Nationwide Insurance

Lawrence M. Sullivan Sr., a retired Nationwide Insurance agent, died of leukemia Friday at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 74. Born in Baltimore and raised in Rosedale, Mr. Sullivan was a graduate of Kenwood High School and the University of Baltimore. He served in the Army in Germany from 1947 to 1950, attaining the rank of sergeant. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. For 47 years until his retire- ment in 1998, the Sparks resident owned and operated Lawrence M. Sullivan Insurance Agency Inc. on Belair Road.

The senior class of Meade Senior High School were the state winners of the Prom Promise competition sponsored by Nationwide Insurance recently, for their work in getting students to sign pledges not to drink or use drugs while driving to their prom.The contest -- designed and initiated by senior class president Stacy Stallsmith and vice president Margaret Roe with help from class advisers Don Gobbi, John Smith and Frank Roush -- featured posters, signs and other activities and displays designed to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking or doing drugs and driving.

Thomas Lee Meighan Jr., the serial drunk driver who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter last year in the fatal hit-and-run of a Johns Hopkins University student, has asked for a hearing in Baltimore Circuit Court, claiming he was pressured into a plea deal and is, in fact, innocent. "Unfortunately, a woman walked into the path of my truck causing the loss of her life," Meighan wrote, alleging that an accident-reconstruction report proves that 20-year-old Miriam Frankl jaywalked to her death on Oct. 16, 2009.

Leonard Bramson, who along with his father and brother devised a nationwide insurance fraud scheme that bilked at least $10 million from doctors, had his nine-year prison sentence reduced by 11 months Friday.Prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Baltimore were tight-lipped about the details, saying only that Mr. Bramson had provided information on "an unspecified case" in New Jersey and therefore earned the sentence reduction. The file was sealed.The development is but another mysterious chapter to the Bramson story.

Spencer Vavas, who founded a workers' compensation company and restaurant franchises throughout the Baltimore area, died of a stroke Jan. 7 at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He was 62. Mr. Vavas, who lived in Cockeysville for many years, was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. He attended Brooklyn College for two years before leaving to become a Nationwide Insurance agent. In 1976, he moved to Baltimore to develop a string of Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips franchises in Baltimore and surrounding counties.

Crofton chamber announces officersThe Greater Crofton Chamber of Commerce recently announced its 1995 officers and board of directors:President, Marcia Collett of Arundel West Appraisals; vice president, Dennis Stackhouse of Allstate Insurance; treasurer, Mary Bierly of Signet Bank; secretary Jean Cowden of NationsBank.Directors are Bill Branham of Swallow Office Supplies & Copy Center; director of marketing, Martha Brown of Long & Foster Realty; director of community affairs, Thomas Callahan of Callahan & Callahan, P.C.; director of programs & special events, Guy Lupero of Nationwide Insurance; and director of government affairs & business development, Gene Seefeldt of Centers for Effective Therapies.

Angela Sugg, a social studies teacher at Mount Hebron High School, had a couple of dummies in her last-period class Thursday afternoon -- and it was difficult for her and her students to keep from laughing.As Ms. Sugg tried to keep a straight face while discussing U.S. criminal laws, Vince and Larry, a.k.a. the Crash Test Dummies, sat silently in the second row, attracting stares and laughter from the 28 students.Two students dressed as the seat-belt-promoting TV commercial characters were sitting in on the class to send their peers a serious message about drinking and driving, as part of a national anti-drunken driving campaign known as "Prom Promise."

New chief of marketing, sales at Stanley AviationAnnapolis resident Sava G. Comsudis has been selected as director of Marketing and Sales for Stanley Aviation, an Annapolis aviation firm that specializes in helicopter charters.Mr. Comsudis will be responsible for creating a program focused on executive charter and leisure travel.He is the head of Redwood, a media and computer consulting group.Before joining Stanley, Mr. Comsudis was vice president of marketing and sales for Metal Fabrications Inc. in New Jersey.

Walter William Falck, a retired Maryland insurance executive and former mayor of Tamarac, Fla., died of Alzheimer's disease July 16 at Morningside House, an Ellicott City assisted-living facility. The former Severna Park resident was 90. Mr. Falck was born and raised in Wheeling, W.Va., and began his career with Nationwide Insurance Co. in 1942 as a clerk. He was regional vice president for Maryland, Delaware and Virginia when he retired in 1971. Mr. Falck had been appointed by Maryland Gov. J. Millard Tawes to a commission that recodified the state's insurance laws.

Nominations sought for county's annual business awards The Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce Inc.'s annual Business Awards dinner will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. June 19 at the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Hotel, 80 Compromise St., Annapolis. The awards given out will include Business Leader of the Year, Community Outreach, Nonprofit of the Year, Minority Business Advocate of the Year, Women in Business Advocate of the Year, Legislator of the Year, Environmental Awareness and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.