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Extra! Extra! Sept/Oct '09
Catch Up on the News and Notes From Around Washington County and Beyond!

+ photo by Jason Turner

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Fundraiser Helps Foundation Take Flight
The Barbara Ingram School for the Arts’ Take Flight Gala and Auction in June offered attendees the first public viewing of the new school, and the opportunity to bid on nine butterflies that were displayed downtown Hagerstown as a civic arts project to raise funds for the school. About 600 people attended the event, including 100 students. The event raised $400,000 for the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Foundation, which aims to support BISFA students by securing public and private funding and in-kind support for capital and operational needs
Caption: About 600 people attended the Take Flight Gala and Auction to raise funds for the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Foundation.

Orrstown Employees Complete Training
Orrstown Bank’s Compensation/Benefits Administrator Holly Mitchell earned special certification as a professional in human resources from HR Certification Institute following a 13-week course in Professional Human Resource Management at Villanova University. Dan Baer earned the Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA) designation from the American Bankers Association. With more than eight years of experience, Dan holds both the Series 7 and Series 66 licenses, and specializes in fiduciary accounts, estate planning and estate settlement. Bank employees JD Pearl, Jennifer Richard and Morgan Miller completed coursework at the annual Pennsylvania Bankers Association School of Banking, which provides students with a broad base of knowledge of the financial services industry.

LWC Welcomes New Board Members
Leadership Washington County announced several new additions to its board of directors. New members, who also are graduates of the flagship program, are Dr. Justin Hartings, president and founder of Biaera Technologies; Dr. Tara Horst, professor at Shippensburg University; Kelli Palamar of Centra Bank; and Noel Williams, of Williams Solutions Group.

Hampton Inn Earns “Wall of Fame” Award
The Hampton Inn Hagerstown-Maugansville received the prestigious “Wall of Fame” award, which recognizes the hotel for having product, service and quality performance scores in the top 15 percent of all Hampton Inn Hotels. “I’m extremely proud of my staff for their achievement, and feel I have a great group of professionals in all of our departments,” says owner Randy Morrel. “They take great pride in the job they do everyday.” This is the seventh time in a row the Hampton Inn Hagerstown-Maugansville has earned the award, a significant achievement considering the chain’s 1,700 hotels around the world.

Ground Breaking News
Cohenterprises and Plamondon Hospitality Partners broke ground for a Courtyard by Marriott near Hagerstown’s Valley Mall. The multi-million dollar project, expected to be finished in the spring of 2010, will include 96 rooms, an indoor pool, meeting rooms and amenities like same-day dry cleaning and express checkout. “This new hotel will be a very welcome addition to the inventory of available hospitality amenities in our county. The number of visitors staying in hotels in Hagerstown–Washington County has been greatly increasing,” says Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau President Tom Riford. “We’ve had a real need for additional high-quality hotel rooms.”

Maryland, Miss Maryland
Brooke Poklemba, Miss University City, was crowned Miss Maryland 2009, receiving the supplementary honors of the Preliminary Talent Award and Overall Talent Winner. Brooke’s platform was “Autism Awareness: the Importance of Early Intervention.” Stephanie Meadowcroft, Miss Outstanding Teen Greater Baltimore, took home the Miss Maryland Outstanding Teen crown. Three of Hagerstown’s very own were named finalists. Miss Western Maryland, Mary King, earned the first runner-up scholarship of $4,000; Miss Washington County, Whitney Colombo, was a top ten finisher, and her sister, Audreanna Colombo competed for Miss Maryland Outstanding Teen, finishing third runner-up.