Community Innovators Receive Accolades At ASPIRE’s Annual Awards Ceremony

If you had to take a guess, how many active nonprofit organizations would you say there are in Severna Park? As many as 249 is the number that Sandy Spadaro, president of the Association for Severna Park Improvement, Renewal and Enhancement (ASPIRE), heard in casual conversation a few days before the organization’s annual Leadership and Heritage Awards presentation, where a group of volunteers nominated by the community’s clubs, civic groups and other associations were honored for making Severna Park a better place.

“Although I haven’t been able to verify or confirm this number, it caused me to think about where I live,” she told the crowd during the ceremony. “And I realized that whether it’s nine organizations or 249 organizations, each one improves and enhances the quality of life in Severna Park.”

This year, 10 volunteers from nine organizations were recognized for their sustained, positive and visionary leadership. Additionally, three other community trailblazers selected by the ASPIRE board of trustees were recognized with Heritage Awards in recognition of many years of dedicated service contributing to the character of the Severna Park area.

“These leaders are the first to volunteer and the last to leave an event,” Spadaro pointed out. “They are generous with their time. They are smart. They are caring and passionate about their organization’s mission, and they’re passionate about Severna Park.”

Leadership Awards

Warden W. Bailey

Severna Park Elks Lodge #2642

An employee of Westinghouse/Northrop Grumman for more than 39 years and a member of the Severna Park Elks for 44 years, Warden W. Bailey spent most of his time in his career as a technical illustrator at the Oceanic Division in Annapolis. After retirement, he volunteered to order food and drinks at the Elks Lodge, a position he has held since 1999, even going so far as to enter all the inventory into a digital database.

Linda Dennis

Partners In Care

In her 15 years at Partners In Case, Linda Dennis’ personal touch and professional advocacy have improved the lives of hundreds of people throughout the community. She started at Partners In Care after a year of service to the country through the Volunteer Maryland AmeriCorps program. Through Partners In Care and in her work with county and community agencies, she has helped launch initiatives to improve the experience of aging and to empower older adults to remain engaged, active and independent.

Deborah Hannum

Severna Park Kiwanis

Deborah Hannum has become an integral part of Kiwanis in only a few short years. By day, she works for Howard Bank in the loans division, and by night, she’s an active member of Kiwanis, working on projects such as Teen Court, National Night Out, the Mardi Gras celebration, SPAN baskets, and the Kiwanis Teenager of the Year scholarship programs, among many others. Currently, she is working on a Kiwanis Kids Corner at the Judy Center and has been secretary for the past two years. She is also a member of the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce, leading one of the small-business networking groups.

Dr. Ronald A. Phipps
Orphan Grain Train

A graduate of West Virginia University with a doctorate in education and a minor in higher education administration, Dr. Ronald Phipps has held positions in higher education in Maryland, Alaska and Missouri, and has participated on many professional boards and commissions. He has published extensively in academic journals. With all these credentials, he volunteers with Orphan Grain Train Maryland Branch as what branch manager Elfie Eberle described as “a passionate, creative, hardworking, tireless, humble and very funny guy whose leadership skills are top-notch.”

Lynne Rockenbauch
Severn River Association

Lynne Rockenbauch wears many hats with many different groups. She’s president of the Severn River Association, of which she’s been an active member for many years, and she continually strives to organize and participate in projects to educate and motivate residents of the watershed to restore and preserve the river. Additionally, she is an active member of the Ben Oaks Civic Association, has served on its board of directors in several positions, and represents the community to the Greater Severna Park Council.

Chuck Roydhouse
Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce

As a retired firefighter with a degree in fire science, and the owner of Clean Sweep Chimney Repair and Maintenance since the 1990s, Chuck Roydhouse knows about fire safety, so it makes sense he is the driving force behind two charities — the Anne Arundel County Professional Fire Fighters Burn Foundation, which aids children and adults who have suffered burn injuries, and the International Sweep Away Cancer Foundation, which he founded in 2015 to help fellow fire service people who are suffering from cancer.

Holly Slack
Greater Severna Park Council

Holly Slack brings her experiences as a public school teacher and as an administrator and office manager at the Maryland Judiciary to her role as secretary with the Greater Severna Park Council, where she has the distinction of being the board member most in touch with the younger residents of Severna Park. She is so devoted to the council that she patiently took minutes during the March meeting while in early labor — her daughter Ilona Mae was born 14 hours afterward!

Russell B. Stevenson Jr.
Magothy River Association

After retiring as general counsel of Ciena Corporation in 2009, Russell Stevenson Jr. — a lifelong lover of the Chesapeake Bay — founded the Chesapeake Legal Alliance in hopes of using the law to help restore the waterway to health. In addition to serving as chairman and president of the Chesapeake Legal Alliance, he has been a member of the full-time faculty of Georgetown Law School. In his role as vice president of government affairs for the Magothy River Association, he serves as an advocate in matters of zoning and environmental law, and he oversees legal groundwork if and when such action becomes necessary.

Jonathan and Stephanie Swain
Shipley’s Choice Community Association

Jonathan and Stephanie Swain established and maintain the Shipley’s Choice website, saving the community association many dollars and providing residents with useful information. They led the covenants renewal program and they process covenants applications. Both led the annual election with an innovative approach, attracting many more interested candidates than in the past and increasing resident interest in the association.

Heritage Awards

Barbara Huston

With the help of her sister Maureen Caviola and their friend Sandy Jackson, Barbara Huston established Partners In Care to help the senior population in and beyond Severna Park remain independent. Twenty-five years later, Partners In Care has benefitted 9,000 people with its services and has seen over a half-million hours provided. In 2017, Partners In Care was able to move to a new location. Following the move, Huston stepped down from her role as CEO, leaving the organization in a strong position financially and with good people in place. But she still volunteers in the shop and will always be a part of the PIC family.

Pat Troy

After the closing of Wroxeter School, where she served as librarian, in 1980, Pat Troy and three other Wroxeter faculty members started Chesapeake Academy, where she served in various administrative roles. She also collaborated with Marguerite Mills for six years to publish the Severna Park Magazine, which Mills later turned into the Severna Park Voice. Troy has been active with the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Severna Park Council, and she helped chair the Severna Park Small Area Plan. She has founded companies Bay Media, which publishes local books, and Next Wave Group, which does association management. She is a volunteer with many local organizations and she is a founding trustee and honorary emeritus member of ASPIRE, for which she formerly served as executive director.

Linda Zahn

Recently retired from her 27-year role as CEO of the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce, Linda Zahn was instrumental in building the business group into what it is today. In addition to growing the membership, she established programs and events such the Holiday Trade Fair, Successful Women in Business, Taste & Sip, the holiday tree lighting and many others. Zahn also approached Severna Park High School and formed what is now the business advisory board. In her retirement, she continues to give back to the community through her work with Opportunity Builders and Orphan Grain Train.