Our friends at the historic community of Scotland, the first place that people of color owned land in Potomac, are deep in the midst of an $11 million capital campaign to restore and expand their 100-year-old church that was ruined by flood in 2019. With support from the Marriott Foundation, the Glenstone Foundation, Adventist Health Care and hundreds of other organizations, they just passed $8.1 million!

Participating in two upcoming events can help. On May 18, Scotland will host the Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimage featuring 10 amazing properties in Bethesda and Potomac from 10 a.. to 5 p.m. One of the gardens, Three Fox Pond, is extraordinary, as is the Glenstone Museum, a typically tough Saturday ticket that is open exclusively to Garden Tour Pilgrims on that date. Tickets for entry into all 10 properties are $40 in advance and $45 on the day of the event at www.mhgp.org. Not to be missed: The elders of the Scotland community are hosting a fried chicken luncheon at the Bette Thompson Community Center from 11:30-2:30 p.m. for $20 per meal.

The biggest event on the Scotland calendar is the Scotland Juneteenth Heritage Festival, which runs from June 15-19 at various locations in Bethesda and Potomac. Events, including a Children’s Carnival, Health & Wellness Pavilion, Opening Gala, drew nearly 10,000 people last year. This year promises to be even bigger, kicking off June 15 with the legendary Chuck Brown Band at the Bethesda Theater, and capping off with a huge fireworks display at the Povich Field on June 19th at 9:30 p.m. Other events include a 5K run and family walk at 8 a.m. on the 19th, and a classic car show, also on the 19th, at 9 a.m.
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For information on sponsoring or attending, visit www.juneteenthscotland.org. Net proceeds from the festival benefit six African American non-profit organizations in Montgomery County. 

Guest Blog 

​Withum is a local firm with global reach. Its team is stacked with experts dedicated to giving clients their undivided attention, time and expertise to set them up for success. The firm offers traditional audit, tax and accounting services as well as industry-focused, transformative advisors who optimize organizations and propel them into the future.
Over the past 50 years, the Withum team has seen the rise and fall of disco, beepers, scrunchies, Y2K, Blackberry phones, moving to the cloud, the AI-craze and everything in between. During this time, the Firm has also developed a wide-reaching, progressive and solution-oriented advisory practice. Withum’s Advisory Services Team helps businesses evolve and meet the demands of their customers, empowering them to do more with less through automation, integration and collaboration.
 
Modernizing Work Environments with Technology
By utilizing Digital Workplace Solutions, organizations of any size can improve operations with Microsoft 365 solutions tailored specifically to you by your Withum team. Every organization is unique—no one solution will work for every problem. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Withum can assist with automation, workplace efficiency, employee experience, CRM and ERP.
You shouldn’t have to worry about how the logistics of selecting, implementing or optimizing new technology will impact your business. Withum will provide your team with the personalized consulting and training necessary to evaluate and take full advantage of your software solution.

Delivering Financial Transparency and Strategic Vision
Business financial health is just as much a priority as efficient and effective operations. Backed by 50 years of experience, Withum offers organizations financial accuracy and transparency through a variety of accounting and attest services. Withum can provide a full-scope road map of what long-term success looks like for your organization when integrating tax optimization strategies, risk management and strategic planning.

The team thrives on collaboration to understand your business as if it were their own. So, business owners and management can rest assured that each interaction and decision will be driven by integrity. Whether you need to prove financial stability to investors or your constituents, adhere to required financial reporting standards or security regulations, or build a succession plan, Withum will ensure you feel empowered to make decisions with confidence to grow your business and plan strategically for the future.

A Culture Unlike Any Other
Withum was started by four accountants who came together around a kitchen table and agreed that the key to success is putting people first. When you care for your people and put their needs first, they reciprocate those same actions for their clients and communities.
Withum team members don’t adhere to the professional norms that typically restrict creativity and authenticity. The Withum team does things differently – they went viral for flashmob culture videos and added Chuck Taylors to their wardrobes before sneakers with suits were a fashion trend. They connect with people through multiple lenses and build lasting relationships. Its professionals embrace innovation and entrepreneurism to always go the extra mile for their clients.
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Local in Reach
Withum’s roots in Bethesda stretch back over 17 years. As a top Washington, DC, CPA firm, the team is proud to collaborate with the high-energy, success-driven individuals who make up the local business community and help it flourish. See what Withum can do for you at Withum.com. 

 Guest Blog by: Peter Halbrook & Jonathan Rosner, TritonPoint Wealth

Guest Blog by Susan I. Wranik, Speech-Language Pathologist, ​SpeakSkill LLC

​How much do you know?  If you care for, care about, live with, or love someone with Parkinson’s Disease, here are
10 Things You Should Know

1. Parkinson’s Disease is a chemical deficiency:  loss of dopamine, a neurotransmitter and hormone which plays a vital role in movement, memory and pleasure.

It also has a role in controlling concentration,  mood, learning, sleep and other body functions.

1. Over 10 million people worldwide are affected by Parkinson’s Disease (PD).
2. Cause:  a combination of genetic and environmental triggers, such as exposure to toxins.
3. People with Parkinson’s Disease (PWPD) have both motor and non-motor symptoms. 

The non-motor symptoms can be even more challenging to live with (sleep issues, for example) than the motor symptoms.

1. No cure (yet),  though with medication management and life style changes, people can live successfully with PD.
2. PWPD should be followed by a neurologist specializing in movement disorders.

7.No two alike. If you’ve seen one person with Parkinson’s, you’ve seen one person.

1. Two biggest treatments:  EXERCISE brain, body, and voice and SOCIALIZE. 

Physical, Occupations and Speech Therapy can help.

1. People do not die from Parkinson’s.  They may die with it,  but not from it.
2. Most important:  Parkinson’s is what people have; it’s NOT who they are.

For more information, check out the Parkinson’s Rappers https://youtu.be/H-73J82Y1p0

As we celebrate Black History Month, we are honored to recognize history makers with ties to Montgomery County.

Today, we spotlight Dr. Webster Sewell (1901-1998)

Webster Sewell was an African American physician who operated a medical clinic in Norbeck, Maryland. In January 1960, the Montgomery County Sentinel described Dr. Sewell as “the only Negro doctor in the county,” and reported that he was sentenced to a one-year prison term for performing an abortion on a White woman, thereby losing his medical license and depriving his patients of medical care.

Throughout his career, Webster Sewell represented the enterprising spirit of the Black hospital movement. On the local level, he served as an important resource in a 1947 Montgomery County survey on race relations and he was among the unnamed professionals who documented racial disparities in health care, among other issues. The survey concluded that “the system is apparently one of discrimination which relegates all Negroes to the lowest stratum of economic, political and social life.”

Sewell’s first love was the practice of medicine and, according to his daughter, Dorita Sewell, he “respected medicine and had a somewhat romantic view of it.”19 She remembers that he was an “excellent diagnostician … and read medical journals eagerly,” noting that his practice was large and that the majority of his patients were “the poor and neglected people of Montgomery County [many of whom] he cared for free.”20 Sewell planned to raise money to build a non-discriminatory hospital, and he had a building site and architectural plans for the facility in Norbeck.21 Dorita notes that “the community was raising money for it,” but he donated the funds in the 1960s to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda “where they had more liberal policies.”

Excerpts from https://montgomeryhistory.org/montgomery-county-story-african-american-topics/

Odessa M. Shannon (1928-2020) was born in Washington, D.C. on July 4, 1928, to Gladys and Raymond McKenzie. She was educated in Washington’s public schools, graduating from Dunbar High School as Valedictorian with a perfect SAT score. The only black student in her class, she earned her B.A. from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, graduating on the Dean’s List.

She was the first black woman elected to the Montgomery County School Board in 1982 and served there until she was appointed Special Assistant to the County Executive in 1984. She was the first woman ever to hold this position. From 1995 to 2008, she served as Executive Director of the Montgomery County Human Rights Commission.

She was the founder of the Montgomery County Human Rights Hall of Fame and is included in the Women’s History Archives of the Montgomery County Commission for Women. Ms. Shannon received numerous awards throughout her career for her many accomplishments and advocacy including the Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteerism from President Obama, the Distinguished Community Leadership Award from County Executive Leggett, Maryland’s Hornbook Award for Outstanding Service to Education, the MCPS Award for Distinguished Service to Public Education, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Award for Exceptional Achievement in Advancing the Rights of Minorities and Women. 

Excerpt from https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshallfame/html/index.html

As we celebrate Black History Month, we are honored to recognize history makers with ties to Montgomery County.

Today, we spotlight Dominique Dawes. 

Dominique Dawes is an Olympic Gold Medalist, three-time Olympian, brand ambassador and motivational speaker. She is the only American gymnast to medal at three different Olympic Games in the team competition and the first African American gymnast to win an Olympic Gold medal. Dominique paved the way for other young African American gymnasts to strive for Olympic glory. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, Dominique became the first female African American gymnast to win an individual medal, capturing bronze with her floor exercise performance, helping solidify her place in the USOC Hall of Fame.

Dominique, appointed by President Barack Obama, served as the co-chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition alongside NFL Quarterback Drew Brees. Through this program she worked closely with the First Lady to help promote the Let's Move! initiative, educating children on fitness and nutrition while motivating them to get moving.

Dominique was born in Silver Spring, MD on November 20, 1976. Today, she is a highly requested keynote speaker who delivers powerful and inspiring messages on leadership, personal drive, building your foundation for success and living a healthy lifestyle. She has the unique ability to empower audiences, from corporate executives and small business owners to women's groups and moms, universities, and youth organizations.

Excerpt from msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshallfame/html/index.html

The Maryland House of Delegates tip credit bill hearing scheduled for February 14th has been cancelled.

The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce partnered with local Chambers in Maryland and the Restaurant Association of Maryland to defeat this legislation in the Maryland General Assembly.

 Statement from the Restaurant Association of Maryland:
The hearing for House Bill 467, which would phase out Maryland’s tip credit, has been cancelled because the bill sponsor will be withdrawing this legislation. This decision comes after nearly 100 servers, bartenders and restaurant operators showed up at a February 1st hearing in Annapolis to oppose the State Senate version of this legislation as part of our industry’s SAVE OUR TIPS campaign. The Senate Finance Committee heard persuasive testimony from tipped employees and restaurant operators who spoke against the bill. As a direct result of our industry’s strong turnout and powerful testimony, this legislation does not have the support needed to pass this Senate committee.

As we celebrate Black History Month, we are honored to recognize history makers with ties to Montgomery County.

Today, we spotlight Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

Wes Moore is the 63rd Governor of the state of Maryland. He is Maryland’s first Black Governor in the state’s 246-year history and is just the third African American elected Governor in the history of the United States.

Wes was born in Takoma Park, Maryland, to Joy and Westley Moore.  Wes is a combat veteran, bestselling author, small business owner, Rhodes Scholar, and former CEO of one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations. 

Moore built and launched a Baltimore-based business called BridgeEdU, which reinvented freshman year of college for underserved students to increase their likelihood of long-term success. BridgeEdu was acquired by the Brooklyn-based student financial success platform, Edquity, in 2018.

It was Moore’s commitment to taking on our toughest challenges that brought him to the Robin Hood foundation, where he served for four years as CEO. During his tenure, the Robin Hood foundation distributed over $600 million toward lifting families out of poverty, including here in Maryland.

Excerpts from https://governor.maryland.gov/leadership/Pages/governor.aspx