Kline Named Howard County Volunteer of the Year

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and County Council Chairperson Courtney Watson honored outstanding volunteers in a recent ceremony that recognized the generosity and achievements of 44 individuals and eight community groups. The annual event also included the announcement of Howard County's Volunteer of the Year and other special award recipients.

The honorees were:

Volunteer of the Year: Ron Kline, Columbia
Since 1999 when he "retired," Ron Kline has been volunteering 25 to 30 hours each week at Howard County's Foreign-Born Information and Referral Network (FIRN) as its "IT Genius." His efforts have included taking an outdated database and writing extensive software to provide FIRN with an efficient, effective system to help the staff serve their clients.
Kline maintains and services all of FIRN's computers and servers, trains staff and has helped the office define system requirements. In 2007 alone, FIRN served more than 1,200 clients from 69 countries, helping them become self-sufficient, contributing citizens. His work has made it easier for FIRN to provide equal access to community resources for all foreign-born individuals.

Community Organization of the Year: Elkridge Adult Athletic Association
Thirty years ago, a group of men got together to start a softball league. By the end of the first year, they had $45 left in its treasury, and they donated the money to the new Rockburn Branch Park.
Today, the Elkridge Adult Athletic Association (EAAA) has moved far past managing softball leagues and now devotes its time to community service. For the past 16 years, EAAA has organized and hosted Haunted Halloween in Rockburn Park, as well as the popular Easter Egg Hunts and summer concerts. Each year, it gives approximately $10,000 back to the community to organizations like Dick Gelfman's Ride Across Maryland, the MS Walk, the Elkridge Food Bank, Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department and the American Cancer Society.
Its members take the "plunge" every winter for Special Olympics and award college scholarships to local students. In 2007 alone, they donated more than 1,500 hours of service to their community.

Student of the Year: Timothy Stapleton, Elkridge
This junior at Loyola Blakefield High School in Towson planned and raised funds to build a sensory stimulation room for the developmentally disabled clients of The Arc of Howard County as part of his Eagle Scout project. What started out as a 100-hour project turned into a 400-plus hour project; but Stapleton just raised more money to cover the additional costs and kept on working until the room was complete.
For the past three summers, he has traveled to Appalachia to repair homes for the less fortunate. He has also been a golf coach for Special Olympics and was paired with an athlete competing in the Maryland State Special Olympics Golf Project.

Humanitarian of the Year: Joseph Murray, Sr., Columbia
Joseph Murray's work with children, developmentally disabled individuals, homeless families and arts organizations shows his true commitment to making a positive difference in Howard County. He is the president of the board of The Arc of Howard County, mentors young boys in need of a positive male role model through Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Central Maryland and is a classroom consultant for the Junior Achievement Program.
That's not all. Murray is a member of the Howard County Committee to End Homelessness and has served on the Volunteer Center Serving HC Advisory Committee since 2004 (including two years as chair). He also supports the Lazarus Foundation, Grassroots and Congregations Concerned for the Homeless through volunteerism and charitable giving. Not surprisingly, he was recently appointed to serve on the Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism.