David Powell remembers when his long-time friend, Bernie Dancel, was planning the business that would become Ascend One, a debt management company.
“We would talk about our dreams and goals,” the Howard Hospital Foundation board chair said. “He wanted more than a successful business. He wanted to be in a position to do something for other people, to be a positive force.”
That was nearly 20 years ago. And on June 16, The Arc of Howard County will honor Dancel and his wife, Connie, for being a “positive force” in hundreds of lives through their philanthropy and generosity. The Dancels will receive the Jim Greenfield Award of Compassionate Leadership, which honors Greenfield, the president of Columbia Builders.
Connie and Bernie Dancel to receive the Arc of Howard County’s Jim Greenfield Award of Compassionate Leadership.
Since he started his business, Dancel said he and Connie “have always strived to keep things in perspective. What’s really important in life is a happy family, a happy marriage and doing things we love to do. We also believe responsibility comes with blessings and that we have to do what we can to make the community a better place.”
One Family to Another
Bernie and Connie Dancel were in their early 20s when they met. Both had children from previous marriages and there was little money to spare for charity.
“We did anything we could do,” Connie said. “We’d fill baskets with necessities and take them to shelters. And we gathered clothes and food to give to school kids. It was always important to us to give to someone else.”
Meanwhile, Bernie was struggling with the debt left over from his first marriage and was finally forced to declare bankruptcy. It was a painful time for him and that experience, along with a brief career in financial services, inspired him to find a new way to help others deal with financial hardship.
Using Connie’s line of credit, the couple set up their own nonprofit, National Credit Counseling Service. “They had five kids, and it’s tough to support five kids while trying to get a business going,” Powell said. “It took a lot of effort on both of their parts. Her support and his drive made it happen.”
In 1997, Bernie launched Amerix Corp., a technology, processing and support services company. The firm helps credit counseling agencies streamline the process of educating, counseling and assisting consumers, including administering debt management programs. Today, Amerix is part of the Ascend One family of businesses, which also includes CareOne and 3Ci.
His company is one of Dancel’s proudest accomplishments. “The nature and culture of the organization, its community service, is one of the things I’m most proud of,” he said.
“There’s probably very few nonprofits in this county that don’t receive some support from Ascend One,” said Dancel’s executive assistant, Sherry Spiker.
Touching Lives
These days, Bernie says, he and Connie tend to look at philanthropy “holistically.” They’re most interested in supporting projects that benefit children or women, and they look at “long term plans that can have a lot of impact.”
The Dancels have provided financial support for The Arc through personal and corporate gifts to the capital campaign, endowment fund, annual campaign and frequent sponsorships.
They’ve set up scholarship funds at Howard Community College and The Columbia Foundation. The Dancel Family Foundation’s donation to the Howard County YMCA of Central Maryland revitalized the Y’s capital campaign, making it possible for the agency to expand its facility.
In memory of Connie’s mother, who instilled in her children the importance of sharing with others, the Dancel Foundation also donated funds to build and equip a state-of-the-art fitness center and cardiopulmonary gym to be used by cardiac rehabilitation patients from the hospital’s Outpatient Center.
The Arc’s tribute to the Dancels begins at 6 p.m. at the Spear Center. For information, call 410-730-0638, ext. 306.
