Ocean City Community Briefs

Jennifer Armour of Ocean City was honored last month as an outstanding graduating senior at Rowan University, during a tea hosted by Dr. Jay Harper, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Harper cited one student from each major in the college.

Armour, a psychology major, is the lead research assistant on a grant-funded psychology project. She is also the vice president of Golden Key International Honor Society.

Army National Guard Cpl. Malcolm A. Parr has returned to 158th Cavalry in Easton, Md., after being deployed to an overseas forward operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation Iraqi Freedom involves members of the U.S. armed forces and coalition forces, who are working to free and secure Iraq.

Parr is the son of Sylvia H. Parr of Ocean City.

Leonard and Sheila Howell Hodges, who were married April 12, 1958, at Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C., celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary May 3, with a party in Raleigh, N.C.

Joining the Ocean Pines residents for the celebration were their children, Sharon Repass, Helen Croghan, Joan Bauk, Carolyn Bergamini, Maureen Slay and Brian Hodges, as well as their 14 grandchildren.

The Hodgeses are active members of St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Ocean Pines.

Feb. 20, 2008 —David Caldwell Creighton and Tamara Caldwell Creighton were united in marriage Wednesday, Feb. 20, on the Big Island of Hawaii. The ceremony was a traditional Hawaiian ceremony held in the beautiful Liliuokalini Japanese gardens, Hilo.

The groom is the son of David and Linda Creighton of Bethany Beach, Del. The bride is the daughter of Michael and Sharon Saponaro of NorthEast, Md. The couple resides in Ocean Pines with their son, Isaiah.

AXA Advisors, LLC, a provider of financial services, in association with U.S. News & World Report, has awarded a 2008 AXA Achievementsm Scholarship to Emily Meadows, a senior at Stephen Decatur High School.

Meadows is one of 52 students — one from each state, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico — to receive the $10,000 scholarships. Each scholarship recipient, known as an AXA Achiever, is a graduating high school senior who demonstrated ambition and drive, determination to set and reach goals and the ability to succeed in college.

Meadows founded After-School Agape, a local after-school program in a low-income neighborhood for children from single-parent homes. She worked with the executive director of the Agape facility to organize and schedule the program, held supply drives in her church and school to collect the necessary materials, and got a local bookstore to donate hundreds of books. She is also vice president of her local Habitat for Humanity, a member of her school’s junior varsity golf team and recipient of the Girl Scout Gold and Silver awards.

Scholarship winners were expected to be named in U.S. News & World Report’s April 21 College Funding issue.

The Seasonal Workforce Committee, a group appointed by Mayor Rick Meehan to assist International Students, is seeking volunteers to greet students as they arrive at the bus station in Ocean City between mid-May and early July. 

Greyhound buses will arrive from New York City and Washington, D.C., at 3 p.m. and 8:35 p.m. every day. The committee would like to have two volunteers at each arrival to welcome students, distribute copies of the Student Handbook and assist as needed. Training will be provided.

For more information, or to volunteer, call Charlotte Montgomery at 410-213-7597.

Volunteers from Star Charities are working hard to prepare for the 11th annual Alzheimer’s Gala, set for Sunday May 4, in the Clarion Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom.

Last year, contributors and guests to the event helped raise $21,000 for those afflicted by the deadly disease. Organizers hope to beat that amount this year.

Monetary and gift donations are needed. In the past, donations included hotel packages, golf packages and restaurant certificates. All contributions, including monetary donations, are tax deductible and will be listed in the event program.

Tickets cost $40 per person. For more information, or to purchase tickets or make a donation, call 410-641-7667.

Girls in kindergarten through fifth grade are invited to Jolly Roger Amusement Park on Friday, April 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., to check out what goes on “Behind the Scenes.”

The day is sponsored by the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council, though girls do not have to be a Girl Scout to participate.

Cost is $20, which includes a tour of the park and an explanation of everyday duties, a scavenger hunt, mini golf, arcade games, sing-alongs, snack and a patch. Financial assistance is available. 

Girls are asked to take a bag lunch and dress in clothes that can get dirty and are appropriate for the weather. Register to attend by contacting Cathy Stafford at 410-742-5107 or 1-800-374-9811. To learn more about Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council, visit www.GSCB.org or call 1-800-374-9811 or 410-742-5107.

SHORE UP! Inc. Head Start is now looking for children, ages 3-5, from income-eligible families to participate in a fall program. SHORE UP! Inc. Head Start has openings at centers in Wicomico, Worcester, Somerset, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties.

Families with children who have disabilities, including those with significant disabilities, are encouraged to apply. Children who do not speak English are accepted into the program. Services are free to those who qualify.

For more information, call SHORE UP! Head Start at 410-749-1142, Ext. 341, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

The Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines/Ocean City is offering house number signs to residents in Ocean Pines. The signs are approved by the Ocean Pines Association and recommended by the Ocean Pines Police Department and the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department.

The brown signs, with hand-painted orange numbers and posted near the roadway, make houses easier to find when emergency personnel are responding to calls or when family and friends are trying to locate the address.

Cost is $15.

To order a sign, stop by the Ocean Pines Administration Office in Whitehorse Park to fill out an order form. A member of Kiwanis will install the sign at no additional cost. For $8, residents who already have a sign can have it repainted by a Kiwanis member.

Proceeds go to the local Kiwanis Scholarship Fund for furthering education of deserving senior students at Stephen Decatur High School.