Directors

· Michael A. Murray, Direct Mail Processors Inc. · John P. Itell, CPA, Albright Crumbacker Moul & Itell LLP · Robert Cochran, Robert Cochran Insurance and Financial Services · LeRoy E. Myers Jr., Myers Building Systems · James Cremins, M.D., Digestive Disorders Consultants · Curt Spicher, Spicher's Appliances

SABILLASVILLE, Md - Hope Alive Inc. has announced its 2008 Board of Directors. They include Dr. Kenneth Olsen, president; Dr. Kathy Brooks; Mark Frizzera; Dr. Frank Eichorn; Penny Millison; Rich Manfredo, treasurer; Joanne Gardner; Kelly Schultz, secretary and interim vice president; Holly Jung; Deb Tomlinson; Jan MacFarlane; and Katie Penick. Founded in 2002, Hope Alive Inc. is a nonprofit Christian ministry called to embrace homeless women and their children with the life-changing love of God. In partnership with the community, Hope Alive offers a transitional group home and comprehensive support services to empower women and children with Christian values, dignity and the skills they need to live self-sustaining lives filled with hope and a future.

The Washington County Commissioners on April 26 appointed two people to the County Board of Social Services: James I. Blanks owned and operated Antietam Equipment Corp. in Hagers- town from 1981 to 1997. He is president of the North American Rod & Gun Club Board of Directors. He has served on the Washington County Partnership for Children & Families Board of Directors since 1999 and is the current chairman. He served on The Parent Child Center Board of Directors from 1990 to 1996 and was president of the board from 1994 to 1996.

The West Virginia University Hospitals-East board of directors recently recognized two outgoing board directors for their years of service to the health system. Rick Pill, immediate past board chairman, and Walter Washington, vice chairman and a charter member of the WVUH-East board since 2005, were presented plaques at a dinner held in their honor.

FREDERICK, Md. - The City of Frederick and the Weinberg Center Board of Directors Inc. will host a joint press conference Friday at 9 a.m. at the Weinberg Center. The event will cover highlights of the recently completed Fiscal 2005 season, including the unveiling of the center's financials.

Here's how the PenMar Development Corporation's board of directors voted Tuesday on whether to authorize the sale of the former Fort Ritchie U.S. Army base. For: John Hershey, Elizabeth Morgan, George Griffin, Peggy Bushey, Mike Zampelli, Steve Hull, Bill Mahr, Phil Ulzheimer. Against: Ron Sulchek Abstained: William J. Wivell

Margaret “Maggie” Weston Hetzer, prominent local businesswoman and philanthropist, of Little Antietam Road, Hagerstown, Md., died Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012, after a long struggle with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Maggie was deeply grateful to the Johns Hopkins Hospital physicians and staff for their expert care and compassionate concern. Born in Lincoln, Neb., she was the daughter of the late Samuel J. Bernstein Weston and the late Frances J. Hutchinson, both of New York.

The Board of Directors of the Washington County Arts Council announces that the 2012 Community Arts Development grant guidelines and application now available at www.washingtoncountyarts.com   or by calling Mary Anne Burke at 301-791-3132. Awards are made possible through the Maryland State Arts Council's Community Arts Development.

McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. - The Board of Directors of the Fulton County Medical Center has announced the formation of the FCMC Foundation. The foundation has been established to support health and wellness in the community. The idea of a foundation began several years ago. FCMC decided to wait until the construction of the new facility was complete. The formal process for forming the foundation began in February 2008 and was finalized in August when the FCMC Board of Directors were recommended and appointed.

Agency collecting furniture in need of donations To the editor: Christian Social Services has been operating a program to provide usable furniture to people in our county who have been “burned out” or find themselves in desperate situations where they have little or no furniture. People make appointments for our volunteers to pick up the furniture. We store the items in a storage facility and, when the need arises, the person makes a request and we make arrangements for delivery.

Brigitte Heller, who served as director of Washington County Emergency Medical Services, on Tuesday was posthumously awarded a Maryland Emergency Medical Services Stars of Life Award. Heller, who died in June 2012 of injuries from a traffic accident, was awarded the Director's Award for Excellence in EMS by the the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, or MIEMSS, according to a news release. MIEMSS oversees and coordinates the statewide EMS system. The organization presented awards Tuesday in the President's Conference Room in the Miller Senate Office Building in Annapolis, according to an emailed news release from the MIEMSS.

Reducing obstacles for adoption, decreasing euthanasia rates and increasing the number of animal control field service officers are top priorities listed by Michael Lausen, the recently hired executive director of the Humane Society of Washington County. Lausen, who took over the executive director job Feb. 4, said recently that the humane society had 142 adoptions, including 73 cats and 65 dogs, in March - its highest recorded one-month total ever - simply by relaxing the requirements in the adoption application process.

Michael Jonnes, who led the Springfield (Mass.) Symphony Orchestra for 15 years, has been named the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's new executive director. MSO Board President Dori Nipps said Wednesday that the search committee liked Jonnes' depth of experience. Jonnes succeeds Tamara Nuzzaci Park, who said she is moving to Colorado to set up a consulting business to assist music festivals and to work with other organizations. In addition to his years with the Springfield Symphony, Jonnes has worked in the industry for many years.

Brett Hill, a lifelong Chicago Bears fan from Shippensburg, Pa., represented his favorite team on the podium in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday, calling out its pick, Khaseem Greene, after winning a trip to the draft through an online sweepstakes. “It was pretty incredible,” the 45-year-old said. “Just for an NFL fan there's nothing like it other than a game.” Hill, who is the director of security for AlliedBarton Security Services at Valley Mall in Hagerstown, won an all-expense paid trip to the draft and was taken to New York City with his girlfriend in a Limo that picked them up at his house.

Maryland Symphony Orchestra Music Director Elizabeth Schulze has been artistic director and conductor of the Flagstaff (Ariz.) Symphony Orchestra since the fall of 2008. Earlier this month, Schulze learned that she is the winner of the first Sorel Medallion in Conducting from The Elizabeth & Michel Sorel Charitable Organization Inc. In the organization's board of directors' announcement, Schulze was cited for the work she displayed in the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM)

A National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) matching grant has been awarded to Wilson College, allowing the addition of a full-time athletics communication/sports information director to the college athletics department. The NCAA Division III Strategic Alliance Matching Grant, which will be distributed over three years, is highly competitive: Wilson is one of just six institutions nationwide to receive the grant, according to a Wilson news release. Wilson College applied for the grant after the Board of Trustees' decision to expand coeducation across all programs, according to Wilson's Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Lori Frey.

Rabbi Harold White started off his speech to about 60 people at Congregation B'nai Abraham's synagogue on Sunday by taking a poll. Among his questions were how many people were natives of Hagerstown (about two), how many lived outside Hagerstown and traveled to the city to attend synagogue (about a dozen), and how many people were part of an interfaith marriage (about 10). White said he wasn't surprised by most of the answers, nor should attendees have been surprised about being asked questions after congregation member Rachel Nichols said White was known for his curiosity.

With Federal Aviation Administration funding cuts looming, Washington County officials have decided to seek state funding to help keep open the air-traffic control tower at Hagerstown Regional Airport. The tower is set to close May 5 if other arrangements are not made, according to airport Director Phil Ridenour, who met Tuesday with the Washington County Board of Commissioners to discuss options for keeping the tower operational. Hagerstown's tower was one of 149 federally contracted towers across the country selected for closure as a result of budget cuts necessitated by the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration.

The director of Washington County's Division of Emergency Services went before the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to present the department's annual budget request that reflects a 21-percent increase over the current fiscal year. The request for fiscal year 2013-14 totals out a little more than $13.5 million, up by 21.4 percent from the current year's expenditures of $11.2 million, according to DES Director Kevin Lewis and documents given to the five commissioners. Most of the increases stem from the need to maintain adequate staffing of volunteer fire and EMS departments, which would ultimately save the county money, Lewis said.