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HomeHistory 2022

History of The Village In Howard (2012-present)

2012
Public Meeting at Linden Hall Village Center
11/8/2012
Sixty seniors attended this meeting, sponsored by the Columbia Association. The speakers were representatives from the Capitol Hill Village in Washington, DC.

2013
Public Meeting at Miller Library
1/28/2013
Fifty seniors attended this meeting. Questionnaires on the desired services to be offered by the Village were collected from the attendees.

Steering Committee
2/18/2013
Under the leadership of Mary McGraw, a group of volunteers decided to form a steering committee which would meet monthly to explore the possibility of establishing a senior village in Howard County. The committee members were Dayna Brown, Joy Cheung, Philip Dopkowski, Pamela Johnson, Phyllis Madachy, James Madachy, Nancy McCord, Mary McGraw, Judith S Pittman, Duane StClair, and Virginia M Thomas. The sub- committees worked on budget, communications, volunteers, fundraising, membership and legal issues.

Article in the Columbia Flier
3/28/2013
Mary McGraw, Dayna Brown, Duane St. Claire and Philip Dopkowski were interviewed by a reporter from the Baltimore Sun newspaper. An article titled, “Behind Columbia’s McGraw, national movement could be coming to Howard County”, about the planned “village in Howard County” was published on April 5, 2013. (To read the article, click on this link,
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-senior-
village-0404-20130405,0,6619859.story ) Public Meeting

4/6/2013
One hundred and twenty seniors attended a public meeting at the Miller Library to learn about TVIH and the progress made to date. A video produced by AARP, describing the Beacon Hill Village in Boston was shown. Mary McGraw gave a presentation on the goals of a “village for seniors” in Howard County and the services the “village” planned to offer. A Q&A session followed. Names and email addresses of the attendees were collected at this meeting in order to keep the interested seniors informed of the organized events and the development of the organization.

Electronic Newsletters
2/24/2013
The first TVIH monthly electronic newsletter was sent to more than 200 interested seniors to keep them informed of the progress of TVIH. The email addresses were collected at TVIH public meetings.

Name of Organization
5/10/2013 The name, The Village In Howard, Inc. (TVIH), was chosen by the Steering Committee.

Mission Statement
6/17/2013
The mission statement, “TVIH helps its members age in their own homes through volunteer efforts and linkage to community support”, was chosen by the Steering Committee.

Logo
7/15/2013
A circular logo with the words “The Village In Howard” in the center was chosen. The tagline “Aging in Howard just got easier” was chosen.

Board of Directors
8/5/2013
Seven members of the Steering Committee agreed to serve as Board of Directors for TVIH for one year. Their names were entered in the Articles of Incorporation. They were Jih-Jen Joy Cheung, Philip Dopkowski, Pamela Johnson, Phyllis Madachy, Mary McGraw, Judith S Pittman, and Virginia M Thomas,

Articles of Incorporation
8/5/2013
Articles of Incorporation was filed for The Village in Howard, Inc. with the Maryland State Department of Assessments. The purpose of TVIH are charitable, educational and nonprofit. Mary McGraw was the Incorporator and Resident Agent. The application fee was $263.

EIN (tax ID) from IRS
8/8/2013
Form SS-4 was filed with IRS. The Employer Identification Number was issued to The Village In Howard, Inc.

Potluck Luncheon
10/8/2013
Fifty-five seniors attended a potluck social at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center. Phyllis Madachy gave a presentation. A Q&A session followed. The facility rental fee was $270.

Conflict of Interest Policy
10/25/2013
The “Conflict of Interest” policy was adopted by the Steering Committee.

First Organizational Meeting
11/22/2013
The first TVIH organization meeting was held at the Miller Library.

Bylaws
11/22/2013
The TVIH Bylaws were adopted. It was signed on 12/20/2013.

New Board Members
11/22/2013
Michele Millican, Joseph Bettinger, George Maestri, and Susan Hailman, were elected as new board members. Dayna Brown, Administrator at Howard County Office on Aging, will attend board meetings as liaison.

Officers
11/22/2013
Five officers were elected. The officers were Mary McGraw (President), George maestri (Vice-president), Michele Millican (Secretary), Pamela Johnson (co-Treasurer) and Joseph Bettinger (co-Treasurer).

Committees
11/22/2013
The following committees were set up, legal, fundraising, membership/services, volunteer, finance, and marketing. The chair of each committee is a board member.

TVIH Post Office Box
 12/11/2013
A TVIH PO box was rented at $72 a year until 11/30/2014, at the Fulton post office. The mailing address of TVIH is PO Box 363, Fulton, MD 20759-0363

TVIH Bank Account
12/1/2013 A bank checking account was opened. $250 was deposited. Two signatures (treasurer and/or president) are required on every check.

Strategic Planning Meeting
12/17/2013
A strategic meeting was held at the Vantage House. Mark Charles was the facilitator. Twenty board members and committee members attended.

2014
Donations to the Founders Fund
3/20/2014
Fundraising letters were mailed to more than two hundred friends who were interested in joining TVIH and were on our electronic email list. Seventy-one friends donated a total of $7,000 in three months to the TVIH Founders Fund.

Joining The Village To Village Network
5/18/2014
TVIH joined the network (www.VtVnetwork.org) of more than 100 senior villages in the nation. TVIH will have access to documents and the best practices of other established villages. The annual membership fee is $375.

Registration, fundraising, with MD State
4/24/2014
TVIH mailed the “Exempt Organization Fund-Raising Notice” form to MD State Office. The Secretary of State of MD issued a registration number to TVIH for accepting charitable contributions less than $25,000.

Grant from the Columbia Association
6/7/2014
The TVIH grant-writing committee submitted an application for a grant to the Columbia Association and received a start-up grant of $10,000 for recruiting members and volunteers, office setup and organizing activities.

Co-sponsor of AARP Social Event
5/21/2014
TVIH was the co-sponsor of the AARP event, “Life Reimagined”, at Union Jack’s restaurant in Columbia. About 75 friends of TVIH attended the social hour. Mary McGraw, President of TVIH, gave a presentation about TVIH.

Fund-raising at Tino’s Restaurant
6/23/2014
A fundraising event was held at Tino’s Italian Bistro in Columbia. 10% of the receipts of TVIH friends was donated TVIH. Twenty friends of TVIH had dinner or takeout food at this restaurant. $387 was donated to TVIH.

501 (c)(3) Tax Exempt Status
7/9/2014
TVIH submitted form 1023 to IRS on 12/30/2013. The application fee was $850. Our application for non-profit tax exempt status 501(c)(3) was approved. TVIH received the IRS determination letter on 7/19/2014. The effective date of tax exemption was 8/5/2013, the date of incorporation in MD state.

Office at Winter Growth
10/1/2014
Winter Growth, Inc. at 5466 Ruth Keeton Way in Columbia agreed to donate office space to TVIH. A one-year lease was signed on 10/3/2014. Telephone and internet connection was installed in this office. Donated office furniture were moved in on 10/13/2014.

Weekly Wellness Activity
10/4/2014
The first regular TVIH group activity, Sneakers and Coffee, was held at the Kittamaqundi Lake in Columbia.

New Website Launch
10/16/2014
The new website, www.thevillgaeinhoward.org, hosted by Club Express was launched. The website displays up-to-date information and support office operations of membership, volunteers, and services.

50+ Senior Expo
10/17/2014
TVIH participated at the Howard County 50+ EXPO to introduce TVIH to the community of older adults in Howard County. Our booth was #149 in Hall A.

Open House
11/1//2014
An Open House was scheduled on 11/1/2014 to celebrate the opening of our new office at Winter Growth and the start of operations to accept new members and to provide services of social/educational wellness programs.

2015
TVIH in the news- Howard County Beacon
Participated in 50+ Expo
Judy Pittman awarded Audrey Robbins Humanitarian Award (2015 Volunteer of the Year)

Appraisal Roadshow fundraiser (6/6/15)
TVIH joined WAVE (Washington Area Villages Exchange)

Part-Time (15 hrs/wk) Executive Director hired - Roberta Greenstein
All organizational documents completed.  Legal Committee disbanded- upcoming issues turned over to Standing Committee
New Steven
2016
New Office site - 6061 Stevens Forest Road, Columbia, MD
First Anniversary Celebration - 3/12/2016
Appraisal Roadshow - 6/18/2016
Executive Director resigned
Office Manager hired - Ann-Marie Nwabudike

Stevens Forest Work Crew

2017
Initiated Circle of Care - Susan Hailman
Introduced Supported Membership Program for full and associate members
Volunteers at the Howard County Food Bank and Dress for Success

Donations to Hope Works
Member Art Gallery started
VtV Conference (Baltimore) attended by 9 board members.  Marie Grunwell facilitated session related to ClubExpress and Its Users Group

TVIY Bylaws updated - Section 5.2, Election and Term
Healthy Aging Work Group created

2018

Created use of Forums- Joy Cheung and Sally Parker
Initiated promotion of Amazon Smile
Posted Office on Aging and Independence logo on TVIH website

Revised TVIH tagline from "Aging in Howard Just Got Easier" to "Aging in Howard Just Got Better"
Michele Millican presented Circe of Care in VtV Network Conference
Participated in 50+ Senior Expo

Entertainment/Auction Fundraiser function.  
New Office Manager - Cheryl Neely

2019

New Tri-Director Leadership Structure - Mary McGraw, Director of Public Affairs; Mary Pat Donelan, Director of Operations; Peter Brunner, Director of Finance
Amended Bye-Laws 11/25/2019 to include change in Leadership Structure

First Basket Bingo Fundraiser held 11/11/2019- Sally Parker, Coordinator
Senior Expo renamed : Master Aging:  Engage, Educate and Inspire- TVIH was an exhbitor
Donations (30 bags of donated clothing) taken to Success in Style helped by 6 volunteers

Work began on creating Office Procedural Manual
Frame Give-Away mini benefit - Ron Putz
Annual Meeting celebrated TVIH's 5- year anniversary  - Joy Cheung and Sally Parker  facilitated

2020
Initiated Strategic Planning Ad Hoc Committee - Ron Putz
By-Laws revised to allow a Director to extend term by one year with Board approval
TVIH Membership Agreement approved to act as full member waiver during COVID-19 situation

A contractor, Megan Dvorkin hired to improve TVIH's Social Media and Marketing presence. Tenure ended end of 2020
Temporary worker, Sarah Ziemann hired for 10hrs/wk to handle the Event Calendar posting and help with Newsletter
TVIH's First Member Survey was communicated via phone.  Data was difficult to analyze as it was comment driven.
Pandemic Covid-19 

TVIH pivoted from in person activities to Zoom.
Training/Implementation of Zoom Activities
Joy Cheung, taught TVIH members how to use zoom and helped programs convert.

Good Morning Howard 
Under the leadership of Joy Cheung, Good Morning Howard was established...At first a 5 day a week 45 minute program exploring a variety of high interest topics to discuss with TVIH members and the public.  Committee Members:  Joy Cheung, Kim and Jane Sherman, Fran Lorenzi, Fran Dummett, Cathy Latham and Stephanie Coakley.  Eventually morphed to 1 day a week.

Virtual Programs
Bridge, Mah Jongg, Book Clubs, Travel Talks, Meditation, Lunch Bunches, My 3 Cents, World Languages, Haiku, etc. were converted.

2021
Added an additional member type- 3 month Trial Associate Membership

Three Year Strategic Plan
Under the leadership of Marie Grunwell, the 3 Year Strategic Plan (2021-2023) written, implemented incorporating committee heads and TVIH members.  Plan is to be evaluated each quarter.

First Annual Survey 2021
Distributed to membership.  Results discussed in Good Morning Howard, written up in TVIH newsletter.  Housing Series was developed from membership interest.

Village Pod Pilots
Under the leadership of Michele Millican,6 week long  pilot programs were experimented with. 

Board of Directors 2021
Tri-Directors:  Peter Brunner (Finance), Sarah Spence (Outreach), Mary Pat Donelan (Operations)
Directors:  Jim Bouscaren, Fran Dummett, Marie Grunwell, Susan Hailman, Karol Hess,  Elizabeth Johnson, Ron Putz, Jim Sanders, Ellin Scholnick.


2022
New Logo/Motto/Website
TVIH updated our website with a new logo created by Nancy Freeman, artist, originally.  Graphic designers at the Applied Research Lab (ARL) in Howard County Public Schools, Adrianna Hwang and Sylvia Rabine submitted logos which were augmented by Club Express for our final logo.  TVIH members voted on the updated motto of "Aging Better Together."  The new website format was introduced to The Village in July, 2022.  

Website Committee:    2021-2022                                                                                                                                                                                              Fran Dummett, Harry Glass, Michelle Blumhagen, Peter Brunner, Michele Millican, Joy Cheung, Marie Grunwell, Kim Sherman, Susan Hailman, with Nancy Freeman, artist and Louise McLaughlin, photographer and logo editor.

Communications/Outreach Committee
Headed by Diane Minor and Sheryl Amster made presentation to Senior 50+ Centers.

Electronic Newsletter  2021-2022                                                                                                     
Distributed to 800+ Howard County friends under Sheryl Amster, Ellin Scholnick and Yaa Ampofo, office manager.

Housing Series 2022
Under the leadership of Fran Lorenzi and from the outcome of the TVIH Annual Survey, a VERY successful Housing Series was delivered through Good Morning Howard.

Speak Easy Series 2022
Kim and Jane Sherman presented to TVIH members how to have those difficult conversations with our loved ones about end of life issues.

Board of Directors: 2022
Added New Board Members: Sheryl Amster, Harry Glass, Diane Minor, Cathy Latham, Fran Lorenzi with new Tri-Director, Jim Bouscaren, Organization.

Village Pods 2022 
Under the leadership of Michele Mullican Village Pods extended to about 90 TVIH members with Neighborhood Pods and Interest Pods.  Neighborhood Pods were Hickory Ridge, Ellicott City/Elkridge, Tamar, Wilde Lake/Town Center, Owen Brown, Harper's Choice, South Howard County (Fulton, Kings Contrivance, Laurel).  Interest Pods were Men, Women, and Photography.

Hiring Committee/Board of Directors
Explore  hiring of Executive Director vs. Office Manager, evaluating job descriptions of all plus, Office Assistant, Sarah Ziemann.

Temporary Office Manager 2022
Cheryl Neely will be temporary Office Manager.

Pod Survey
Distributed  early September, 2022.

2nd TVIH Annual Survey
Distributed October, 2022.

Founders' Luncheon
November, 2022
Founders 2022
2023 We came out of COVID and started back with in-person activities.
We hired an Executive Director:  Debbie Burgio and an Office Manager, Rosa Gray.
Sarah Ziemann's position was given to Rosa Gray to input calendar events.

 2023 Board of Directors:
Jim Bouscaren, Director of Operations; Peter Brunner, Director of Finance; Fran Dummett, Director of Public Affairs
2023 Board Members:
Marsha Birnbaum, Mary Pat Donelan, Cathy Latham, Kathy Marianelli, John Marsch, Sharon Neville, Ron Putz, Dee Sullivan.

Grants: We obtained the Kahlert Foundation Grant by the efforts of Peter Brunner for $15,000.
In addition, we obtained donations from Oakland Mills, Kings Contrivance, Town Center, Wilde Lake Community Associations as well as contributions from Winter Grace Senior Ministries.
Happy New Year 2024

Basket Bingo,50/50 Raffle and the Annual Appeal were very successful.
Holiday Party 2023 had  about half of our membership attend and featured the Village People doing YMCA.  Joy Cheung and Marsha Birnbaum were instrumental in executing this event.

2024 Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Jim Bouscaren, Operations, Fran Dummett, Public Affairs, Lynn Foehrkolb*, Finance
Board of Directors
Marsha Birnbaum, Mary Pat Donelan, Kristin Grogan*, Patricia Levay*, Kathy Marianelli, John Marsch, Sharon Neville, Ron Putz, Dee Sullivan.   (*New Board Members)
Cathy Latham and Peter Brunner retired.
2024 Goals: Set up procedural manuals for finance,social media, etc. Increase membership and funding. 

Committee 2024: We added a BOD as Co-Chair for the committees.
Fundraising: Peter Brunner, (Chair), Lynn Foehrkolb (Co-Chair)
Membership:  Kim Sherman, (Chair), John Marsch (Co-Chair)
Program:  Kate Stevens (Chair), Marsha Birnbaum (Co-Chair)
Pods:  Michele Millican
THAWG:  Patty Bascietto (Chair), Kim/Jane Sherman (Co-Chair)
Publicity:  Fran Dummett (Chair), Kristin Grogan (Co-Chair)
Service Volunteers:  Susan Hailman, Marie Grunwell (Chair), Dee Sullivan (Co-Chair)