2011 ASPIRE Leadership Award Honorees

 The Association for Severna Park Improvement Renewal and Enhancement (ASPIRE) held its Community Leadership Awards Dinner on Feb. 23 at the Chartwell Club where eight citizens were recognized for their contributions to the community.

"Each year I am impressed by the leaders who are nominated," said Pat Troy, founder of ASPIRE. "What distinguishes our Severna Park leaders is the high level of expertise they willingly give to the organizations they love. We are very lucky to have them!"

Andy Borland – Severna Park Community Center

Andy Borland has been the foundation to many aspects of the Severna Park community. He has been a proud member of the community since the 1960’s. Andy has been a teacher, a coach and a mentor at Woods Church, the Severna Park Community Center, Severna Park High School, Severna Park Junior High School, and the Green Hornets amongst others.

As a coach and athletic director, he affected the lives of many students in Severna Park. He was the Chairman of the campaign to raise $4.5 million to build the Severna Park Community Center, meeting every Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m., from 2001 to 2007, and is still active on the Board today.

He is recognized in the community by having the following spaces named in his honor: The Andy Borland Weight Room at Severna Park High School (June, 1997), the Andy Borland Fieldhouse at Severna Park High School (March, 2005), and the Andy Borland Gymnasium at the Severna Park Community Center (September, 2008). The Severna Park community is a better place because of the contributions by Andy Borland and his family.

Jim Brennan – Greater Severna Park Watershed Action Group

Jim, his wife Rhonda, and daughter, McKenna, moved to Severna Park from San Francisco in April, 2002. Since that time, he has been actively involved with several local groups, but none more so than the Watershed Action Group. Jim actually joined the group as the ASPIRE representative in the summer of 2005.

By October of that year, he led the first homeowner’s workshops on “How we can improve our local waterways” at two of the first local green schools: Folger McKinsey and Severna Park Elementary Schools. These events helped create Severna Park’s Annual Earth Day event, which began in 2006 at St. Martin’s-In-The-Field. Over the next five years, this event has grown to become one of the largest Earth Day celebrations in the region, with over 2,000 participants and 50 exhibitors, teaching local communities how we can improve our local waterways, starting in our own backyards.

This year’s event will be held on April 30tat Severna Park Middle School. 

In addition to leading the Watershed Action Group, Jim currently serves as the finance chair of the Severna Park Community Center, and Planned Giving Counsel for Hospice of the Chesapeake and the Light House Shelter.

Diane Evans – Partners in Care

With her experience, capabilities and enthusiasm, Diane Evans is a model for community-building. She has devoted over 1,000 hours to helping our older members remain independent in their own homes.

She has driven nearly 3,000 miles in service to others. She has used her extensive connections and social skills as an ambassador to promote our interests, and she has brought us significant opportunity by introducing us to the state community investment tax credit program.

She has been the driving force behind our annual Jewelry Extravaganza, an important fundraising event, which takes months of skilled committee work to produce.

This year’s Jewelry Extravaganza will be held on March 25 and 26. Diane served on the Anne Arundel County Council and has been very active in the upgrading of Jonas Green Park, among many other activities. She is currently the treasurer of the Oncology Foundation of Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Dr. Jessica Heard – Greater Severna Park Chamber of Commerce

Dr. Jessica Mulhern Heard is the nominee of the Greater Severna Park Chamber of Commerce. She is a veterinarian and is the owner of the Severna Park Veterinary Hospital where she has developed a volunteer program for high school students to observe, and has also mentored interns who are interested in veterinary medicine. For the past two years, she has served as the President of the Severna Park High School Business Advisory Board.

She also hosts kindergartners from Severna Park Elementary School on their annual field trip, as well as field trips for scouts and 4-H Clubs. One of her favorite projects is donating “An Afternoon with a Vet” to local charities which allows a student to have a personal tour and to help perform teddy bear surgery and bandaging a beloved stuffed animal.

Jessica wrote the following: “Severna Park has been such a wonderful community to both own a business and raise a family. I am truly blessed to be able to share experiences I had as a student with the students of Severna Park.”

Dan Nataf, Ph. D. – Greater Severna Park Council

Dan Nataf has been involved in local activities for many years. He joined the Greater Severna Park Council in 1989 as a board member and became Chairman of the Public Works Committee. This committee worked especially on transportation studies, in cooperation with the County Traffic Engineering Department.

One issue that was very time consuming was a study of the possibility of a reversible lane on Benfield Road. When this did not occur, the efforts to relieve traffic on Benfield Road were directed toward creating an alternate road which became known as East-West Boulevard.

They also worked on the realignment of Malfunction Junction. Dan lives in Berrywood with his wife, Beth Sammis, who is the acting insurance commissioner of Maryland. Dan teaches political science at Anne Arundel Community College and heads up the CSLI – Center for the Study of Local Issues.

He gives many public presentations and speaks to local groups about these issues. He is a past president of his former neighborhood, Fairwinds, and serves on the Board of Chrysalis House. Dan was also involved in the formation of ASPIRE. The Greater Severna Park Council appreciates his many years of service.

Charlie Nolte – Magothy River Association

As our representative to the Watershed Action Group, Charlie Nolte has done a superb job of representing the Magothy River Association and integrating our activities. His leadership as an ambassador for the MRA to the community and his personal and communication skills have been invaluable in membership growth, fundraising activities and “getting the word out” about the Magothy River watershed.

For years he has been the “face of the MRA” at local Earth Day activities and the MRA booth at the 4th of July celebration. As the Fair Oaks representative for Magothy Clearwater for over 10 years, he always signs up the community for bacterial water quality tests and he distributes bi-weekly updates immediately to his contact list. When water quality is poor, he alerts his community by placing a sign at the waterfront.

Charlie thus demonstrates his continued concern for the well-being of his community. No matter how busy he might be, Charlie always finds the time to lead and is a major factor in the success of the MRA.

Steve Poland – Greater Severna Park Council

Steve Poland and his wife, Sandy, live in Kensington in Severna Park. They have been married for 40 years and have a son, Bryce, and a daughter, Lindsey. Steve graduated from the University of Kansas and had a career as an engineer working with heat rejecter systems which are for cooling everything from small store air conditioners to cooling towers for nuclear plants.

Steve was involved in the Greater Severna Park Council for 10 years in the 1980s as a delegate from his community association and also served as the Council representative to the former Anne Arundel County School Board Nominating Convention. About 10 years ago he returned to the Board of the Council and has been their treasurer for the past five years.

He also served as president of his homeowners association, 2 years in the 1980s and again in 2007 and 2008. The Green Hornets have benefited from his services, as the director of girls and boys basketball for seven years, and coaching soccer and baseball. He is also involved in his church, Calvary United Methodist in Annapolis.

Steve has been a leader and a worker in our area for many years and the Greater Severna Park Council is proud to nominate him for this award.

 Anne Schellie – Chesapeake Academy

During 13 years of service on Chesapeake Academy’s Board of Trustees, Anne Schellie enriched the academic curriculum, developed plans for building expansion, and articulated the school’s commitment to a more diverse and inclusive school community. Anne’s roles at Chesapeake Academy included board chair, vice chair, and the chair of several committees, including development, governance, education, legal, and head of school search committee.

Anne is also well known for her generous and intelligent service to other organizations, including the Severn School, the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, the Institute for Shipboard Education, and the Scenic Rivers Land Trust. Anne, her husband, Peter, and their family live in Annapolis.