Annual Meeting of RFC, Election + Candidate Bios

The annual meeting of the Rodgers Forge Community Association will be Wednesday September 12th at 7:00pm at Rodgers Forge Elementary in the cafeteria. All are welcome to attend and vote on the following years board members. You must be a dues paying member of the association to vote, each household will receive one vote. If you have not paid your dues to date for this year you will be able to pay them at the meeting.

In this months newsletter which should be on doorsteps shortly, there is a bio of the candidates. Jay Dunn has given me copies of those bios to print here:

Candidates are to be elected to a 2-year term for 2013-2014.

▪ Ginny Allen (Stanmore Road) is a 33-year resident of the Forge with four grown children. She received her B.S. from Towson University and worked in the banking industry from 1975 to 1996. She’s been a volunteer since 2005. Ginny wants to encourage all of the community to attend board meetings as a way to come together and do what’s best for the entire population. She hopes to convince “all members of the community to work together in a positive way to achieve” this goal. As a long-time resident who enjoys living in the Forge, she would like to continue the local traditions and provide good schools and an attractive, safe place to live, where all voices are heard and considered. She wants RF to continue to be regarded as “the best community in Baltimore.”

▪ Mike Calwell (Glen Argyle) has served on the RFC Board since 2010 and has been very influential in expanding and enhancing the activities of Citizens on Patrol in the Forge as well as the larger area encompassed by the Towson Area Citizens on Patrol. He has been a willing helping hand in RFC events such as Dumpster Day and the Annual Picnic. His primary goal is to continue to support the RFC Crime Prevention and Safety Committee and help make Rodgers Forge an even better place to live. Mike and his wife, Elizabeth, have two daughters and have lived on Glen Argyle for 12 years. He has a BS in Computer Information Systems and is a systems engineer with Dynamic Technology Group.

▪ Dave Crockett (Murdock Road) is an 11-year resident of the Forge who attended Loyola College and works as a mortgage officer for PNC bank in Towson. He is married, with three children. Dave believes living in a townhouse community as wonderful as Rodgers Forge has responsibilities and benefits for all. “As long as we agree on a common goal and work through the RFC, there should be no confusion or disagreement. As a community we are awesome, but there are things we could do better and many things we need to improve. I am willing to work toward those common goals.”

▪ Jean Duvall (Murdock Road), recently retired, has worked as a law clerk and in the banking industry. She has three children and four grandchildren, and has lived in the Forge for a whopping 41 years! Jean is a past president and VP/ secretary of the RFC Board and has served on many charitable and civic organizations, including the YWCA and The Charter Woman’s Commission. She also helped establish rape crisis centers for women. In her roles within the Board, Jean has served on numerous committees and worked for several years toward obtaining historic designation for the neighborhood. Her goal, if reelected, is to continue to support the covenants, the mission statement and the guidelines of the Board. She would also like to see dues raised and to visually enhance the RF blog. She promises “to work hard” on behalf of the Board on projects for the community.

▪ Eric Helfrich (Stanmore Road) is married to Jennifer and has lived in RF for 19 years. The couple has two children, Greg and Lily. Eric has a BA in Literature, a BS in Computer Science, a JD, and is a member of the Maryland Bar as well as a Chartered Professional Casualty Underwriter. He’s worked at a variety of computer consulting jobs and startups and recently became CTO of a banking regulatory compliance startup.

▪ Jennifer Helfrich (Stanmore Road), a 19-year RF resident, is currently self-employed. She holds a BA from Loyola College. She’s held many positions, management and otherwise, within the real estate/title industry, including title examiner, title abstractor, and database administrator/systems analyst. Currently the Board president, if reelected, Jennifer hopes to continue thoughtful discussion about how current committees serve the community and how they can evolve to meet its changing needs. She would like to continue to develop the RF blog, web site and newsletter, and make residents aware that the preservation of our neighborhood requires the participation of us all. Lastly, she wants to promote awareness of the RFC Board’s efforts as well as increase Board and resident involvement in the community. Jennifer is married to Eric.

▪ Kate Glorioso (Regester Ave.) is a lifelong Forge resident. She has a BS in Psychology from Towson University and is certified in Preschool Education. She is self employed in providing personal care and concierge services. Her goals, if elected, are: to start a welcoming committee for new residents; increase the percentage of dues paying residents; start a discussion on the expansion of the elementary school; and be someone who neighbors feel comfortable talking to about various problems. Kate would maintain the original covenants with slight modifications and focus on the maintenance of back yards. She wants to continue with and increase the RFC’s various seasonal events and would establish quarterly open forums in which residents could discuss concerns with the appropriate RFC committees for resolution.

▪ John Rinehart (Regester Ave.) is an eight-year Forge resident, married to Roxane and retired from the U.S. Navy after 30 years as a Master Chief Machinest’s Mate. The Rineharts have one son, Ian, an incoming Freshman at Towson High. John’s goals as a Board member are to increase awareness of the covenants and their positive effects on the neighborhood stability and property values. He would further like to continue to assist neighbors who are having difficulty in home or yard maintenance and to continue to interact with the Baltimore County Police Department and Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.). Lastly, John would attempt to find a way to resolve the differences and establish true dialog between residents who support the covenants and those with a more “anything goes” attitude.

▪ Roxane Rinehart (Regester Ave.) is an eight-year resident of the Forge and a 28-year dental assistant who trained at the Medix School. She lives with her husband, John, and son, Ian. As a board member, Rox would tour the Forge and send “friendly” letters to residents whose homes do not adhere to the covenants as far as windows, trim color, exterior, etc. are concerned. She would like to see the Board foster communication with residents and approve more materials to help preserve and enhance our homes’ original look and style. Rox grew up in the Forge and had a great aunt who was an original owner. She strongly believes that the covenants help RF homes retain their high value. She runs, walks, and bikes the neighborhood and is a C.O.P. member.

▪ Christiane Rothbaum (Hopkins Road) is a 25-year resident who received a Master’s degree in Social Communications, Advertisement and Public Relations in her native Belgium where she worked in a cultural center for seven years before raising her children in Rodgers Forge. She teaches French at the Peabody Institute and at Johns Hopkins University. If elected, she wants to be regarded as a sensible, fair and open-minded board member. She would walk our alleys and pay attention to the maintenance and cleanliness of properties, make herself available to speak with residents about problems we all face and carry those problems to the board. She would pay attention to community concerns as they are expressed in the various local print and electronic publications, and use a referendum process to address common problems.

▪ Del Schmidt (Overbrook Road) has lived in RF for four years and works as a Realtor. He is a graduate of Gilman School with a BA from the University of Maryland. Del has been a licensed associate broker for more than five years and is part of a fourth-generation family business: Chase, Fitzgerald & Co. He and his wife, Meghan, have a three-month old daughter, Rory. Del would like to uphold the architectural integrity of RF and preserve our uniform aesthetics by staying true to the original guidelines. He would like to maintain a vibrant, friendly community through special events and by proactively addressing neighborhood concerns before they become widespread problems. He believes communication between the Board and RF residents should be as transparent as possible and wants to encourage participation in the various committees. He hopes to continue managing the RF blog; to offer his professional take on real estate matters; and to assist on
architecture-related committees.

▪ Stuart Sirota (Hopkins Road) is a seven-year Forge resident with a BA in Geology and a minor in Urban Planning. He has 26 years of experience as an urban planner, with seven as principal of his own consulting practice. Stu and his wife, Lisa, have three children. If reelected, Stu would consider it an honor to continue putting his urban planning expertise to use on behalf of the neighborhood. His goals are to clarify the benefits and need for strong but reasonable community design standards and ultimately improve and update these standards. He would like to see civic engagement increase in RF and feels that, while the Board has been making progress, there are opportunities to expand its effectiveness through better use of the Internet and social media, Town Hall” meetings, roundtables and social networking events in the community. Stu has already helped launch several initiatives, including the Safe Routes to School and Tree Rodgers Forge committees.

▪ Bryan Tillman (Dunkirk Road) is a 12-year resident of the Forge and has a son with his wife, Melissa. He holds a BA from Franklin & Marshall College and a JD from the University of Maryland School of Law. An attorney, Bryan is founding partner of the Law Office of Bryan M. Tillman, LLC. Bryan believes the high standards of Rodgers Forge can best be accomplished by continuing to enforce the existing covenants and educating residents through expansion of the RF directory and web site. As well as maintaining the covenants, he would like to help explore the possibility of holding additional community activities, such as the annual picnic. Bryan is currently the RFC, Inc., vice president and brings his legal expertise to various Board activities.