Meet Our Board President, Susan Mudd Vogel

"SIGNS OF THE TIME"

Susan Mudd Vogel

Executive Director, Civista Health Foundation

President, Leadership Southern Maryland

Board of Directors

I just moved offices for the third time in my job as Executive Director of the Civista Health Foundation. Now I am closer to the hospital (with a great view of our entrance), and the move gave me the chance to once again get organized with taking only the things I needed and tossing/shredding the rest. Exhilarating!

Now, beside the pictures of my family and a few other accessories, there are two expressions that grace my freshly painted wall.

The first is a small ceramic sign that says "Life is like a bunch of raisins – raisin' children, raisin' heck and raisin' money!" I can't even remember where I bought it but it spoke to me (so of course I had to have it.) Balancing work and family has been something I've just 'done' for almost 20 years – the delicate dance between laptops and lunch-making, strategy sessions and sporting events, and meetings and milestones. I am blessed with a supportive husband and two amazing children who help keep the see-saw balanced for me and grateful for a rewarding career in a community where I was raised.

People tell me all the time, “I don’t know how you do it all,” and I smile, thinking they don’t quite understand. I’ve decided that I don’t do things in spite of the fact that my husband and I have two children. We do things because we have them. I work and volunteer and visit the beach as often as I can. I try to be a good daughter and sister and do all the other things I’ve done (and all of the things I want to do) because I want to be the kind of parent that my son and daughter wants to be when they grow up. I want them to respect me and look up to me and basically just think that I am really, really cool. I want to be their biggest role model and I want them to be proud of me.

Hopefully, my plan will work out!

The second expression in my office reads "Donors don't give to institutions. They invest in ideas and people in whom they believe." I came across this phrase and it seemed to align to my work as a fundraiser and the organizations I serve in my community.

Come to think of it, this same quote could easily be on the wall in the Leadership Southern Maryland office. After all, LSM got its start by a few people and an idea! As LSM has grown, the continued focus on people and ideas is what makes us strong and reputable. For me, LSM continues to be a great source of pride personally and professionally, and I hope you share the same sentiment.

What are you raisin' today?

Profiles in LEADership: Doug Baumann

LEAD 2012 was an awesome experience for me and I’ve grown in so many ways.  Since attending LEAD, I attended the Maryland Advanced Leadership Workshop at Washington College.  I met more great people and really honed in on my leadership skills.  I spent my summer life guarding and assisting with swim lessons for children.  I hope to become an assistant coach for one of the swim teams next summer. 

As a junior, my college future is quickly approaching.  I aspire to attend the Coast Guard Academy, but I’m also looking at colleges that will afford me the opportunity to play sports throughout my college years and work towards an engineering degree.  I absolutely love engineering.  I’m currently in my 2^nd year at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center working towards finishing the engineering program. 

As a continuation of our Oyster Restoration project from LEAD this summer, I’m looking forward to participating in planting another 450 bushels of Spat-On-Shell with the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association during November.  Several others delegates from LEAD will be assisting.  Being out and enjoying the water is one of my favorite past times so this will be a great opportunity for me to give back to the community and spend time out on the water.

Late summer and early fall, I spent many hours with the LHS Varsity football team as a member of the team and as their kicker and wide receiver.  We are headed into the winter sports season and I’m working hard to try to become the junior-captain of our SMAC winning swim team.  LEAD has really given me the confidence to work towards “stepping-up” into these types of roles.  In the spring, I look forward to getting back on the baseball field with the LHS Varsity baseball team now that my elbow has fully healed from the surgery this past spring.  I spent some time this fall playing Legion ball in preparation for the spring season.

I have to say that I’ve grown so much as a person since attending LEAD and ALS.  I have stepped up my grades and want to continue to find ways to step-up as a leader and also to continue to help my community.

Wilson Parran Receives 2012 Heritage Award

Leadership Southern Maryland proudly honored Wilson H. Parran with its inaugural Heritage Award. The Heritage Award recognizes an individual or group from our region that has mastered leadership with a track record of collaborative and inclusive leadership, service by supporting meaningful innovation in their community and region, and mentoring through the fostering and motivating of professionals to elevate their potential. Wilson H. Parran, a life-long Calvert County resident and leader, exemplifies each of these traits at the regional level.

Defining Regional Collaboration...

Press Release:
Waldorf, Maryland, October 16, 2012: Please join us on Friday, November 2, 11:30 – 1:30 p.m.(Doors open at 11 a.m.) at our 7^th Annual Philanthropy Day Luncheon, as we celebrate our new name, Community Foundation of Southern Maryland, Inc. “We are the same organization, except we now will have a broader reach,” stated Executive Director Gretchen Hardman.  In addition to introducing our new name at the annual Luncheon, we will induct the following individuals into our Philanthropy Hall of Fame: Roberta Kieliger from Charles County; Margaret Elizabeth Jarboe and the late Dr. James Patrick Jarboe from St. Mary’s County and John Dennis “Denny” Murray from Calvert County.  Guests at the luncheon will be entertained by a presentation of actress Mary Ann Jung’s acclaimed tribute show to Julia Child. 

By harnessing the strength of the entire region, the Community Foundation of Southern Maryland will be able to serve more donors, build more funds and make a bigger impact in the community.  We will continue to work with families, individuals, businesses, estate attorneys and financial advisors to design a plan that fits with every economic situation, ensuring that donors receive the most benefit from their charitable contributions and that their philanthropic dollars are used to the fullest potential. Currently the Community Foundation manages 15 named funds with a market value over $1Million. Through our funds, we have distributed approximately $300,000 to area nonprofits in fields of interest in the arts, education and scholarship, environment, general community improvement, health and wellness, and youth initiatives.  The Community Foundation was recently selected by the Charles County Chamber as the Nonprofit of the Year.    

At our Annual Philanthropy Day Luncheon, we are always inspired by stories of individuals who selflessly give back to our community through their tireless hours of volunteer time and financial contributions to those in need. We think it is important to recognize and honor these individuals and families.  We know they don’t give back because of an award; they all do it to help make our world a better place to live. 

For more information about the Philanthropy Day Luncheon and to become a sponsor you may go to our website at www.cfsomd.org or call 240.216.8452.  Tickets must be purchased in advance. The cost is $40 per person or $360 per table of 10.  They may be purchased on-line or you may send a check payable to: Community Foundation of Southern Maryland and mail it to 3055 Old Washing ton Road, Waldorf, MD 20601.  

 

Profiles in LEADership: Caroline Haddaway

This year has been very busy so far! I am taking 4 AP classes, I am an active member of Best Buddies, I was selected as Field Hockey co-captain, and I am involved again, this year in the CCPS Robotics team.  These activities are keeping me pretty busy, along with keeping up with my school work. Field Hockey is wrapping up, so I am ready to start pushing forward with some of my planned projects. I am still in the process of setting up my school's chapter of Stand for the Silent, the anti-bullying club. I have a group of students excited to join, a charter and mission statement have been written and I am planning to meet with my school principal next week. It should be up and running soon!  Although this year has been challenging so far, it has been fun and I'm looking forward to see where the rest of the year will go. This winter I will be participating in Mock Trial and Math Club, and our Robotics team will begin planning and building our robot for a competition in the spring. I am also excited that I will be volunteering at the Society of Women Engineers event this winter to help encourage middle school girls to remain active in science, math and engineering. 

 

Along with school and all my activities I am starting to explore colleges that I am interested in. In a few weeks I am going on a college tour to visit The University of Delaware, Swarthmore College, Syracuse University, and a few other engineering schools. I plan to study either Environmental or Marine engineering so that I can learn the skills needed for building sailboats which is a career field I am very interested in pursuing when I graduate. I also hope to participate in a club or varsity sailing team in college. Over this past summer I studied and received my crewing license that allows me to crew a sailboat. I hope to go further with this and eventually get my captains license. I am really hoping to combine my academic and personal interests in college, so it is going to take a little work to find the ideal fit, but I'm confident I can!

 

The skills I learned during my last two summers in the LEAD program have really helped me focus and take matters into my own hands.  I am more confident in setting goals for myself and my accomplishments have served to better myself and also my community.  

The Footprint of Dominion

Having unrivaled access to our region’s most important energy facilities is part of what Leadership Southern Maryland is all about. For 32 class members and several program advocates, understanding the role that Dominion plays in our region extended far beyond the definition of LNG or Liquefied Natural Gas. Dominion opened its gates to a world of safety, stewardship and protection of not only its employees, but also the environment around its facilities. One of the western shore’s largest freshwater marshes, Dominion is home to numerous species of wildlife, under a cover of protection that reaches from the eagles flying overhead to the fragile grasses that were replanted to save the wetlands. Partnering with Leadership Southern Maryland in planting those grasses allows for a continued stewardship of our bay and defines the very essence of regional collaboration. Thank you to Michael Gardner, Tim Nelson, Mark Reaser and the Dominion Cove Point Facility for a wonderful lunch and tour!

 

Energy & Environment, SMECO

Leadership Southern Maryland would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to SMECO, CEO Joe Slater, Tom Dennison, Natalie Brown, and Bernadette Lewis for contributing to a great program at their headquarters in Hughesville. Aside from the teriffic lunch provided by SMECO, LSM class of 2013 were given an exclusive tour of both the new Solar Farm on Rt. 5, Leonardtown Rd, and SMECO's new Platinum LEED Certified facility. Thank you to program advocates Laurell Aiton, Rob Plant, Michelle Russell and Gary McKay for two days of power programs.