Local jewelry store donates over $3,000 and 890 pounds of food to local food pantry
Dickinson Jewelers, with locations in Dunkirk and Prince Frederick, hosted a food drive in conjunction with their first ever jewelry auction, Get It or Regret It! The auction and food drive lasted only three days in early August and the store was extremely moved by how giving their customers were.
This summer, the store partnered with End Hunger in Calvert County (EHCC, www.endhungercalvert.org) for the third time. For each food donation customers brought in, they received a chance to win one of six prizes donated by designers that work with the store. At the end of the three day sale, the community had donated 890 pounds of food to the organization. The store distributed bags around the entire county for the community to fill and drop off at either Dickinson Jewelers location. Kathy Dickinson, owner, commented that “having the bags around the entire county was a great way to encourage donations. Even if someone in the community wasn’t aware of the auction, they were able to contribute to the food drive. I love being able to witness how much people care for others.”
In addition to the food drive, Dickinson Jewelers pledged to donate $5 for each registered bidder and 10% of the auction sales. The store was able to donate $3,200 to End Hunger in Calvert County. Jacqueline Miller, Director of Awareness at End Hunger, commented that “because of [their] relationship with the Maryland Food Bank, End Hunger in Calvert County will be able to purchase roughly $32,000 worth of food with the money Dickinson Jewelers donated. Here at End Hunger in Calvert County we always say #givewhereyoulive – well, this is what giving where you live looks like! We are making a real difference for real people right in our own backyards.”
Dickinson Jewelers is located in Prince Frederick at 916 Costley Way and in Dunkirk at 10286 Southern Maryland Boulevard. Store hours at both locations are Mon-Fri 10 am to 7 pm; Sat 10 am to 5 pm. Visit them online www.dickinsonjewelers.com. Both End Hunger and Dickinson Jewelers are very active on social media – it’s easy to keep tabs on their upcoming events!

End Hunger in Calvert County hosted its second annual “FoodStock” on Saturday at the End Hunger Warehouse, where more than 100 volunteers distributed 82,704 pounds of food, beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until the last box of food was given away.
Cars began lining up at the Calvert Industrial Park in Prince Frederick for FoodStock ’13 as early as 6:15 a.m., coordinators said, and the line soon reached out to Route 231.
Last year, during the first FoodStock distribution event, volunteers gave away 59,000 pounds of food, according to Jacqueline Miller, director of communications for End Hunger in Calvert County.
This year’s event provided food to “about 850 to 1,000 families,” Miller said. “How it works is they come in, they wrap around, and there’s volunteers that have intake forms. So, we’re getting to know how many people are in their family, how old they are, so we can give them food that makes sense for their families.”
Volunteers then collected the forms and packed visitors’ cars with the appropriate amount of food — including collected nonperishable items and fresh produce from Farming 4 Hunger’s partnering local farms — for each individual family.
“It’s like a drive-thru,” Miller said Saturday. “In addition to just giving them food today, they’ll be receiving a form that invites them to let us continue caring for their families.” Each car was given a list of local food pantry hours and locations, “so they don’t have to just stop today; we can continue serving them.”
The Rev. Robert P. Hahn, chairman of End Hunger in Calvert County, said one of the main goals of the event was to, “as quickly as we can, get data from these folks so we can better understand who the hungry are and what their needs are.”
The current problem is that “there’s just not a lot of data on rural hunger; it’s so hidden,” he said. “You can’t say there’s no hunger problem.”
Miller elaborated, explaining that the face of hunger in Calvert County is not what one might expect.
“It’s the working poor here; it’s not drug abusers or the homeless. They often have a full-time job, if not two jobs,” she said. The hungry in Calvert County are “normal people — people who, if you saw them at Safeway, you would never know were in need.”
Miller said one of her favorite parts of the event is the reality check. The community is “confronted with the reality of hunger in Calvert County. When you see these cars in line,” she said, “you can’t ignore it.”

By LYDIA KING
Special To The Recorder

What’s so charming about Calvert County is the many family roots and the rich history planted here. We do not often fret when our children walk to visit a neighborhood friend or bike to the boardwalk or ice cream shop. While that is comforting, we can sometimes overlook the reality many families are facing. Feeding America and the United States Conference of Mayors report that rural hunger (15.4 percent) is now a larger problem than urban hunger (14.9 percent). We might not see the hungry faces as we drive through our county, but they are very real and very present.
Did you know that more than 10,000 Calvert County residents use local food pantries each year?
Our hungry neighbors are not drug abusers, mentally challenged or even unemployed. Our hungry neighbors are the working poor — many working two, sometimes three, jobs to support themselves and their families. A new statistic from our End Hunger in Calvert County partner food pantries shows that people ages 40 to 59 years old are the fastest growing demographic of hunger.
So, how are we working to help them? Our upcoming event, FoodStock 2013, will take place this Saturday, Aug. 17, at the End Hunger Warehouse in Prince Fredrick. During last year’s Foodstock, our volunteers handed out 59,000 pounds of food to more than 600 families in just three hours. This year, we hope to nearly double that number and distribute 100,000 pounds of food to 850 families in three hours.
Fresh produce for this event will be coming from our friends at Farming 4 Hunger and canned/dried foods will be supplied by the Maryland Food Bank.
If you would like to be part of FoodStock 2013, there are two ways you can help. First, you can be a hunger advocate and share our photos and posts. Pictures will be posted all throughout the day on End Hunger’s Facebook (“End Hunger In Calvert County”), Twitter (@_TogetherWeCan) and Instagram (EndHungerCalvert) pages. Sharing posts helps remind our community of the need and how Calvert County is moving to meet it. Secondly, you can make a financial donation online at endhungercalvert.org. All donations are tax deductible and will directly support FoodStock 2013’s operations.
Your donation and help could be what feeds your neighbor. If we all “#givewherewelive,” together, we can end hunger in Calvert County.

Zachary Nycum, Huntingtown

Dickinson Jewelers in Dunkirk and Prince Frederick will host its first-ever jewelry auction, “Get It or Regret It!” to benefit End Hunger in Calvert County.
The auction runs for three days only, beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, and bidding ends Saturday, Aug. 3, at 2 p.m. Stores will be closed Wednesday, July 31, to prepare for the event.
The jewelry store is partnering with EHCC by giving customers the opportunity to win one of six prizes with a total value of more than $5,000 while helping the local community. Throughout the sale, 10 percent of all auction sales will go directly to End Hunger in Calvert County, as well as the $5 from each bidder registration and all food donations, according to a press release. Customers will receive one entry ticket for each nonperishable food item donated. A new prize drawing starts each day, so participants may stop by daily with food donations and to update bids.
“Last year, we were able to give six carts of food to EHCC and we loved it,” Alison Setzer, Dickinson’s marketing manager, said. “Everything stays in the county, and we’re able to support the community that makes us a success.”
“We couldn’t be any more appreciative of our wonderful community,” Kathy Dickinson, owner, said in the release. “It’s amazing to see all of the love and support that comes from our customers.”
Starting at 10 a.m. Aug. 1, visit either store to purchase a bidder registration card, all proceeds of which will be donated directly to End Hunger in Calvert County, and the purchaser will receive one entry ticket for that day’s prize drawing. Opening bids will start at 40 to 60 percent off the retail prices. The highest bidder at 2 p.m. Aug. 3 must come into the store before 5 p.m. to pay for the purchase. At 5 p.m., the item will go to the next highest bidder, the release states.
Dickinson Jewelers is located in Prince Frederick Market Place at 916 Costley Way (410-535-4338) and in the Dunkirk Market Place at 10286 Southern Maryland Blvd. (301-855-8770). For more information, go to www.dickinsonjewelers.com.
Vendors of homemade goods sought for PRAD
The Calvert Marine Museum is seeking vendors who produce homemade or homegrown goods that celebrate the “bounty of the Patuxent” for the upcoming Patuxent River Appreciation Days Festival on Saturday, Oct. 12, and Sunday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Goods may be fresh fruits or vegetables, cheese, wheat or cornmeal, fresh seafood, wine, cider or non-edible items such as soaps, scents, creams or beeswax candles. Vendors must be in compliance with all Maryland State Health Department regulations for sale and distribution of goods. To apply to be a vendor for Patuxent River Appreciation Days, call 410-326-2042, ext. 41, or email mccormmj@co.cal.md.us.
Operation Hope on the Chesapeake coming next month
The seventh annual Operation Hope on the Chesapeake will be Saturday, Aug. 17. Between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m., there will be a bus escorted by the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office from the county line to the Rod‘N’Reel parking lot in Chesapeake Beach. Passengers on the bus will be wounded veterans from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda.
Join others in honoring fellow Americans who have risked their lives to protect U.S. freedom. Bring flags, banners and signs for the arrival of the heroes at the Rod‘N’Reel Marina, or gather along Route 260 at any of the following intersections: Route 2 at Calvert Arundel Medical Center, Woodlawn Way at Quince View Neighborhood, Wesley Stinnett Boulevard at American Legion Post 206 and Route 261 at Veterans Memorial Park.
To learn more about Operation Hope on the Chesapeake, contact Mary Mathis at 410-610-2710 or marymathis502@comcast.net. Tax-deductible donations should be made payable to Operation Second Chance: Tax No. 20-2624345, CFC No. 93327. Checks may be mailed to Operation Hope on the Chesapeake, c/o Mary Mathis, P.O. Box 993, Chesapeake Beach, MD 20732. Checks may also be directly deposited at any PNC Bank to account No. 5570744004.
Museum hosts Lore Oyster House Day, sail aboard Dee
The J.C. Lore Oyster House in Solomons will brim with activity July 27 and Aug. 10 from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors will get a taste of what life is like for a Chesapeake waterman and the people who worked in oyster processing houses. There will be ongoing activities all afternoon, both in the oyster house and out on the dock. Try oyster tonging; learn to tie a towline and coil a rope; measure oysters and follow the path an oyster takes through the processing house from the loading dock to the shipping room. Tie on a work apron, stand in a stall and become a shucker, or take on the role of the skimmer and decide how many pints have been shucked and what the shuckers should be paid. Studying giant, soft sculpture oyster Rock-E-Feller is a great way to learn oyster anatomy.
For more information, go to www.calvertmarinemuseum.com, or call 410-326-2042.
Compensation Review Board to meet
The Compensation Review Board will meet Monday, July 29, at 6 p.m. in the Courthouse Square Conference Room, lower level, 205 Main St. in Prince Frederick.
The board meets to perform those duties set forth at Section 9-405 of the Public Local Laws of Calvert County, including the review of and making recommendations regarding the salaries of Calvert County officials, including members of the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners, whose salaries are set through law by the Maryland General Assembly.
For more information on the meeting or the Compensation Review Board, contact Lisa Viverette, executive administrative assistant to the county administrator, at 410-535-1600, ext. 2201, or email viverelm@co.cal.md.us.
Food pantry donations sought
Food donations are now being accepted at Home Place Hair Studio, 2580 Hallowing Point Road, Prince Frederick, for St. John Vianney Interfaith Food Pantry in Prince Frederick.
Hub and Spoke Task Force to meet
The task force to study the implementation of a Hub and Spoke Program in the Southern Maryland Region, otherwise known as the “Hub and Spoke Task Force,” will hold its initial meeting on Wednesday, July 31, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission (SMADC) Office at 15045 Burnt Store Road in Hughesville, and is open to the public. The purpose is to begin identifying the most effective ways to distribute fresh, local foods to the working poor in Southern Maryland (St. Mary’s, Charles and Calvert counties), a press release states.
To attend the meeting, RSVP to Mindy Waite at 301-274-1922, ext. 1, or mwaite@smadc.com. For notification of future meetings, check SMADC’s News and Announcements page at www.smadc.com.

Chesapeake Bay Events is pleased to announce that 14 year old Blues/Guitar prodigy “KINGFISH” has been added to the Sunday September 8th lineup of the 2013 Southern Maryland Blues Festival which is being held on September 7th and 8th at the Calvert County Fairgrounds in Barstow, Maryland. Christone “Kingfish” Ingram will be a featured guest of the Daryl Davis Band.
Kingfish was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi which has gained much notoriety as the birthplace of the Blues. It’s reputation is well known the world over for spawning such notable legends as Muddy Waters, Pinetop Perkins, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Gospel and Soul singer Sam Cooke, Ike Turner, and many others. The magical and legendary town of Clarksdale, where the Crossroads of Highway 61 and Highway 49 meet, has once again produced another Blues innovator
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram was born to Princess Pride Ingram and Christopher Ingram in 1999. Exposed to the rich Gospel music emanating from his family’s church, combined with the Blues he heard being played by musicians in his Delta neighborhood, and being a cousin to the great and legendary Country music singer, Charlie Pride, Kingfish became a natural sponge of musical talent.
At the tender age of 8, Kingfish began playing the drums. A year later at the age of 9, he took up the bass guitar. At the age of 11, he began playing lead guitar. By the age of 14, he had mastered all three instruments and has added vocals to his ever growing list of talents.
Kingfish’s guitar influences run the gamut of the Blues from the Delta Blues of Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters to the electric Blues of B.B. King, Albert King, and Freddie King, to the Rock Blues of Chuck Berry and Eric Gales and so many others. Surprisingly at such a young age, he can play just like his idols and mentors and possesses the additional ability to create a Blues sound entirely his own.
Even though he’s from the Delta, surrounded by all of its plantations and he travels Highway 49 and Highway 61 on a regular basis, unlike many of his musical predecessors from Mississippi, Kingfish never had to pick cotton or sell his soul to the devil at the infamous Crossroads. Yet, this child prodigy’s soul is possessed with the feeling, passion and fire of the much older men who created the most important genre of American music, the Blues.
Kingfish is a living phenomenon, soon destined to be a living legend!
About the festival:
The Southern Maryland Blues Festival is a two day festival featuring 12 national, international and local bands. There will be Arts, Crafts, Kids Activities, a variety of food, beer and craft beer tasting by local hosted breweries, wine and wine tasting hosted by local wineries. We fully expect this first year event to become a Southern Maryland tradition gaining notoriety on a national level.
The festival will benefit the less fortunate of Southern Maryland through a contribution of ALL net proceeds to End Hunger in Calvert County.

I am compelled to send out a huge thank you to the nearly 2,500 people who were a part of the first annual End Hunger In Calvert County Dragon Boat Festival, held June 22 in North Beach.
Not only did we net more than $25,000 (that’s after expenses) all to go directly to help end hunger in our county, but we did it together and we had fun doing it. To see pictures of the event, please visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/EndHungerDragonBoatFestival.
Special thanks must go to our underwriting sponsors: Constellation Energy Nuclear Group/Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Pepco and NRG Energy — your early belief in our cause was the power behind our success. Please be assured people will long remember your support.
Other sponsors include Audio Plus, Crowe Entertainment, Comcast, Southern Maryland Blues Festival and Chesapeake Church — thank you for making this great event happen.
To all the media outlets that wrote pre-event coverage and free advertising, thank you for helping to get the word out.
To the hundreds of volunteers who put this together — you folks were an awesome team working under the steady leadership of Jacqueline Miller, Brian Weiler and Ahna Turley. You were the heartbeat of our success, where no request was too small or too big.
To the 360 paddlers who raised money, came to practice, dressed in insane costumes and competed your hearts out, you are all true champions, and your compassion for the needy was evident in everything you did.
To the vendors who truly made the event a festival, thank you for bringing out your businesses, making ad hoc donations and raising the spirit of generosity.
To Mayor Bruce Wahl of Chesapeake Beach, you were gracious and supportive and a joy to work with. To Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert, Prince George’s), thank you for handing out the championship trophy — you made that moment special for everyone.
To ABC 7’s chief meteorologist and Calvert’s own Doug Hill, your five solid hours of commentary and announcements made each race exciting and compelling and kept us engaged.
To the Bay Business Group, your early support and enthusiasm fueled us forward and led the business community.
And to Mayor Mark Frazer of North Beach, your vision and belief in what we could do together set the tone. Your amazing staff (Dawn, Stacy and Richard, especially) could not have been more professional and accommodating. Mr. Mayor, you and your town went above and beyond to launch what we believe will become an annual North Beach/End Hunger event.
And finally, to all of Calvert County, thank you.
Five years ago, we latched onto a dream that, together, we could end hunger in Calvert County. And we are making a difference. That vision, that a community could rise up within itself and begin to meet people’s most basic need — food — is now becoming a reality. Thousands of our neighbors, from all walks and ages, will eat this summer because together, we, the citizens of Calvert County, have rejected petty, low-value living and, instead, have embraced the simple beauty of what happens when one neighbor reaches out to help another neighbor. And for that, we are all the better. It is an honor to serve among you.
May God bless you and those you love, and please remember to #givewhereyoulive.
Robert P. Hahn, Huntingtown
The writer is the chairman of End Hunger In Calvert County and the pastor of Chesapeake Church.

Some of the aspects of End Hunger in Calvert County could be implemented in Honduras in the near future after a chance meeting between a diplomat from the Honduran Embassy and the organization’s chairman.
On June 27, the counselor for private development assistance for The Embassy of Honduras, Pablo Mario Ordóñez, toured the End Hunger in Calvert County warehouse in Prince Frederick.
“End Hunger has crafted a unique combination of community ownership and involvement with the issue of local hunger, coupled with some innovative solutions to the problem, all the while maintaining both personal accountability and the dignity of those in need,” Ordóñez said in an EHCC news release. “This is definitely something that could work in the more rural areas of Honduras.”
End Hunger in Calvert County is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization partnering with area churches, charities, schools and businesses with the goal of ending hunger in Calvert County.
The Rev. Robert Hahn, chairman of EHCC and senior pastor of Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown, said during a phone interview that he and Ordóñez met in May when Hahn set up a meeting with the Honduran Embassy to discuss the church’s missions in a city in Honduras. Hahn said the church currently has a staff member and his family living in the city working with a medical clinic.
He said that after the meeting, Ordóñez was looking on the church’s website, saw something about End Hunger in Calvert County and thought the EHCC model could work for rural Honduras.
“Chesapeake Church has a strong commitment to doing ministry in rural Honduras so we figured meeting with Embassy officials was a good idea,” Hahn said in the release. “We never imagined that they would make the link that the End Hunger model could work for them as well. That’s what we call a God-thing.”
In the release, Ordóñez said what “struck” him about End Hunger was its philosophy that “if they don’t move the food out, God can’t refill the shelves. That thinking keeps their operation vibrant.”
Ordóñez said in the release he noticed End Hunger also collects candy and pet food to help people maintain “a sense of normalcy and dignity, that life is not hopeless.”
End Hunger’s “life skills and jobs programs give people who really want to change lives the opportunity to do so. It’s simple, but clearly effective,” Ordóñez said in the release, adding that charities in Honduras “give to the people but never expect anything back — this creates an unhealthy culture of dependency. End Hunger urges and trains people to be productive — becoming givers not just takers.”
Although End Hunger is known for it’s work with 11 partner food pantries in the county, the organization also sponsors job training and personal finance programs throughout the year. In September, the electrical training program will begin for the year and, in October, End Hunger will launch its first culinary classes.
“What he really appreciated was the 360-degree approach,” Hahn said, adding that End Hunger works on restoring normalcy to people’s lives so “they are more likely to become productive and not just stay in a cycle of dependence.”
Later this month or in August, Hahn said he is thinking of traveling to Honduras with Ordóñez.
Although there are no set plans for how any of EHCC’s aspects could be implemented in Honduras, Hahn said there are “serious talks” about what could work.
“It was pretty exciting. It was exciting to see … even in our problems, we have commonality,” Hahn said. “They have the exact same problems.”
ascott@somdnews.com

Bank of America Funds will support 2013 Electrical Training Program.
End Hunger In Calvert County received a $15,000 grant from The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc.
Last summer, in partnership with the JATC IBEW Local 26 Electricians Union and Southern Maryland Tri-County Community Council, End Hunger In Calvert County launched their Electrical Training Job-Training Program to get Calvert County residents back to work. This grant money is designated to fund the programs second year.
“The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is dedicated to providing opportunity for all in its commitment to our communities,” says Jeannan Peterson, Senior Vice President of Market Development of Greater Washington. “Providing support to organizations like End Hunger In Calvert County, which provides opportunity and improves the quality of life in our communities, is key to our strategy to build capacities that truly make a difference.”
Over 80 applicants attended the first information session (which was mandatory for admission) on Monday July 8 at Chesapeake Church. Of those eighty, thirty will be admitted and classes begin in September. Last year, the program graduated 24 individuals.
“Because of The Bank of America Charitable Foundation, we will be able to provide the Electrical Training Program completely free to our students, including tuition and tools,” says Rev. Robert P. Hahn chairman of End Hunger In Calvert County. “Our mission at End Hunger is to help move people from dependency to self-sufficiency. Because of the Electrical Training Program, individuals who were once not able to provide for their families now can. Real life change, that’s what it’s about for us.”
The fifteen-week course is a combination of classroom lectures, taught by certified instructors at the Calvert Career Center, as well as hands on practicums. Students receive 90 hours of training experience and became certified in OSHA, CPR, and basic first aid.
Graduates join the residential program through the Electrician Union and are qualified for above entry-level positions with electrical companies. Many begin pursuing a career with the Electrician Union’s apprenticeship program.
Visit endhungercalvert.org/works for more information.

Boats decorated with dragon heads and tails soon will be seen racing along the North Beach shore for the first Dragon Boat Festival.
“The festival is a fundraiser for End Hunger in Calvert County,” said Jaqueline Miller, director of communications for End Hunger in Calvert County. “This is a really fun way for the community to come out and have fun, but raise money for End Hunger in Calvert County.”
The event will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at the North Beach Boardwalk, she said.
The Rev. Robert Hahn of Chesapeake Church, chairman of End Hunger in Calvert County, said “a key for End Hunger” has been community involvement with the issue of hunger within the county. This fundraiser differs from others, he said, in that it directly unites the issue to the event. The festival creates a sense of community, it’s fun and it’s for an important issue, he said.
“This gets people involved,” Hahn said. “If you’re sponsoring or racing in a boat, you’re directly involved, but you can also come watch. It brings people together to realize we’re all concerned about the issue, which is hunger.”
End Hunger is a nonprofit organization that helps people create permanent solutions that help move them from dependency to self sufficiency, with a mission of ending hunger in the county, according to its website. The purpose of End Hunger, the website states, is to raise awareness and unite the community to collectively end hunger in the county.
The idea to have a dragon boat race in the county came from Brian Weiler, a relatively new Chesapeake Church staff member, who has participated in dragon boat races before, Miller said. Weiler was talking about his experience with dragon boat races “and we realized this was something we could put on” in Calvert County, Miller said.
The dragon boats will be provided by 22Dragons based out of Canada. 22Dragons also will score the teams based on the fastest time, Miller said. The length of the course is 200 meters and each race will last from one to two minutes, according to End Hunger’s website. Each team is guaranteed to race at least twice, Miller said.
Teams are made up of 19 people — 16 paddlers, one drummer and two substitutes, Miller said. The team captain is responsible for putting a team together, but individuals or small groups who do not have a full team can sign up on End Hunger’s website, www.endhungercalvert.org/dragonboat, and “we’ll get in touch with you,” she said.
As of May 29, about 20 teams have preregistered for the race, Miller said, and up to 30 teams will be accepted. She said it is $125 for individuals to enter the race and $2,000 for a team to enter, but to watch the race is free.
“This is an event the entire community can come out to,” Miller said. “There’s no charge to watch the race.”
A “family zone” will be set up for race spectators to enjoy, which will include face painting, a moon bounce and balloon animals, Miller said.
Miller said she hopes there will be several “special event cups” in the race. One special event race already taking place is a “Mayor’s Cup,” in which boats with teams from North Beach, which is hosting the event, and Chesapeake Beach will race one another, she said.
“We have this really fun rivalry happening,” Miller said.
North Beach Mayor Mark Frazer said “competition is the name of the game” in the dragon boat race and the town has “issued a challenge to Chesapeake Beach.” He said all North Beach town council members and some town staff and their family members have signed up to participate on the town’s team. Frazer said the team is “going to be dressed as pirates.”
“The Town of North Beach looks forward to winning the first Mayor’s Cup,” Frazer said. “I’ve actually picked out a place for it in the town hall.”
Hahn said the “battle” for the Mayor’s Cup is what he is looking forward to most, and the winner will be given a trophy to hold onto for one year.
Frazer said North Beach’s waterfront “lends itself to spectator events” and he believes the race, even in its first year, will be very successful.
“It’s a very worthy cause, and [End Hunger] is working very hard with the town to ensure this becomes the first of what we hope will be many annual dragon boat races,” Frazer said. “I look forward to this perhaps replacing the [Celebration of Life Gala] as the most well-attended charity event in Calvert County.”
Brothers Gerald and Fred Donovan made the decision last year to not continue the annual Celebration of Life Gala in Chesapeake Beach, a fundraiser started 30 years ago by the brothers to raise money for cancer research.
Connie O’Dell, special events coordinator for the Town of Chesapeake Beach, said the town does have a team together but “is still looking for riders.” Town council members Bob Carpenter, Jeff Krahling and Valerie Beaudin had signed up to be on the team, she said. She said anyone interested in participating on the town’s team can contact her at special-events@chesapeake-beach.md.us.
Hahn said End Hunger’s fundraising goal is $20,000 after all expenses, and “we’re pretty close … to hitting that” as of the end of May. He said he is hoping for a turnout of about 1,500 people the day of the event.
kfitzpatrick@somdnews.com

I am writing to thank the managers and staff at Applebee’s in Prince Frederick for choosing End Hunger In Calvert County as their local charity. During the entire month of February, the restaurant supported End Hunger In Calvert County by collecting donations and informing customers about the reality of hunger in our county.
This new partnership proves that when we work together and rally our efforts for good, we can create real change for real people.
Did you know, on average, End Hunger food pantries serve more than 700 families every week? Yes, you read that right. End Hunger food pantries serve more than 700 families every week.
End Hunger In Calvert County believes that great partners accomplish great results. It’s truly the generosity from local businesses and individuals that make it possible to care for the most needy in our county.
When you give where you live and support local organizations, such as the United Way of Calvert County, Farming 4 Hunger and End Hunger In Calvert County, you know where and how your charitable dollars are being spent and you can see the impact.
“Together We Can.”
Jacqueline Miller, Huntingtown