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May 17, 2022

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

News Election 2022

Election 2022 Profiles: Heather Mizeur for Maryland’s 1st Congressional District

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Today, the Spy continues its informal series on profiling candidates running for office in 2022. Over the next eight months, we will be offering long-form interviews with those running for Maryland’s Governor, Attorney General, MD Congressional District 1, and several local elections in Dorchester, Kent, and Talbot Counties.

As per our educational, nonpartisan mission concerning all public affairs on the Mid-Shore, we believe these in-depth conversations offer a unique alternative to the traditional three-minute sound bite or quick quote. We will be talking to each candidate about their background, qualifications, and policy priorities as well as how they differentiate themselves from others running for the same office.

We continue with Heather Mizeur, candidate for Maryland’s 1st Congressional District. She served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from January 10, 2007 to January 14, 2015, representing the 20th district in Montgomery County.

This video is approximately 17 minutes in length. For more information about Heather Mizeur for Congress please go here.

Mid-Shore Arts: Pam Watroba’s Mosaics

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Pam Watroba freely admits that art and art creation have always been front and center in her life. Still, the realities of life, including raising a family, deferred that passion until she retired as a healthcare professional a few years ago. With her husband cheering her on, Pat returned to art far later in life than she had hoped, but thankfully, she still has the same passion she had growing up in Baltimore.

The result of that personal rebirth can now be seen at the Main Street Gallery in Cambridge and RiverArts in Chestertown, where Pam displays a remarkable range of her creations, including both abstract and figurative uses of glass to create images as diverse as Chesapeake Bay sunsets to human skulls that celebrate el Día de Los Muertos.

The Spy caught up with Pam in Cambridge last week to talk about her work.

This video is approximately minutes in length. For more information about Main Street Gallery please go here. For RiverArts please go here.

The Avalon Takes Art Teacher Anna Madachik to the Met with CEO Daniel Weiss as Host

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While there are countless examples of community members pitching in to help education programs and teachers on the Mid-Shore, it’s hard to beat the recent story of the Avalon Foundation working with Daniel Weiss, the CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, to offer a personal tour of that world-famous institution for Easton Elementary School art teacher Anna Madachik.

After three years of working with Easton Elementary School on both afterschool art classes and programming related to the Avalon’s annual Plein Air Easton festival, the Foundation’s Jessica Bellis, and Anna were brainstorming about what else could be done with this collaboration when the idea came up of connecting Anna with another one of the Avalon’s special friends, Daniel Weiss. And Dan just happens to call Oxford, Maryland home during his weekend breaks from running one of the largest museums in the world.

Dan had recently helped the Avalon by becoming the competition judge for Plein Aire in 2021. And He didn’t hesitate to set aside time for Anna and a crew from the Avalon’s community television station to visit the Met after closing hours and discuss and videotape her conservation on seven of Anna’s handpicked art objects that she could later share with her students for many years to come.

The Spy down with Anna last weekend to talk about this remarkable adventure, the generosity of Dan Weiss, and the impact this unique kind of art education has on young children.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the Avalon Foundation please go here. For information about the Metropolitan Museum of Art please go here.

 

Mid-Shore Commerce: Author Johnathan Holifield on Inclusive Competitiveness

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When you look at Johnathan Holifield’s LinkedIn page, it’s hard not to be amazed by the depth and diversity of his professional life. From his early life as a star football player who rose to play in the NFL to directing the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, becoming the chief executive of the Cleveland Urban League, or more recently, his role as a senior vice president at Bitwise Industries, Holifield’s resume is a stunning example of his own entrepreneurial spirit.

But what really caught the Spy’s eye was Johnathan’s role in Donald Trump’s White House as executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). While there could be vigorous debate on the successes or failures of the Trump Administration, there is no doubt about his impressive leadership to help deliver the largest-ever federal HBCU investment of $2.5B to date.

So when Johnathan Holifield talks or writes about inclusive competitiveness, he comes into the conservation with significant street cred but also with a diverse experience in America’s economic sector to offer new ways to get more players in the field of innovation and entrepreneurism.

Johnathan was in Easton on Thursday to be the keynote speaker for the annual Talbot County Business Appreciation Summit on May 6, and he agreed to swing by the Spy studio for a quick chat before heading over to the Tidewater to make his remarks.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Talbot County Department of Economic Development & Tourism, the host of the Business Appreciation Summit, please go here.

 

 

 

Mid-Shore Lives: Memories and Life Lessons at 93 with Jack Noble

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More than a few people have suggested that the Spy interview Talbot County native John (Jack) Noble, and after following up on those recommendations last week, we now understand why.

Now at the age of 93, Jack has developed a considerable fan base on the Mid-Shore for his kind wit and his storytelling ability, but also for the remarkable fact that in his 9th decade, he has learned quite a few things about life and love.

Jack, the product of Caroline County public schools, the McDonogh School, and Princeton was well-positioned to find a professional life in New York City or Washington, D.C. But after serving in the Korean War, Noble agreed to come back to run the family Ford dealership in Easton instead. And as he notes in his Spy interview from a few weeks ago, he has never looked back with regret.

Jack Noble was one of a handful of Eastern Shore natives who, despite the best education that America could offer in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, decided that the best thing they could do for themselves and their families was to come home rather than endure a suburban lifestyle.

For Noble, it has all worked out. While he found that running a car dealership wasn’t particularly his cup of tea after 15 years, that led to a much more rewarding financial services career with Baker Watts, T.C. Williams, and eventually, Legg-Mason before starting his own firm.

But more importantly, Jack and his wife, Pemmy,  found an agreeable lifestyle for themselves and their daughters that he believes is just one of the special ingredients that have kept both of them so active for so long.

In the Spy’s ongoing efforts to record Eastern Shore lives in our long-form format, we sat down with Jack to talk about his Eastern Shore memories, as well as his strategies to keep engaged through woodworking, biking, and reading to reach his goal of a celebratory lunch with a grandson when he turns 100.

This video is approximately fourteen minutes in length. Photography provided by the Talbot Historical Society. 

 

 

 

Election 2022 Profiles: Aida Khalil for St. Michaels Town Commission

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The Spy continues its informal series on profiling candidates running for office in 2022. Over the next eight months, we will be offering long-form interviews with those running for Maryland’s Governor, MD Congressional District 1, and several local elections in Dorchester, Kent, and Talbot Counties.

As per our educational, nonpartisan mission concerning all public affairs on the Mid-Shore, we believe these in-depth conversations offer a unique alternative to the traditional three-minute sound bite or quick quote. We will be talking to each candidate about their background, qualifications, and policy priorities as well as how they differentiate themselves from others running for the same office and the previous Hogan administration.

We continue with Aida Khalil who is running for a seat on the St. Michaels Town Commission. Aida was appointed to fill out the term of the position left vacant by Jaime Windon, and is now running for that position. She owned Victoriana Inn in St. Michaels for 17 years.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. This election will be held on May 2 at the Edgar M. Bosley Municipal Building (Town Office), 300 Mill Street, St. Michaels, Maryland between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. 

All candidates for St. Michaels Town Commission were invited in participating in the Talbot Spy Election 2022 series. Commissioner Bibb has not responded to date to the Spy’s invitation.

Election 2022 Profiles: Katrina Whittington for St. Michaels Town Commission

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The Spy continues its informal series on profiling candidates running for office in 2022. Over the next eight months, we will be offering long-form interviews with those running for Maryland’s Governor, MD Congressional District 1, and several local elections in Dorchester, Kent, and Talbot Counties.

As per our educational, nonpartisan mission concerning all public affairs on the Mid-Shore, we believe these in-depth conversations offer a unique alternative to the traditional three-minute sound bite or quick quote. We will be talking to each candidate about their background, qualifications, and policy priorities as well as how they differentiate themselves from others running for the same office and the previous Hogan administration.

We continue with Katrina Whittington who is running for a seat on the St. Michaels Town Commission. Katrina was a civil servant with the United States Treasury Department for 28 years before her retirement.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. This election will be held on May 2 at the Edgar M. Bosley Municipal Building (Town Office), 300 Mill Street, St. Michaels, Maryland between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. 

All candidates for St. Michaels Town Commission were invited in participating in the Talbot Spy Election 2022 series. Commissioners Bibb and Khalil have not responded to date to the Spy’s invitation.

Election 2022 Profiles: Al Mercier for St. Michaels Town Commission

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The Spy continues its informal series on profiling candidates running for office in 2022. Over the next eight months, we will be offering long-form interviews with those running for Maryland’s Governor, MD Congressional District 1, and several local elections in Dorchester, Kent, and Talbot Counties.

As per our educational, nonpartisan mission concerning all public affairs on the Mid-Shore, we believe these in-depth conversations offer a unique alternative to the traditional three-minute sound bite or quick quote. We will be talking to each candidate about their background, qualifications, and policy priorities as well as how they differentiate themselves from others running for the same office and the previous Hogan administration.

We continue with Al Mercier who is running for a seat on the St. Michaels Town Commission. Al has been both a tax accountant and restaurateur before his retirement.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. This election will be held on May 2 at the Edgar M. Bosley Municipal Building (Town Office), 300 Mill Street, St. Michaels, Maryland between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. 

All candidates for St. Michaels Town Commission were invited in participating in the Talbot Spy Election 2022 series. Commissioners Bibb and Khalil have not responded to date to the Spy’s invitation.

Mid-Shore Real Estate: Filling the Professional Rental Market Niche with Derick Daly

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The last time the Spy spoke with Derick Daly, our theme was to celebrate his unique role in the world of Eastern Shore entrepreneurs. While Derick was perhaps best known to the Mid-Shore as the co-founder of the highly successful BAAM afterschool program for young African-American boys (and now girls) in Easton, in truth, Derick and his family had five or six different enterprises, from construction to affordable housing projects, all of whom interconnected in their financial support of Polaris Village Ministries, the philanthropic parent of all these businesses.

Perhaps the most surprising was Aspire Daly, Inc. Dedicated to developing high-end residential rental properties, Aspire was formed with a few other private investors to design and build a 150-unit complex on the east side of Route 50 in Easton.

There are a few things that make this project unique. The first and the most obvious is that this development targets young professionals in the area who can’t find high-quality rental properties close to where they work. The second is how Derick and his team have envisioned a project that takes full advantage of its 63 acres for hiking trails, nature paths and open space by only developing 13 of those acres for housing. And finally, it is a project specifically designed to provide much-needed funding to BAAM, the Polaris Academy education center, and a host of other programs aimed at helping the community’s most at-risk young people and their families.

The Spy sat down with Derick a few weeks ago to discuss the Daly Estates project.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about Aspire Daly please go here.

 

Troika and ShoreRivers Teams Up: A Chat with Laura Era and Rebekah Hock

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When one of Troika Gallery’s artists suggested in passing that a great spring theme would be a celebration of ShoreRivers conservation work, gallery owner Laura Era jumped at the chance.

For Laura, the idea of highlighting the role of water with so many of her artists was a perfect one, but it was also a personal one. For almost thirty years, Laura and her husband worked on the water before she devoted all her time and energy to her art work and keeping the gallery thriving. As a Eastern Shore native, she knew first hand how important environmental quality was for the Chesapeake Bay and its “guts” to use her term.

So on April 22, AKA, Earth Day, Troika will play host for “ShoreRivers@Troika Gallery which will feature their artists depicting the waterways of the Eastern Shore with a portion of sales supporting the clean water advocacy, restoration, and education work of ShoreRivers.

the April 22 reception will include Choptank Riverkeeper, Matt Pluta, who speak about the risks to water quality in the area and the many ways each of us can play a part in ensuring healthy, fishable, swimmable waterways.

The Spy, a fan of both ShoreRivers and Troika, stopped by the other day for a quick chat with Laura and ShoreRivers Rebekah Hock to hear more and view some of the great art that will be on display for purchase.

This video is approximately two minutes in length.

Troika Gallery located at 9 South Harrison Street, is open Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11am until 6:00 pm, and Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday by appointment. 410-770-9190. For more information about Troika Gallery please go here.

 For more information about ShoreRivers please go here.