Chester, MD – Eastern Shore Dental Care, the largest general dental practice in Queen Anne’s County, will kick off a grand re-opening celebration to thank their patients and the local community for over 30 years of successful practice growth. Owned and operated by Dr. Scott Billings and Dr. Christopher Murphy, the practice will be unveiling completion of their 3,000-sq-ft expansion, which offers patients a more high-tech and relaxing treatment environment.

During the month of September, ESDC will be thanking patients with deeply discounted dental services – including half-price teeth whitening and Sonicare® toothbrushes — in addition to hosting a series of events showcasing the renovated facility to the public. There will be an invitation-only ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, September 13th and an Open House Family Appreciation Day on Saturday, September 16th from 11am-2pm. On-site activities will include games, face-painting, free prizes and toothbrushes, and photo-ops with the Tooth Fairy & the neighboring Chick-fil-A cow!

Said Dr. Billings, “This is a very exciting time for our office. We are so proud that so many of our patients have been with us for so many years –and that they continue to refer their friends and family to us for care.” Dr. Murphy also emphasized that the patients were the main reason for the renovation, saying, ”Everything about this new design is geared towards making our patients feel more comfortable. We want there to be no doubt that they are receiving the best possible dental care in the most advanced office on the Shore.”

For more information about the Grand Re-Opening of Eastern Shore Dental Care’s newly-expanded facility, please contact Kerry Weber at 410-643-8210.

Eastern Shore Dental Care was founded in 1981 by Dr. Scott Billings, who was joined by partner Dr. Christopher Murphy in 1986. The practice moved into the Kent Towne Market in 1989, and have since have been lauded by patients and organizations alike with accolades such as, “Best Dentists,” “Best Dental Practice,” Friendliest Staff” (Shore Update), Top Docs (What’s Up! Eastern Shore) and “Best General Dentist” (Chesapeake Family Magazine). In 2016, Dr. Billings was named, “Business Leader of the Year” by the QAC Chamber of Commerce. This spring, Dr. Murphy was recognized in Dentaltown Magazine, a leading national publication, for the charity work he performs around the world treating individuals without access to modern dental care.

Homeschool students and their chaperones are invited to St. Michaels, Md. and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum for a Homeschool Day on Thursday, September 21. Programs will be held at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., with individual homeschool families and cooperative groups invited to participate.

Groups should select either a morning or afternoon program to explore the history of the greatest oyster factory on Earth —the Chesapeake Bay. Students will help construct a dugout canoe, learn about a time in which oysters lay thick as stones, explore the cabin of a skipjack, and investigate close-up the tiny critters that inhabit an oyster reef.

Families can bring a bag lunch and picnic on campus, then explore CBMM’s exhibitions at their own pace as part of a Campus Challenge scavenger hunt.

CBMM’s 18-acre waterfront campus includes a floating fleet of historic boats, 12 exhibition buildings and numerous historic structures, including the 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse, all situated in a park-like setting along the Miles River and St. Michaels harbor.

The cost for Homeschool Day is $5 per registered participant. Accompanying younger siblings ages 5 and under are free. All participants must register in advance at bit.ly/CBMMHomeschoolDay.

The Academy Art Museum celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Academy Craft Show and highlights the medium of ceramics on October 20-22, 2017. The show, “Fired Up,” will feature an exhibition of the works of renowned ceramics artist Bennett Bean, who is also the Visionary Artist and Honorary Chair of the 2017 Show.  Regional artist Brett Thomas with his Mobile Raku Unit will present a weekend-long live demonstration of Raku-fired pottery. In addition, three featured ceramics artists have been chosen to be honored:  Robert Hessler, 2015 Best of Show winner; Lynn Latta, a unique jeweler with modern organic porcelain creations; and the Academy Art Museums own ceramics instructor and studio potter, Paul Aspell.  Several of the juried exhibitors will also focus on ceramic artworks.

Over 60 outstanding artists from across the United States will be presented. Their for-sale collections encompass all craft medias; basketry, ceramics, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, sculpture, and wood. There will be something for everyone from well-priced handmade treasures to expensive one-of-kind pieces of art.  It’s an opportunity for attendees to meet and talk to over 60 artists and for attendees to become collectors of fine craftsmanship. The Craft Show is one of the major fundraisers for the Museum and an easy way to support its many community-based programs for all ages. For more information about this event, visit academycraftshow.org or call 410-822-2787.

CENTREVILLE – Queen Anne’s County was one of 56 Maryland employers recognized June 2, as Healthiest Maryland Businesses Wellness at Work Awardees for their exemplary accomplishments in worksite health promotion. Five of these award recipients were from the Mid/Upper Eastern Shore Region, which includes employers located in Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties

Union Hospital of Cecil County awarded ‘Gold’

Easton Utilities awarded ‘Silver’

Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort Spa & Marina awarded ‘Silver’

Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center awarded ‘Bronze’

County Commissioners of Queen Anne’s County awarded ‘Bronze’

“The credit for this award goes to the county’s Wellness Committee and their hard work and dedication over the past several years,” said Beverly Churchill, Director of Queen Anne’s County’s Dept. of Human Resources.  Churchill said the committee worked closely with CareFirst’s Wellness Coordinator to devise the Passport to Wellness program for county employees who in turn can earn a monetary award. The Committee used health plan data to develop the Passport to Wellness as well as short and long-term wellness goals.  Long-term, the committee hopes to reduce the rate of diabetes among its members.

Howard Haft, Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, congratulated awards recipients at the 8th annual Maryland Workplace Health & Wellness Symposium in Baltimore, Maryland, noting, “In public health, we strive to improve health through community based efforts.  Our worksites are one place that most Marylanders spend a majority of their day and a crucial community in which to make the healthy choice the easy choice.  Congratulations to all of the 2017 Wellness at Work Awards recipients.”

The Wellness at Work Awards are sponsored by Healthiest Maryland Businesses, the State’s initiative to support healthy workplaces.  Any Maryland employer who is a member of Healthiest Maryland Businesses is eligible to apply, and there is no cost to be a member.  Recognition criteria are based on the CDC’s Workplace Health Model.  Applicants are asked to describe activities and share examples of policies and tools developed and utilized in the four areas of assessment, planning and management, implementation, and evaluation.  Employers may earn a Gold, Silver, Bronze, or On the Path award based on their activities to establish leadership support for wellness, create wellness committees, survey the needs and interests of their employees, set health improvement goals, and develop monitoring tools to track their outcomes over time.  A complete list of recognized businesses can be found at www.healthiestMDbusinesses.org/awardsprogram.

Launched in 2010 and based at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Healthiest Maryland Businesses helps businesses create customized wellness plans, set wellness goals, and monitor progress.  Six regional coordinators around the state provide personalized guidance to businesses of all sizes.  To date, over 460 businesses have signed on to take advantage of this program.  For more information about Healthiest Maryland Businesses, contact Nicole Morris, Program Lead for worksites located on the Mid/Upper Eastern Shore counties at nicole.morris@maryland.gov or visit www.healthiestMDbusinesses.org.

Pictured at the pump-out station at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum are Donna Morrow of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Shawn O’Donnell, vice president of operations at CBMM. Morrow was in St. Michaels on Monday, August 14, for an inspection of the pump-out station, part of CBMM’s commitment to remaining a certified Maryland Clean Marina. CBMM also houses the Midshore RiverkeeperConservancy’s pump out boat, serving hundreds of boaters on the busy St. Michaels Harbor and Miles and Wye rivers. Since its unveiling in 2016, the pump out boat has removed more than 14,500 gallons of waste. To learn more about the pump out boat, or about docking at CBMM, visit cbmm.org.

Shore United Bank is proud to recognize Carolyn Spicher for 25 years of dedicated service.  Ms. Spicher joined Shore United Bank, a member of Shore Bancshares community of companies, in 1992 and currently serves as Commercial Banking Officer for Caroline County. “We appreciate and celebrate her 25 years of experience, professionalism and contribution to the company and our community” says Pat Bilbrough, President and CEO.

Before coming to Shore United Bank (formerly CNB), Carolyn gained 28 years of banking experience with the former Denton National Bank and with First National Bank of Maryland.  Ms. Spicher continued her education at Chesapeake College where she took several accounting and finance classes to complete the Robert Morris Associates Credit Course Program.

Ms. Spicher has served on many boards over the years such as Shore Gourmet, the Town of Denton Loan Committee, and the Caroline County Historical Society, Inc.  Ms. Spicher is an active member of Mid Shore Regional Council, Caroline County Farm Bureau and Caroline County Chamber of Commerce. She is also a past chairman for the Caroline County Farm Bureau Women Leadership. Carolyn also supports multiple fundraising events for local charities.

Ms. Spicher resides on a farm near Denton, Maryland with her husband, Wayne.

Dominic Marinucci of Ridgely, Md., has joined the staff of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., as a Seasonal Boat Cleaner with the Charity Boat Donation Program. CBMM’s Charity Boat Donation Program accepts and sells all manner of craft year-round to support the nonprofit’s education, curatorial, and boatbuilding programs.

Marinucci receives vocational services from Benedictine Adult Services Program. For more than 55 years, the mission of Benedictine has been to help people with developmental disabilities achieve their greatest potential. The Benedictine Open Community/Adult Services Program supports persons ages 21 and over with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Participants explore vocational interests, engage in job development, and build skills in industries of choice within a supportive environment designed to assist in finding competitive, integrated employment in the community.

“CBMM’s partnership with Benedictine reflects our mission to better support like-minded Eastern Shore organizations focused on improving the well-being of our citizens,” said CBMM President Kristen Greenaway.

Throughout the year, CBMM’s Charity Boat Donation Program Manager Todd Taylor and Program Associate Joshua Mills travel up and down the East Coast working with boat owners, yacht brokers, marinas, boatyards, and other donors and potential buyers, to support CBMM through boat donations and sales. CBMM is hosting its 20th annual Charity Boat Auction on Saturday, September 2, 2017 with proceeds benefiting the children and adults served by CBMM.

“One hundred percent of the revenue generated by each donated boat sale goes directly toward helping CBMM’s educational programs and restoring and preserving its historic structures and boats,” said Taylor. “We sell donated boats all year long, with each sale helping CBMM do great things for the people we serve.”

To learn more about our Charity Boat Donation Program, CBMM’s current list of donated boats for sale is at bit.ly/buyaboat.  For more information on Benedictine School, visit benschool.org.

The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (MSO), the only professional symphony orchestra on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, kicks off its 20^th anniversary season, “Reaching Ever Higher,” with performances at the Todd Performing Arts Center at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, MD on Thursday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m.; the French Embassy in Washington, DC, on Friday, September 29 at 8 p.m.; and at the Ocean City Performing Arts Center within the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, MD on Saturday, October 1 at 3 p.m. The fall concert program, “East and West of the Rhine,” will feature the music of Ernest Chausson, Camille Saint-Saéns, Maurice Ravel, and Johannes Brahms.

Maestro Julien Benichou comments, “We are thrilled to be performing such symphonies as Brahms’ moving Symphony No. 4 in our first concert and to be welcoming violinist Virgil Boutellis-Taft who will perform in Chausson’s Poème and Saint Saëns’ Danse Macabre.”

Symphony No. 4 Op. 98 was Brahms last symphony. Richard Strauss, a Futurist, wrote that the Andante of the Symphony No. 4 reminded him of “… a funeral procession moving in silence across moonlit heights…”.  The music soars with passion and feeling of great intensity, but not of grief or mourning.

Ernest Chausson’s Poeme for Violin and Orchestra was written in 1896. The work was probably inspired by a short story by the Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev, The Song of Triumphant Love, in which two young men, one a violinist, fall in love with the same woman.  It was written for a virtuoso violinist at the height of French Romanticism, and remains a favorite of skilled Performers.

Maurice Ravel’s Ma Mere l’Oye (Mother Goose) was initially written in 1910 as a work for piano for four hands, based on various children’s stories.  It was a gift to Mimie and Jean Godebski, whose parents were friends of Ravel.  The work was orchestrated in 1911 and was always popular because of its flowing melodies, fine harmonies and superb orchestration.  Now over a century old, it is still considered “modern music,” yet easy to digest.

Camille Saint Saens was a child prodigy who entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 13.  Danse Macabre was originally written in 1872 as an art song for voice and piano, and orchestrated in 1874.  The work is based on an old superstition about how Death plays its fiddle on Halloween and skeletons emerge from their graves to dance from midnight until dawn.

The opening night concert at Chesapeake College will feature a special catered reception at intermission, sponsored by Piazza in Easton, MD.  Hors d’oeuvres and prosecco will be served. Media sponsor Coastal Style Magazine will be on hand to share with guest its fall “Best Of” issue.

The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, the Talbot County Arts Council, the Worcester County Arts Council, Sussex County, Delaware and the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Inc.

Season subscriptions for the 2017 – 2018 season of the MSO are available online at midatlanticsymphony.org, or by telephone (888) 846-8600.  Individual tickets will be sold in advance online and at the door. For further information, visit midatlanticsymphony.org.

Joe-Ann Hanna and Karen Walpole, both of Easton, have recently joined the staff of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md.

Hanna has been hired as a Staff Accountant and Guest Services System Manager, making her responsible for financials needs across CBMM’s departments and primary oversight of the Guest Services System (GSS) used for admissions, store inventory management and sales, group tour processing, advance ticket sales, education and marina reservation system linkages, store gift cards, and linkage to online store processing.

From Utica, Mich., Hanna moved to the Eastern Shore in 2001. She has attended both Howard Community College, with a focus in applications programming, and Chesapeake College, with a focus in accounting.

Hanna brings with her vast work experience. Her first job after moving to Maryland was with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington D.C., and her most recent position before coming to CBMM was as the office manager for Rathell Farm Equipment.

She has also volunteered extensively at local soup kitchens and with her church, both serving as its bookkeeper and participating in a mission trip.

Walpole is joining the CBMM team as the Administrative Assistant for the Charity Boat Donation Program. CBMM’s Charity Boat Donation Program accepts and sells all manner of craft year-round to support the non-profit’s education, curatorial, and boatbuilding programs.

“Working around boats and the water is a dream come true,” Walpole said of joining CBMM.

Walpole has previously worked at The Star Democrat, sold promotional products, owned her own marketing company, and been a marketing administrator at a yacht brokerage. Originally from Baldwin, N.Y., she earned a Bachelor of Science in journalism, with a concentration in advertising, from the University of Maryland.

After falling in love with the region during college, she decided to stay in Maryland, and has volunteered with Phillips Wharf Environmental Center, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Easton, Benedictine School, Integrace Bayleigh Chase and at CBMM, singing carols at the annual Christmas event.

Since For All Seasons has been providing treatment for people with mental health and substance use disorders on Tilghman Island, hearts are being lifted there. Michael Flaherty, PhD, who lives part-time on Tilghman Island and attends the Tilghman Island United Methodist Church wanted to help with some of the issues he was seeing as a resident. Flaherty, a psychologist who practices in Pennsylvania and has national expertise in addiction and mental health issues, thought it would be nice if the church could provide healthy mind, body and spirit outreach in the Tilghman community.

Pastor Everett Landon of Tilghman Island UMC agreed and the two decided to approach For All Seasons about getting services there. Flaherty recalls, “We decided to do something about the problem and For All Seasons and Beth Anne Langrell, their Executive Director, came right on board. We wanted to bring services to the Island so people didn’t have to travel ‘up the road’ to be seen.  Many just couldn’t.”

Within months, For All Seasons counselors opened shop in the pastor’s office at the church and began seeing clients. To date, more than 20 have used the services of For All Seasons and a Narcotics Anonymous meeting that was launched at the church. Flaherty adds, “We are trying to make inroads through education, counseling and peer support. We did a needs assessment of the community and have identified a need for wellness programs, healthy cooking classes, and exercise programs. In June, the church hosted an Overdose Prevention Night with its partners Talbot County Health Department, For All Seasons, Corsica River, the Talbot County Sheriff’s Department. The goal of the event, which drew over 50 people, was to help residents identify and prevent overdoses. Forty participants received doses of Narcan.

Efforts are now underway to provide a peer support network in the community, as the third part of the program, which has been focused on counseling and community education.

According to Beth Anne Langrell, Executive Director of For All Seasons, “There was an obvious need for services on Tilghman Island. This has been a healthy partnership between the Tilghman community and our agency. We hope to see it grow even more.”

TUMC and Tilghman Island residents have supported the efforts there, donating $25,000 to the church to help start programs and pay for the services for those who do not have insurance or a means to pay. For All Seasons’ recent Heart & Music fundraiser also raised funds. To support For All Seasons work on Tilghman Island, contact Executive Director Beth Anne Langrell at 410-822-1018.

In the future, “Healthy Tilghman” will be partnering with the school and with Project Purple, a substance abuse awareness program to engage our community and youth to stand up against substance abuse.

For All Seasons offers individual and group therapy, general, child and adolescent therapy, marriage and couples counseling, grief counseling, school-based mental health therapy, urgent care services, Rape Crisis Response, Rape Crisis Counseling and Support, 24-Hour English and Spanish Hotlines, and education and outreach programming. For further information about For All Seasons, call 410-822-1018. For the 24-Hour Crisis Hotline, call Toll-Free: 800-310-7273.

For more than 30 years For All Seasons has been strengthening and enhancing the lives of children, adolescents, adults, seniors, couples and families on Maryland’s Mid-Shore by providing a full continuum of bilingual (English-Spanish) outpatient behavioral health services, regardless of ability to pay. Our mission is to provide the highest level of comprehensive and integrated therapy, advocacy, and psychiatric care in a safe environment where those who have entrusted us with their care are empowered and nurtured on their journey to wellness.