was a utility down here in the Washington, D.C.-area that had a lot of EEO problems and was looking for an EEO officer. I was interested in leaving New York, and I wound up taking that job. That's how I came down to Maryland, and that was in 1971 when I finally moved down here.

I lived in Howard County for about 25 years and then moved to Carroll County about 10 years ago.

Q: How do you see your role at the Chamber of Commerce?

A: I think that there's what you might call "back at the ranch" roles and then just the public roles. The back at the ranch roles basically include the management of the office and the operations and just making sure that everything moves smoothly and that sort of thing. Also very importantly, working with the staff, supervising staff, helping them develop potential, encouraging them to talk about issues, so that we can work together and congeal as a team. And that is the stuff that the public very rarely sees, that businesses just take for granted that somebody takes care of those sorts of things.

The out-in-the-public-eye roles are basically acting as a spokesperson for the chamber, and maybe most importantly for the chamber's long- term health, is working with the board to develop a vision for the chamber and then developing planning for that vision, that we have a step-by-step process for achieving where we want to go and that sort of thing.

And that's one of the things that really interested me in the chamber job because I have background in strategic planning, and so I was really excited about that. I did consulting here in Carroll County for a few years and did strategic planning, some of the board members knew about that, so they were anxious to bring that expertise here.

Q: What do you see as the chamber's role in the community?

A: Carroll is not like a county that's filled with Fortune 500 companies that recruit people from all around the world, and they put in their five or 10 years and then move on to somewhere else where they get another opportunity, where you have a lot of turnover and flow and no one's really invested in the community.

We're overwhelmingly small business owners; men and women who not only live in our community but send their kids to our schools, they attend our churches, they belong to our service organizations like Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions and that sort of stuff. These people have an important stake in the health of the community. There's not going to be the clash between what's good for the business climate and what's good for the community because they are such a part of the community that they're the same. So, they will work to create a strong business climate, and that in turn makes for a stronger and healthier county. I mean that's the way that I see things, no conflict at all, everything blends very well.

Q: What have you learned from your experience at other chambers?

A: First and foremost that a good staff is very important, but that a lot of involved volunteers is critical. A chamber is as good, is as active, is as effective as its volunteer members want it to be. And I firmly believe that we can be anything that we want to be. We can be the finest chamber in the country if we want to be. We've got the talent, the skills, the energy - it's all here. The question is how can we project ourselves to the community to get those people to bring all that stuff to us, so we can bring it all together.

That's something that I get excited thinking about, bringing that all together, and I've seen a little bit of that. I've chaired committees, with this chamber and other committees. You throw a new idea on the table, people go "we never thought of that before," and suddenly you're pulling people in who have never been involved with the chamber before because they like that particular idea.

The job shadow program started that way. It was existing all around the country but we had not done it in Carroll, the schools were doing it, and we started a job shadow program to see if we could match businesses with students who were interested in doing that kind of stuff. And it turned out to be one of the chamber's biggest events. We have a couple of hundred kids involved. It's a feel-good event also for the business community, doing something for the kids.

Q: There's been a lot of turnover with the staff and the board of directors at the chamber. Why do you think that has happened and how do you think this can be improved?

A; I'm not aware of unusual turnover on the board. I know there's been an isolated case here and there of somebody dropping off and that sort of thing.

I am aware that there's been a big issue with the staff. When I was in New York, I did a turnover analysis program for Citibank, that's what one of my responsibilities was as employee relations manager. And I learned there that there are lots of reasons why you can have [turnover] - you don't make assumptions about turnover.

The assumptions that most people make is that you're paying too little, and that's usually the wrong assumption - it's not what drives people in and out of organizations. Distribution of work, particularly in a small organization, is extremely important, and working conditions that you create, the kind of rapport with all the staff involved and that sort of thing.

We are now 100 percent staffed with newly restructured positions, and what I really want to do is keep my employee relations eye on the situation. I've already had conversations with the staff members. It's extremely important to me that they share problems, frustrations, that we work together as a team. But it's basically good communication, working together and being very open and honest with each other. I'm just going to try to see if we can do that and take it from there.

Q: What are some goals you would like to accomplish here at the Carroll chamber?

A: I love this community. I'm happy first of all to be here and I want to help to do something for this community. I'm very anxious to use all of my skills that I've picked up in my management career to basically try to apply them to specific situations here in Carroll to see what I can do to help improve things.

There's the routine ones, like grow membership, increase revenue, that sort of stuff, and obviously we need to do that to be a healthy chamber and to continue to growing. We've got a tight budget right now, and one way to relieve that budget is to bring in more money. So I've got to figure out ways to bring in more money and loosen that up a bit.

But that's an example of a situation in which I've faced a lot of problems like that in previous jobs. So I go back into my data bank, and I go "what would apply in this situation?" I just want to have an impact, and I think I can.

Q: What will be the next opportunity for the general membership of the chamber to meet you?

A: We have networking breakfasts, we have member luncheons where we have speakers, and there's a business fair that's coming up in March. The ones where I get the most interaction with the membership are the breakfasts and the luncheons and the mixers. And those are on the chamber Web site. I make it a point to get there and just introduce myself to as many people as I can.

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2004052 Author turns story of Silver Run silver mine into a children's book by Carrie Ann Knauer

2004052 Author turns story of Silver Run silver mine into a children's book by Carrie Ann Knauer

Author turns story of Silver Run silver mine into a children's book by Carrie Ann Knauer

By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Lois Szymanski, children's author and assistant to the director of the library at McDaniel College, said that she was always interested in the history and legends of her hometown in Silver Run.

When she first heard about the legend of the silver mine in Silver Run, she was intrigued and wanted to find more about it. She ended up turning her research into a children's book called "Silver Lining" about two girls hearing the legend of the mine and then trying to find it.

Szymanski gave a talk at the Historical Society's monthly box lunch talk Tuesday on the legend of the silver mine in Silver Run. While she may not be a historian, Szymanski said she has done a lot of personal research on the silver mine and other local pieces of history.

[…]

Read the rest of the article here: Author turns story of Silver Run silver mine into a children's book by Carrie Ann Knauer

Reach staff writer Carrie Ann Knauer at 410-857-7874 or carriem@lcniofmd.com.

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2004/05/12/news/local_news/news5.txt

2004052 Author turns story of Silver Run silver mine into a children's book by Carrie Ann Knauer

2004052 Author turns story of Silver Run silver mine into a children's book by Carrie Ann Knauer

Author turns story of Silver Run silver mine into a children's book by Carrie Ann Knauer

By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Lois Szymanski, children's author and assistant to the director of the library at McDaniel College, said that she was always interested in the history and legends of her hometown in Silver Run.

When she first heard about the legend of the silver mine in Silver Run, she was intrigued and wanted to find more about it. She ended up turning her research into a children's book called "Silver Lining" about two girls hearing the legend of the mine and then trying to find it.

Szymanski gave a talk at the Historical Society's monthly box lunch talk Tuesday on the legend of the silver mine in Silver Run. While she may not be a historian, Szymanski said she has done a lot of personal research on the silver mine and other local pieces of history.

[…]

Read the rest of the article here: Author turns story of Silver Run silver mine into a children's book by Carrie Ann Knauer

Reach staff writer Carrie Ann Knauer at 410-857-7874 or carriem@lcniofmd.com.

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2004/05/12/news/local_news/news5.txt