Severna Park Community Center Honors Carl Gutschick

Carl Gutschick grew up in Montgomery County, but since moving to Rugby Hall in Arnold in 1993, there’s no question where he calls home.

Gutschick has volunteered thousands of hours to help numerous area organizations including Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church, Severna Park Community Center, Habitat for Humanity and Special Olympics.

“Carl embodies what a volunteer is,” said Severna Park Community Center Executive Director Sarah Elder. “He has a true desire to help his community and he’s invested so much of his time, talent and treasure to improve not only this area but people in other states through Habitat for Humanity.”

The Severna Park Community Center will honor Gutschick at its annual fundraising gala on April 27 at Chartwell Golf and Country Club.

Gutschick began volunteering in 1997 at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church by helping with small repairs and improvements to the building. “I’m pretty handy,” said Gutschick, who has a civil engineering background.

The leaders at the church recognized Gutschick’s community spirit and asked him to serve on the community center’s board of directors in 1998. He became chairman of the board in 2002.

As chairman, Gutschick guided the group through the fundraising for and rebuilding of the community center. The project was done in two phases, and with the help of many other volunteers and contributors, including project chairman Andy Borland, generated millions of dollars to fund the expanded center.

“One of the goals for the expanded center was to help additional people in the community with new programs and improve the community’s health,” Gutschick said. “The rebuilding and enhancement of the center has benefitted so many people in this area and has become a true community center.”

Gutschick has also been involved in numerous other charitable organizations such as Habitat for Humanity.

“We called the program WoodsWork, and for 25 years we took our younger church members to help build homes for the less fortunate,” he said. “We have gone to areas from South Carolina to New England, and for a week we would build the core of the house and basically leave the house with just minor construction needs to finish. It was a great experience to work with the young people and teach them new skills and enjoy the camaraderie. We slept on the gym floor of local high schools and also had time for faith-building as well.”

Gutschick’s desire to help students was also prevalent at his engineering company in Burtonsville. Gutschick is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland’s (UMD) engineering program and his company — Gutschick, Little and Weber, P.A. — worked with UMD to offer internship programs for undergraduate engineering students over the years.

“It was a great way to help the students with real-time experience in the engineering world, and at the same time, we got to know the students as well,” he said. “We’ve hired numerous Maryland graduates at our firm and I’m quite proud of that connection with my alma mater.”

Gutschick also organized many events, including golf tournaments for Special Olympics Maryland, so the organization could have additional revenue to offer sporting events.

He believes his dad instilled a sense of community pride in him as a child, as his dad organized Montgomery County events, including an annual Fourth of July celebration.

“Over the years, being involved in the community has become a natural part of my life,” Gutschick said. “It’s been super satisfying to be involved with so many projects and it’s been an honor to work with so many outstanding board members and staff members over the years.”

Elder said, “Carl has been instrumental to the rebuilding of the center and has helped the community in so many ways. I love this man, and he’s so deserving of all the recognition and gratitude we have for him.”