Board Of Directors

Howard County police increased patrols in the neighborhood around Atholton High School in Columbia yesterday after a 15-year-old girl reported that a man followed her Thursday as she walked home from the school. The man tried to get her attention by whispering to her from his car in the area of Cedar Lane and Freetown Road about 2:30 p.m., police said. The man got out of the car and gestured for her to get in the back seat, police said. The girl continued walking to her house on a nearby street, and the man left, police said.

Columbia Association President Maggie J. Brown has received a contract extension offer from the board of directors. "It's her turn now to look it over and have her lawyer look at it and decide whether to accept it," said Tom O'Connor, the board chairman. The length of the extension has been an issue that has evenly divided the 10-member board. While five members agreed that Brown deserved the three-year extension she wanted, the others wanted a one-year deal that would allow time to conduct a nationwide search for a replacement.

The Columbia Association board of directors plans to vote on a contract for association President Maggie J. Brown tomorrow night when it meets for the last time before two newly elected members take their seats. Tom O'Connor, the council chairman, said yesterday, "There will be an announcement on the contract." Before the open board meeting, a closed session has been announced to discuss personnel matters. O'Connor said he also expects a vote on which of several plans will be implemented to dredge Lake Kittamaqundi in Town Center and Lake Elkhorn in Owen Brown village.

Geiermann selected for foundation board Annie L. Geiermann, senior vice president of the Citizens National Bank's Business Banking Group, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Columbia Foundation. The appointment was announced by Glenn L. Wilson, president of the bank. She will serve two three-year terms on the 31-member board. Geiermann replaces Joseph E. Pipetone of Citizens National, who has served on the board for five years. Citizens National, with headquarters in Laurel since 1890, is wholly-owned by Mercantile Bank Corp.

The Maryland Commission on Human Relations has ruled that a condominium board's decision to prevent residents from using a rear door as a shortcut to an adjacent synagogue discriminates against a disabled resident. The decision stems from a complaint filed by Sylvan Wolpert, a 90-year-old physically disabled resident of the Imperial Condominium complex in Northwest Baltimore who uses a walker to get around. Wolpert and other Orthodox Jewish residents in the building had previously been able to use a rear fire door in the basement to get to the nearby Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation synagogue.

Advertising The Artemis Group announced that Sandra Schrader was named a senior consultant and Kelly Terrill an associate at the Annapolis-based public affairs, communications and business consulting firm. Banking and finance Provident Bank appointed Mark G. Dorney as president and program manager of its subsidiary, the Provident Investment Co. He will manage the sales staff in the purchase and sales of investments and insurance. Education The Johns Hopkins University named Kristina M. Johnson provost and senior vice president of academic affairs.

Kim, Oh join the board of HCC Educational Foundation Miji Kim and Sang W. Oh have joined the board of directors of the Howard Community College Educational Foundation. Kim is a contract specialist for Cosmopolitan Inc. in Columbia. She is president of the Clarksville Fire Department, commissioner for the Howard County Commission For Women and is a member of the Howard County Personnel Board. She has been a Howard County resident since 1974. Oh, an attorney in practice in Ellicott City, has been an assistant state's attorney, judicial clerk for Judge Dennis M. Sweeney, and executive assistant to former Howard County Executive James N. Robey.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. announced yesterday that Putnam Investments had more than doubled its stake in the men's clothing chain to a little more than 10 percent, making it the company's largest institutional investor. The announcement came a few days after the board of directors at the Hampstead-based clothier adopted a new "stockholder rights plan," making it more difficult for a company to launch a hostile takeover. Company executives said the change was not a so-called "poison pill," which sometimes is put in place when executives fear another firm is collecting shares to gain corporate control.

Five of the seven Columbia Council seats to be filled in elections this weekend are being contested, with issues ranging from village revitalization and downtown development to the handling of contract negotiations with the association's president. Incumbents are facing challengers in Dorsey's Search, Hickory Ridge, Oakland Mills and Wilde Lake and two newcomers are vying in Kings Contrivance. Running unopposed are incumbent Henry F. Dagenais in Long Reach and newcomer Michael Cornell in River Hill, where incumbent Patrick von Schlag is not seeking re-election.

. As executive director of HC DrugFree, Laura Smit reaches out to teenagers and parents on a personal level. "She understands the concerns that many parents have, as well as being aware of the issues that teens are dealing with," said Tina Owens, vice chairwoman of the board of directors. HC DrugFree, which aims to help Howard County residents raise drug-free teenagers, has grown under Smit, the mother of a freshman and a senior at Long Reach High School. Her approachability as the face of HC DrugFree has prompted parents to call her directly in a crisis.

On April 8, 2009, BIG EASY; devoted father of Dawn Tharp and her husband Scott; loving grandfather of Isabel and Joslyn; lifelong brother of Dan and Debi Shannahan; member of the National Alliance of Fat Boys since 1984 serving on the Board of Directors (for over 25 years) - gone, but never forgotten. Also survived by many dedicated friends. A service will be held at the Connelly Funeral Home of Essex, 300 Mace Avenue, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Visiting hours on Saturday, 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Interment private.

The recession - or is it the Great Depression II? - continues to take its toll on the local arts scene. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra laid off five of its 67 administrative employees and changed one full-time position to part-time yesterday in an effort to reduce expenditures. Those moves, along with a decision not to fill certain open staff positions, will save the BSO about $500,000. "We can see that the economic downturn is going to be a lot more prolonged than we had expected," president/CEO Paul Meecham said.

In light of a shaky economy and increased volunteer leadership, the Annapolis Business Association has eliminated the paid position of executive director, which Clare Vanderbeek held since 2007. "We basically came together as a board and made the decision to eliminate the position," said Jessica Jordan, president of the association's board of directors and owner of Paradigm boutique on Main Street. "I think it is positive for the organization. ... I think we have a lot of momentum going, and we are making the decision to use our funds differently."

Awards * MGH, an Owings Mills-based marketing communications agency, received three certificates of excellence from Graphic Design USA for its work on behalf of Texas Instruments; Center for Eating Disorders, Sheppard Pratt; and Lee Read Jewelers. * Mary Sipes, senior sales manager of the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, was named by the National Academy Foundation as its Hospitality & Tourism Professional of the Year. On the board * United Cerebral Palsy of Central Maryland announced the appointment of Melissa Berge to a seat on its board of directors.

Awards * United Way of Central Maryland named the Baltimore office of DLA Piper as the Maryland 2007 Organization of the Year. * The University of Baltimore Career Center awarded the accounting firm of Arthur Bell as its Employer of the Year. Certifications * Andrew Runge, a certified public accountant and financial forensics expert with Naden/Lean LLC, has earned a certification in financial forensics from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. On the board * Dr. John N. Naparko, a surgeon and professor of medicine, and Gerald G. Abrams, a certified public accountant, have been elected to posts on the Baltimore-based Hearing and Speech Agency board of directors.

Appointments * Shirley Bigley LaMotte of Baltimore Reads Inc. has been appointed to the Baltimore City Workforce Investment Board by Mayor Sheila Dixon. On the board * Robert E. Grady, a partner in the Carlyle Group, has been named to the board of directors of Rockville-based The Symbio Group. Openings * Bukowski Public Relations has opened in Bel Air. The new agency will focus on providing communications and public relations services to small to midsize companies in the Baltimore-Washington market.

* Dr. Charlene Hafer-Macko, medical director of the Myasthenia Gravis Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center, was named "Doctor of the Year" by the national Myasthenia Gravis Foundation. Hafer-Macko, who is also an associate professor of neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, received this award for her commitment to helping myasthenia gravis patients and their families. Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease that affects the connection between nerves and muscles, causing muscle weakness and fatigue.

The national board of directors of the NAACP overwhelmingly approved a three-year contract yesterday for Benjamin Todd Jealous, its new president. Jealous, 35, who was not present when the board members voted at the BWI Marriott Hotel, later joined them to sign the contract. Board Chairman Julian Bond said he was "overjoyed" by the developments. The board members were "very accepting," Bond said after the four-hour meeting. The board approved the contract by a vote of 35-2, with one abstention.

Awards * Bonnie K. Heneson, president of Heneson Communications of Owings Mills, was awarded a Bravo! Women Business Achievement award by Baltimore SmartCEO's. Mergers * Kahn, Berman, Solomon, Taibel & Mogol PA, based in Timonium, announced that it has merged with Larrabee & Associates PA. The newly enlarged firm will operate from offices at 9515 Deereco Road as KBST&M CPA's Organizations * J. MacGregor Tisdale, a senior vice president with SunTrust Bank, was named president of the Maryland chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth.

j-ref makes changes to its board Michael A. Mobley, executive director of j-ref, a private not-for-profit funding source for Howard County start-up and emerging companies, has announced changes to the organization's board of directors for fiscal 2009. Rosa M. Scharf, a senior vice president at Howard Bank, is secretary; Stephen F. Wolf of the Ellicott City-based accounting firm, Berman Goldman & Ribakow, is treasurer. Christopher Young of the Business and Technology Law Group was re-elected as chairman, and Charles "Chuck" Breitenother of KLNB was re-elected as vice chairman.