Advisory Board

The Harford County Board of Education is seeking applicants for membership on its citizen advisory committees. Membership is open to all Harford County residents, including those without children in the school system. The Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee is open to any parent of a student with a disability, and no formal application is needed. Each committee meets on a regular basis, or as necessary to accomplish its charge. New members are confirmed in May; members are assigned to one-, two- or three-year terms.

The Harford County Council moved back into its former home on Bond Street in Bel Air Thursday. "The Harford County Council will be returning to 212 S. Bond St., also known as the 'Black Box,' on Jan. 17, two years after being forced to leave due to structural damage," according to a council media release. "The building has since been repaired. This move comes as a welcome change for both the Council and its constituents, as the temporary office at 18 Office St. lacked accessibility to the public and proximity to other County government offices.

James Lambdin has been appointed to the Northeast Regional Advisory Board for First National Bank of Maryland.The Harford County resident is president and chief executive officer of Art Builders Inc., an Abingdon-based real estate development firm. He is also vice president and chief executive officer of the real estate firm Ward & Lambdin Inc.Mr. Lambdin, who has a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Baltimore and a master's degree in finance from Loyola College, previously served as vice president of commercial lending and business development for First National Bank.

The Greater Towson Committee has announced that Pauline Harris, a marketing professional whose firm specializes in architecture, engineering and construction projects, has been named its new executive director. "Pauline is officially on board this week and will be at the helm in early July," said Cindy Bledsoe, the organization's outgoing executive director, in a statement. Harris, who founded the marketing company SPIN LLC and serves on the advisory board for the Urban Land Institute of Baltimore, will be introduced at the GTC's annual meeting on Thursday, June 28. The meeting will also offer residents a first look inside the new studio of WTMD, one of the principal tenants of the new Towson City Center - formerly the Investment Building.

Six new members were recently appointed to three-year terms on Harford Community College's Advisory Board by the college's board of trustees.Two other members were reappointed.New members to the advisory board include Dale R. Bowlus Jr., of Darlington; Christine Gree, of Bel Air; Harry E. Hopkins, of Bel Air;Helene L. Klair, of Churchville; Howard S. Klein, of Forest Hill; and Dr. Earl J. Lightcap Jr., of Abingdon.Reappointed were PatriciaBrown, of Joppa, and Donald C. Kerr Jr., of Fallston.

Roger Ralph, president of the Bel Air Athletic Club, has been named to NationsBank's Harford County Advisory Board.Phil Wohlfort, NationsBank senior banking executive for Harford zTC County, said in announcing the appointment that Mr. Ralph "brings to the advisory board a wealth of business experience and entrepreneurial success. We look forward to his knowledgeable input."Mr. Ralph has been president and owner, with his wife, Elaine, of the athletic club since 1979. He also is a member of the boards of directors of the Harford Community College Educational Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of Harford County, and chairman of the Harford County Coalition for Fair Competition.

Every so often, during question-and-answer periods after a presentation to a group of nonprofit leaders, I am asked about advisory boards. What are they really about? How can they best be used? What is their role in an organization?Perhaps it's best to illustrate what they are by first explaining what they are not. An advisory board is not the board of directors. That is, an advisory board does not make policy, define the mission and vision, or hire and evaluate the executive director. Other than those restrictions, it is pretty much an open game.

Seven new members have been named to the Advisory Board of the Southern Maryland Branch of the Arthritis Foundation.Annapolis residents Louise Hanson and Rebecca Enzinger were joined by former U.S. Rep. Marjorie S. Holt and Beth Patterson of Severna Park, Cedric El-Amin of Bowie, Janet Hoffritz of Edgewater, and Dr. Sarah White of Bay Area Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, with offices in Glen Burnie and Arnold.Lola Finch of Arnold was elected secretary. Mary Major of Major Changes will continue as chairwoman and Erwin Abrams of Hospice of the Chesapeake continues as vice chairman.

A member of Carroll's environmental advisory board says he wasn't soliciting customers for his landscaping business -- just offering to provide professional advice -- when he approached representatives of a corporation that was seeking a variance from the county's forest conservation ordinance.Kevin E. Dayhoff, who owns a Finksburg landscaping business, gave his business card to an environmental consultant for Laurel Sand & Gravel Inc. after the Nov. 30 Environmental Affairs Advisory Board meeting and suggested that the consultant call him.County Attorney Charles W. Thompson said the county's ethics law doesn't address such business contacts, but he suggested that the county could provide better orientation programs for board members.

A Carroll recycling corporation's plan to remove ash from an old pit on its property will be the topic of a special Environmental Affairs Advisory Board meeting March 16.Phoenix Recycling Inc. is seeking a variance from county forest ordinance requirements as corporate officials consider whether to remove the coal ash from a pit on the recycler's Finksburg property. The ordinance applies because the recycler plans to disturb more than 1 acre of land.Waste Management requested a meeting to speed the permit process because of an approaching deadline on an agreement with the previous owner, Haden Trash Removal Inc, said James L. Loveland, regional environmental manager for Waste Management Inc., which owns Phoenix Recycling.

Ocean City is ready for the spotlight this weekend as the town launches into the summer season with a new laser light show. The O.C. Beach Lights Spectacular features lasers, videos, special effects and lights displayed on a 50-foot-tall sphere that looks like a beach ball. The show will take place Sundays on the beach at North Division Street three times a night - 9:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. - from Memorial Day to Labor Day. "We're excited about it," says Donna Abbott, public relations manager for the Town of Ocean City.

Medicare is in desperate need of reform. Program costs are spiraling out of control and threatening to bankrupt the country. Here in Maryland, on average, each Medicare enrollee costs about $11,400 per year - that's a thousand dollars higher than the national average. Policymakers need to determine how to cut the program's costs. However, during that process, they need to be wary of compromising the care of beneficiaries. Some 800,000 Maryland seniors depend on Medicare to survive.

The Harford County Board of Education is seeking applicants for membership on its citizen advisory committees. Membership is open to all Harford County residents, including those without children in the school system. The Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee is open to any parent of a student with a disability, and no formal application is needed. Each committee meets on a regular basis, or as necessary to accomplish its charge. New members are confirmed in May; members are assigned to one-, two- or three-year terms.

Some months ago, Howard County Council Bill 52 came up for public hearing. This bill, sponsored by the administration, would eliminate the county's Cemetery Preservation Advisory Board. This citizen board was created in 1992, at the urging of then-County Council member Vernon Gray, following the illegal demolition of graves in historic St. Mary's Cemetery (Turf Valley Overlook) during the building of houses atop and within the three-acre cemetery. The new advisory board, to be appointed by the county executive and to serve without compensation, was charged with creating and maintaining a current cemetery inventory and map, and with providing continuing oversight of our cemeteries to insure their preservation.

A media mogul, a surfboard industry pioneer, a coach of disabled athletes and the first man to sail solo around the world are among the inaugural inductees to the National Sailing Hall of Fame, a Maryland institution working to build a permanent home on the Annapolis waterfront. Next weekend's induction ceremony, to be held at the San Diego Yacht Club in California, comes six years after the National Sailing Center and Hall of Fame was formed to promote sailing and recognize men and women who have made "outstanding contributions" to the sport.

Anne Arundel County residents will have an additional opportunity to weigh in on proposed land zoning changes — a move made in response to community complaints. The Planning Advisory Board will hold public hearings on any amendments to pending rezoning bills, a new step in the county's once-in-a-decade comprehensive rezoning process. County Executive John R. Leopold called for the change in a letter to the board's chair, after residents complained they hadn't had a chance to voice opposition to several amendments affecting their neighborhoods.

Local recreation councils will put their time and money toward more than a dozen projects, including ballfields, a pavilion, parking and fences, with help from a Carroll County fund. In most cases, the county pays about three-quarters of the cost, and the groups contribute the remainder in money and labor, said Richard Soisson, the county director of recreation and parks. The Recreation and Parks Advisory Board recommended these self-help project requests in spending $53,925 remaining from the 2005 capital budget, he said.

The Glenwood library, 2350 Route 97, Cooksville, invites young people ages 11 to 17 to join its Young Adult Advisory Board meeting from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday. The board advises the library on books, music, programs, computer games and other activities that are interesting to young people. Next week's meeting will include a discussion of the library's movie collection, a movie trivia quiz and refreshments. The board meets once a month. The Western Howard County Seniors Book Club will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the library.

The federal health care reform law establishes a new body, called the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), responsible for enforcing the annual spending cap in Medicare. The IPAB will consist of 15 presidential appointees and will start making changes to Medicare in 2015. The fundamental problem with this system is there is little recourse in the event IPAB makes a bad decision. The panel's recommendations automatically become law unless Congress overrides them through a three-fifths vote or passes an alternative set of cuts that hit the same spending targets.

A new generation of female philanthropists is growing up in Howard County thanks to the Women's Giving Circle and 14 teenagers who feel as passionately about helping others as their mothers and grandmothers. The Young Women's Giving Circle formed last year as a pilot project, with the goal of teaching high school girls how to become an informed and intentional force for good in the county. Led by high school seniors Jackie Dawson, of Mt. Hebron, and Julie Factor, of Glenelg, members of the small circle with big intentions spent the past 10 months attending workshops on grant making and fundraising, interviewing and visiting various nonprofits, all so they could learn how to raise money and then give it away to a cause they care about.