Health & Harvest
Investment in Community Brings Big Returns
Renovating the Newberry • Barns, Beams and Beauty • Grassroots Health
Tech for the Community, Opportunities for
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Join us in driving the future of technology in Frederick. Be part of a vibrant ecosystem where ideas flourish and innovation knows no bounds!
BUSINESS BRIEF
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Fall 2024 issue of Frederick Business Quarterly, in which we explore how investing in the local community reaps big wins for everyone.
Our theme for this issue is “Health and Harvest.” Those words have some obvious definitions, but what we’re talking about in this issue is sowing the seeds of investment, tending to the health of a business and then reaping the benefits of the time and attention necessary to succeed.
In this issue we share how investments of time, funds and attention have resulted in impressive growth in health services available to Frederick County residents at Frederick Health Hospital. We also focused our curiosity on Chartruse & Co. and Downtown Brunswick, where again, individuals sowed seeds of passion and big dreams, resulting in improved health and growth of a small city and local businesses.
Whether you’re a social media influencer, a bank executive proudly escorting a community bank into its 125th year of continuous service, or a farmer aiming high to make a difference, each article in this issue strives to encourage, inspire and educate those of you interested in the business of doing business.
Here’s to a strong quarter!
12 S. Market Street, Suite 101 Frederick, MD 21701 p. 301-662-6050 | f. 301-662-5102 www.FrederickBusiness.com
Frederick Business is a bimonthly publication of Pulse Publishing, LLC. Customer inquiries should be directed to Pulse Publishing, LLC. Manuscripts, drawings, photography, and other submissions must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The Frederick County Guide is not responsible for unsolicited material.
All contents of this publication are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part for any reason without prior consent of the publisher. Frederick Business makes every effort to ensure accuracy of its resource listings, but does not hold responsibility for incorrect or missing information.
We wish to thank our advertisers for their continued support! Many thanks to the countless Frederick County residents and employees who offered their time and insight to add to the content of this issue.
On the cover: A hospital administrator wears many hats; President Kleinhanzl touring the Critical Care expansion while it was still under construction. Photo courtesy of Alyssa Boxhill, Frederick Health
PUBLISHER
Donna S. Elbert donna@pulsepublishing.net
EDITOR/CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Melissa Howes-Vitek melissa@pulsepublishing.net
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Gabby Mongeau gabby@pulsepublishing.net
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Ron Cramer ronald@pulsepublishing.net
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Susan O’Connor susan@pulsepublishing.net
COPY EDITOR
Molly Fellin Spence molly@pulsepublishing.net
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Ana Lazo Eastep
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Alyssa Boxhill
Jeanette Hand
Susan O’Conner
Sean Reel
DISTRIBUTION distribution@pulsepublishing.net
CONTRIBUTORS
Erik Anderson is a frequent contributing features writer to the Frederick News-Post and other local publications. He primarily covers local history and theater. Email him at erikanderson07@gmail.com.
Dr. Kimberlyn Cahill Dr. Kimberlyn Cahill, dmol, C-IAYT, #-RYT-500, is an Inspired Living Coach & Yoga Movement Therapist and owner of Life’sWork Yoga.
Lena Clark is an Estate Planning, Probate, and Elder Law attorney based in Frederick, Maryland. Attorney Clark’s practice focuses on Wills, Trusts, Special Needs Law, Estate Planning, Trust and Estate Administration, Family Trust matters, and on related areas of federal and state tax laws involving Transfers of Family Wealth to succeeding generations, and planning for after-death disposition of property.
Chris Slattery is an avid storyteller who covered the arts and entertainment for The Gazette and the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County’s CultureSpotMC and now writes for a variety of corporations and publications while procrastinating over several unfinished works of fiction.
Molly Fellin Spence is an accomplished writer and editor with more than two decades of experience in the world of journalism. She’s worked with a variety of print and digital publications in the Mid-Atlantic region creating and honing compelling content to engage readers. A native Pennsylvanian, she has called Frederick, Maryland, home since 2002.
STARTUP SUPPORT
• flexible office spaces
• BSL2 wet lab facilities
• shared lab spaces
• state-of-the-art equipment
• “Base Camp” community space where innovation thrives
• drop-in and virtual memberships
INDEX
FEATURE
28
Frederick Health president and CEO
Tom Kleinhanzl talks about the extraordinary evolution of our hometown hospital.
Just off I-70, 8 miles east of Frederick, there’s New Market. A hidden gem that’s been around since George Washington was president, New Market was originally a stopover on the National Road for travelers headed west. Today, New Market is a place to visit and relax with family and friends. Stroll along historic Main Street, grab a bite to eat at one of our restaurants, visit our one-of-a-kind shops, all locally owned, check out the public art in the Community Park. Free and convenient parking; shops with a smile.
To learn more, especially about our events, such as our June Block Party and the December Christmas Parade, check our website: www.townofnewmarket.org/small-town-fun
Friendly shops, tasty food, and pretty streets— New Market
LEADERS WHO LEARN...
Where do executives and small business owners go to tune into the latest trends and cultivate inspiration? We asked a few of our contributors for their top picks in print and podcasts.
PRO READS
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
by Brené Brown
“Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown is a transformative guide that champions vulnerability, courage and empathy as essential components of effective leadership. Drawing from her extensive research on vulnerability and shame, Brown redefines leadership as an act of boldness and connection, emphasizing that true leaders are those who are willing to confront and embrace their fears.
Brown introduces the concept of “rumbling with vulnerability,” which entails engaging in tough conversations with openness and honesty. She argues that courage is not about being fearless, but about acknowledging and navigating vulnerability. The book offers practical tools and strategies for developing daring leadership skills, such as setting clear boundaries, building trust and fostering a culture of feedback.
A key takeaway is Brown’s emphasis on the importance of human connection in leadership. She challenges traditional leadership paradigms that prioritize power and control, advocating instead for leading with the heart, fostering genuine relationships and creating an environment where everyone feels safe to speak up and contribute.
“Dare to Lead” provides actionable insights and relatable examples, making it a valuable resource for leaders seeking to
cultivate a more authentic and resilient organizational culture. Brown’s compelling storytelling and grounded research make the book both an inspiring and practical guide for anyone aspiring to lead with courage and compassion.
– by Amanda Haddaway, Managing Director, HR Answerbox
The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service:
by Robert Spector and Andrew McCarthy
My husband, Greg, and I both come from families with a long history of owning small businesses.
We grew up watching our relatives’ hard work and perseverance and saw how our own families worked at their dreams to build their successful businesses every day. The inspiration for our own small business, Studio 24E, now located in Thurmont, was drawn from those observations, as well as from other successful businesses.
One of those is Nordstrom, the storied luxury department store with more than a century of great customer service traditions.
We both began our journey in retail by working at Nordstrom, which not only helped guide our careers, but also led us to each other.
So, it was natural for us to pick up and read, “The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence,” by Robert Spector and Patrick McCarthy. First published in 1995, it’s a guidebook
LEADERS WHO LEARN...
for implementing great customer service in any business or organization, just as Nordstrom’s does.
We truly believe that the key to our success and longevity is our attention to customer experience and connection.
The book shares the humble beginnings, successes and struggles of the department store. It shows you that building relationships, understanding the needs of your customers and your community will create trust and loyalty.
We first identified with it as employees of Nordstrom, and now we live those same philosophies as business owners.
Many of our customers have been with us from the beginning, when we started our shop in Linthicum, then moved to Oakland; Terra Alta, West Virginia; and Deep Creek Lake. Now years later, our longtime customers’ kids and grandkids are becoming customers, too.
“The Nordstrom Way,” is a great read, that demonstrates to readers the belief that at the end of the day, loyalty and trust should be the foundation of your business and will lead to long-lasting customer relationships.
–
by Nina Tate-Elliott, co-owner, Studio 24E, in Thurmont
Traction:
Get a Grip on Your Business
by Gino Wickman
Gino Wickman is the author of the bestselling book, “Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business.”
This book provides business owners like me with a comprehensive framework focused on six key components crucial for any business success: 1) Vision, 2) People, 3) Data, 4) Issues, 5) Process, and 6) Traction. These components helped us take the law firm to the next level!
Vision is the heart of a business. Our vision for the Law Office of Lena A. Clark, LLC, is to make Estate Planning and Probate easy for our clients and their loved ones. These legal services are no longer just for the ultra-wealthy and society’s elite. If you don’t have a comprehensive Revocable Living Trust program and a Business Succession Plan, your family won’t have access to your business after you die, and it will have to go through a Probate process with a court.
Next is “People”. The right people in the right seats are the backbone of any successful business. This understanding has transformed our team from functioning to thriving, making each member feel valued and integral to our success!
Decision-making MUST shift from being anecdote-based to Data-driven. Wickman introduces the concept of a Scorecard, a simple yet powerful tool that tracks key performance indicators
(KPIs) to provide a clear picture of the business’s health, identify trends, make informed decisions, and ensure accountability.
Any Issues that arise are resolved through open communication and a systematic process so we can address challenges promptly and prevent them from escalating. Our People are problem-solvers, not just problem-finders!
We have found that documenting and systematizing the core, well-defined Processes that dictate how our business operates have led to consistency, efficiency, and scalability.
Finally, there is Traction, which is all about execution. Wickman introduces the concept of Rocks, which are 90day priorities that have helped our team focus on the most important tasks.
We can maintain momentum and achieve our goals by breaking down the Vision into manageable chunks and ensuring regular progress reviews.
Overall, I found Gino Wickman’s “Traction” to be a practical and actionable guide that equips business owners with a clear roadmap for business success. Filled with real-world examples, practical tools, and actionable advice, it’s an invaluable resource for business leaders aiming to gain control and drive consistent growth.
– by Lena Clark, , LLC, Trusts and Estates Law Office of Lena A. Clark in downtown, Frederick
SIDE HUSTLE
Making it Counts
Frederick dental hygienist turns hobby into profit via highly successful vintage reseller
by Molly Fellin Spence
business Frederick Home Finds
The story of how a young Fredericktonian went from an unassuming dental hygienist to a highly successful online reseller of vintage home goods being featured in The Washington Post has a little bit to do with pandemic-era boredom and a lot to do with building an authentic brand where customers become friends and confidantes.
In October 2020, Corrine Counts was a lot like a lot of us. The COVID-19 pandemic was stretching on months longer than we were promised, and, stuck at home without a daily job to report to, we were getting bored.
For Counts, 32, that boredom led to creativity, and a business idea.
“Like a lot of people, I started redecorating my house and painting the walls and just changing things. So, as I was doing that, I started selling things I didn’t want or didn’t work for me on Facebook Marketplace and I realized stuff sold a lot faster when I staged them and made them cute and made sure the lighting was good,” Counts said.
Soon, Frederick Home Finds was born.
‘Luxury décor for playful homes’
As Counts says on her website, she knows “how important it is to love your
home and enjoy the space you spend the most time in,” so with Frederick Home Finds, she works to curate a collection of home décor and furniture that is “both playful and luxurious.”
To Counts, that means mixing expensive vintage pieces with less pricey items found at modern retail stores to create a space that works with your lifestyle.
She believes that furniture and home goods should be beautiful, but also useful.
“A gorgeous vintage piece that can also store, display, or organize something? Yes please!” she writes on her website.
Counts has been running Frederick Home Finds from her Frederick city apartment for the last four years, as a side hustle.
It all began with her love of shopping and thrifting, finding diamonds in the rough for a few dollars, and using them in her own home. But she was running out of space,
It all began with her love of shopping and thrifting, finding diamonds in the rough for a few dollars, and using them in her own home.
and she realized there was a market for cute rattan plant stands, split reed coffee tables, crystal bud vases and cut-glass decanters.
Spending a few hours scouring Goodwill shelves or rooms at an estate sale and finding an art deco-style light fixture for a few bucks is a worthy way to spend an afternoon for Counts. She knows she’ll be able to sell many of the things she finds for nearly 10 times what she pays for them.
Back in 2020, she began by selling exclusively on Facebook Marketplace for a few months until one day, “on a whim,” she woke up and decided to create an Instagram account. That decision, in October 2020, made her business really take off.
The social media platform allowed her to not only post multiple photos of her vintage finds, but also create other content, such as behind-the-scenes videos of herself thrifting, or reels explaining why she covets certain items and finds it hard to let them go. She often shares personal stories, or pokes fun at herself, treating viewers and shoppers as friends who just so happen to also be paying customers.
What to keep and what to sell?
Over the years Counts has learned a lot about the vintage reselling business, including digital marketing and content creation, by simply doing it all.
“I have absolutely zero background in vintage items … and I still don’t claim to be an expert on that because I’m really just sourcing items and posting things that I love — the style, the function, whatever it is,” she said. “I’m not going out ever looking particularly for a certain brand or for a certain time period. I am looking strictly on style.”
She goes by feeling and instinct. She prices by her gut.
“When I’m evaluating an item, I’m looking at its condition. I feel it,” she says. “How am I gonna style it? Is it something that someone else would buy, or is it just me?”
She admits pricing items can be one of the most difficult parts of the business.
“Something is only worth something if someone willing to pay,” she said. “Usually with pricing I think about, ‘OK if I loved this lamp and I was a customer and I just needed to have it, what would I be willing to pay?’ And that’s usually what I price it at.”
Counts reiterates that she considers Frederick Home Finds a luxury business. You won’t find thrift store prices shopping on her website or Instagram page.
Photo by Susan
O’Connor
“But I’m definitely not trying to just get as much money as I can or on the flipside, I’m also not trying to just price it so low that it sells quickly,” she says” I’m pricing it how I would feel about buying that for my home.”
Since part of her business model is looking for items she would put in her own home, it can be difficult to give up and sell a fabulous thrifted find.
“Trying not to keep everything that I love is so hard it honestly might be one of the hardest parts of the job,” she said. “You obviously need to sell your inventory to be making a profit and paying your bills, but you also know that you might not find all these things again, so it’s always a struggle of what to keep and what to sell.”
She has kept some of her most favorite finds, of course. She mentions a pink velvetand-brass dining set she found for around $100 total. Though she knows she could easily sell it for around $1,200, she’s not giving up the set.
“They’re gorgeous and I love them,” she said. “Pink things in general I love to keep because that’s just my favorite color to decorate with right now, but those chairs are just spectacular.”
A job, but so much more
Counts grew up in Potomac, but has lived in Frederick for about half her life. She moved downtown in 2015.
She believes the city has played a special role in making her business work.
“I tell people all the time that I don’t know if my business would be where it is today if it wasn’t based in Frederick because Frederick is such a great community for small businesses and small business owners,” she said. “Small businesses can just thrive in a place like Frederick and I really attribute a lot of my initial success to that because Frederick such an open place to helping a small business grow.”
A 2013 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Counts says she loves her “real” job, working as a dental hygienist, but it doesn’t afford her much creativity.
“I love being a dental hygienist. I don’t know if I’ll ever leave it completely, but it doesn’t let me be super creative or use the marketing skills that I love,” she says.
So, she works three to four days per week cleaning other people’s teeth, “almost fulltime,” then spends the rest of her time on Frederick Home Finds, searching for items to sell, creating content for her Instagram page, updating her website, and prepping items to deliver or ship.
“A side hustle to me is obviously a side job, but it’s more to me. It is a way for me to get my creativity out,” she said. “So having a side hustle not only creates extra income for me and creates more stability, but it’s also way for me to have fun and make new
connections that I probably wouldn’t have made if I didn’t have a side hustle.”
Counts has created multiple revenue streams from Frederick Home Finds, the largest being reselling furniture and home décor. But she also profits from creating social media content for other businesses, sponsored content on her own page, and also creating guides for other people who are interested in breaking into the reselling business.
“My guide focuses on starting to resell things exactly how I did on Facebook Marketplace first because I think it allows you to really see if reselling is something you want to get into,” she said. “Those guides has also become another form of revenue by spreading the wealth of my knowledge to other people looking to start something similar.”
For now, Frederick Home Finds continues to be fun, and is just successful enough to keep her busy, but not too busy.
“I can have (more) flexibility now that my side hustle has gotten to the point of success that if I don’t have a lot of patients one day, I’ll see the few that I have, I’ll leave and go work at home… then go back to my office when I have a few more patients to see,” she said. “I don’t have to get a certain amount of hours at my day job and I can still kind of work on my side business during and after work.”
Counts says she makes enough money from the side hustle that it could easily become her only full-time job. But, she’s not quite ready for that leap.
“I am enjoying that it’s still fun most days. It’s not too overwhelming or stressful. I do work a lot. I am very busy, but again, I’m not dreading it,” she said. “I get to be creative, so that’s the reason I haven’t stepped into it as my sole job … I still want to continue the joy that I have for it and not let it become something that’s too stressful or weighing on my mind.” 3
BUSINESS HIGHLIGHT
‘Banking
local’
is
Woodsboro
Bank’s mission as the region’s hometown
financial institution
by Erik Anderson
Until about seven years ago, Woodsboro Bank looked and functioned very much the same as it did since its founding in 1899, as a hometown establishment offering loans and money management services to the community.
But marketing director Samantha Cutrona said the bank reached a critical decision point seven years ago.
“The bank was on the path to merge with Middletown Valley Bank, and the shareholders decided they did not want to do that,” she said. “It was very important for them to remain independent and remain community focused.”
Cutrona said “independence” was the only way the bank could be sure it was reinvesting in the community.
“Banking with a community bank is the financial equivalent of shopping local,” she said. “When you shop local, you support that small business owner who lives in your community, whose kids go to your school. They reinvest in their businesses and help the community as a whole. It’s the same thing with banking local.”
Cutrona said “everything we do is Frederick County-based” and noted that all of the bank’s employees live in the county.
“When you bank with us,” she said, “we can then turn around and give your nextdoor neighbor a loan to start a business or help your kid’s teacher buy a house with a mortgage.”
Back in 1899, “all the farmers, everyone in the agriculture industry came together and decided to start a bank,” Cutrona said. “They built that building specifically for the bank, and it’s been running ever since.”
What started as a simple savings bank quickly grew to offer mortgages and then to support the even broader needs of Woodboro.
The building where the Woodsboro branch and headquarters are still housed in, a historic three-story, pressed red brick Italianate structure at 5 N. Main St., was constructed specifically for the bank in 1901.
The building, Cutrona said, has “always been a place of community meeting.”
In addition to its primary banking function, the building has served at various points as a post office and a general store. Joining the tail-end of a popular nationwide trend, the building even added an “opera house,” which was a space for traveling shows, especially vaudeville acts.
Cutrona said the community theater continued to operate until the 1970s, and even today when you come to the building, you can still see where the stage was located.
In addition to its primary banking function, the building has served at various points as a post office and a general store.
Joining the tail-end of a popular nationwide trend, the building even added an “opera house,” which was a space for traveling shows, especially vaudeville acts.
Photos courtesy of Woodsboro Bank
“Everyone really works as a team and gets along well together.”
- Samantha Cutrona, marketing director
Entwined with Woodsboro for its entire history, in the early 1990s bank officials began to feel pressure to grow, and so it expanded to Thurmont for its first branch location. It’s still the bank’s second-largest client market.
In 1999, two branches were added in Frederick. Today, Woodsboro Bank has a total of six locations, all in Frederick County.
Like in the early days when the bank offered a public gathering spot, its community support continues to go far beyond financial business, Cutrona said. Woodsboro Bank sponsors many public events that fill the county’s calendar year.
“A lot of people joke you can’t go to anything in Frederick without seeing somebody from Woodsboro Bank there,” she said.
In addition to supporting events such as The Great Frederick Fair, the bank awards grants to nonprofit organizations. Last year, the largest giving category was educational nonprofits. In 2022, community clubs, such as Rotary and the Boys and Girls’ Club were the largest beneficiaries.
Each employee of the bank is awarded 24 hours of annual paid volunteer time, which can be used to assist any organization. Cutrona said most employees
contribute volunteer time well beyond the compensated hours.
“All of our employees are very involved, not only in the community, but internally,” she said. “Everyone really works as a team and gets along well together.”
Woodsboro Bank has a long history in the community, with many clients able to claim long-ago ancestors as bank customers. Woodsboro Bank reached its 125th anniversary milestone in May, and will continue to celebrate through September with special events. 3
Navigating HR Challenges for Small and Midsize Businesses without a
Dedicated HR Department
By Amanda Haddaway, Managing Director, HR Answerbox
Amanda Haddaway is the managing director of HR Answerbox. If you have HR questions or need assistance with HR initiatives in your business, please contact her at amanda@hranswerbox.com.
She has a team of 250+ HR/OD consultants, trainers, coaches and speakers who can assist your organization.
Small and midsize businesses often face the daunting challenge of managing their HR functions without the proper resources. Most companies wait to hire a dedicated HR professional until they are somewhere between 50 and 100 employees. This can lead to a range of issues, from compliance headaches to employee dissatisfaction and turnover. However, with a strategic approach, smaller companies can effectively manage their HR needs while limiting liability with employment laws and fostering a positive workplace culture.
Leverage Technology
Technology can be a gamechanger for small and midsize businesses without a dedicated HR department. There are several HR software solutions tailored for smaller organizations that can automate and streamline HR processes. These platforms can handle tasks such as payroll, benefits administration, time tracking and employee onboarding. Some popular HR software solutions for small businesses include:
• Gusto: Covers payroll, benefits and compliance.
• BambooHR: Focuses on employee data management and performance tracking.
• Zoho People: Offers a suite of tools for employee management, time tracking and leave management.
Outsource HR Functions
Outsourcing is an effective way to manage HR functions without the need for full-time HR staff. HR outsourcing firms can manage various tasks, including payroll processing, benefits administration, compliance management and training. Many business owners and leaders rely on the support of an experienced HR consultant to guide them on complicated employee relations issues and HR strategies.
Develop Strong Policies and Procedures
Having clear and well-documented HR policies and procedures is crucial for small and midsize businesses. These documents should cover key areas such as hiring practices, employee conduct, performance evaluations and termination procedures. Well-defined policies help ensure consistency and fairness in managing employees and protect the business from potential legal issues. A comprehensive employee handbook can be the go-to resource for both employees and managers.
Invest in Training and Development
Investing in employee training and development can enhance employee skills, boost morale and improve retention. Businesses can use online training platforms, in-house workshops and industryspecific seminars to provide employees with continuous learning opportunities. There may also be coaching and mentoring opportunities available by pairing senior-level staff members with juniorlevel employees.
Stay Compliant with Employment Laws
Compliance with employment laws is critical for small and midsize businesses to avoid costly fines and legal issues. Business owners should familiarize themselves with federal, state and local employment laws. Resources such as the U.S. Department of Labor website and state labor departments provide valuable information on employment regulations. Additionally, subscribing to HR newsletters and joining local business associations can help employers stay informed about changes.
Foster a Positive Work Culture
Creating a positive work culture can lead to higher employee satisfaction and retention. Small and midsize businesses should focus on building strong relationships with their employees, recognizing and rewarding achievements, and encouraging open communication. Regular feedback sessions and team-building activities can help strengthen the workplace environment.
While small businesses may not have the budget for a full-time HR professional, there are numerous strategies and resources available to manage HR effectively. Small and midsize business owners can and should create a supportive and efficient HR environment that contributes to the overall success of their business.
MARYLAND GOLF at its finest
With a county population of 300,000 and 13 golf courses, Clustered Spires has earned “Best of Frederick Golf Course” for the 3rd straight year and our 17th time out of 20 years! Golf Digest awards Clustered Spires a HHHH rating. Clustered Spires reputation is a great conditioned golf course with wonderful greens and considered the best value golf course in central Maryland.
NON-SENIORS
CLUSTERED SPIRES GOLF CLUB
SENIORS/60+ RATE
TWILIGHT RATE 5 pm–Dusk $45
A HOSPITAL GROWS in Frederick
Photos courtesy of Alyssa Boxhill, Frederick Health
Frederick Health president and CEO Tom Kleinhanzl talks about the extraordinary evolution of our hometown hospital.
by Chris Slattery
Photos courtesy of Alyssa Boxhill, Frederick Health
President Kleinhanzl speaks at the ION Lung Biopsy Dinner.
Some kids dream of becoming firefighters, movie stars, professional athletes or teachers. Not Tom Kleinhanzl.
“Growing up I was always interested in health care,” says Kleinhanzl, president and CEO of Frederick Health. “I had an interest in volunteering at hospitals, which I did when I was an undergrad, and I kind of saw firsthand a little bit of both sides: the clinical role of preventative care, and the administrative side of what processes, tools and resources needed to be in place to really try to provide effective care.”
He graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in microbiology, but rather than take the MCAT and continue on to medical school, Kleinhanzl “kind of stumbled into this masters program that was actually part of the medical school, the MHA program.” And armed with his master’s degree in health administration, he set out to change the world.
OK, maybe not the world. But after 20 years at the helm of Frederick Health, which includes the only hospital in Frederick County, Kleinhanzl has certainly been instrumental in changing the way people in the county (and beyond) stay healthy.
“We were founded by Emma Smith, who in 1898 had a chronic illness and had to travel down to Baltimore for her care,” he says, referring to the community activist who worked tirelessly to plan, fund and open what was then called Frederick City Hospital (and later Frederick Memorial Hospital) in 1902, donating the land the hospital originally sat on. Smith and her colleagues, all women, raised $8,000 to open that hospital, which has evolved into a stateof-the-art health care facility with 4,000 team members in more than 25 locations. “It was a pretty remarkable beginning.”
Kleinhanzl notes that Smith’s objective was “‘to comfort the sick, care for the injured, and provide peace of mind.’
“So at our core, that’s what we’re all about.”
But times change, and Frederick Health has evolved to keep up with today’s patients’ needs. Traditionally, hospitals have been focused on the acute diagnosis and treatment of illness.
“What has changed is that we’ve evolved our mission more towards ensuring that everyone has access to care that promotes a healthy lifestyle. We’re much more externally focused than we’ve ever been.”
- Tom Kleinhanzl, president and CEO, Frederick Health
“That’s what running a hospital is all about,” Kleinhanzl says. “What has changed is that we’ve evolved our mission more towards ensuring that everyone has access to care that promotes a healthy lifestyle. We’re much more externally focused than we’ve ever been.”
Grassroots Health
In a county with a population of 260,000 people, that means focusing on expansion and outreach. At Frederick Health Hospital, the process is known as population health.
“How do we educate people earlier, how do we intervene earlier, how do we promote good health in a way that prevents people from having to come to the hospital in the first place, or returning after treatment, what we call readmission?”
Telehealth, home visits and community education initiatives go a long way in promoting the population health initiative,
A
Photos courtesy of Alyssa Boxhill, Frederick Health
A hospital administrator wears many hats; President Kleinhanzl touring the Critical Care expansion while it was still under construction.
“We just relocated and expanded our interventional cardio catheterization lab — there’s a lot of heart disease in Frederick and that’s a program that continues to grow, one we’ve invested in heavily to take care of the community.”
- Tom Kleinhanzl, president and CEO, Frederick Health
which is run by Heather Kirby, integrated care vice president and chief public health officer at Frederick Health.
Like the Family Connect Program, which sends hospital staff out to meet with every person who gives birth at the hospital to help them get off to a healthy start; diabetes prevention programs that include prediabetes screenings and information on healthy lifestyles, and expanded behavioral health care that moves beyond the hospital to support the Mental Health Association crisis clinic, which offers walk-in services. The hospital takes a leadership role in identifying the health care needs that exist and finding the best ways to deliver preventative care on a grassroots level.
“We’re doing much more out in the community than we ever have,” says Kleinhanzl. And they’re doing more at the hospital, too, as evidenced by Frederick Health’s most recent improvements.
“We’ve seen a lot of expansion here at the main campus,” the CEO notes. “In my 20 years here this is the third time we’ve expanded the emergency room.
Frederick is the fastest growing county in the state of Maryland, and that growth is reflected in the numbers at Frederick Health.
“Between our adult and pediatric emergency rooms we’re going to see close to 75,000 visits this year,” Kleinhanzl says. “Our pediatric emergency room volume has nearly doubled from when we opened up the new facility.
“We just finished a $47 million expansion that created a brand-new intensive care unit for our highest acuity patients. We just relocated and expanded our interventional cardio catheterization lab — there’s a lot of heart disease in Frederick and that’s a program that continues to grow, one we’ve invested in heavily to take care of the community.”
Interior Frederick Health
“We’re very proud of what we’re doing here at Frederick Health — I’m proud of our team,” ...“We’re an ‘us’ culture, we’re a ‘we’ culture; we’re not an ‘I’ culture.
“That’s how we roll.”
- Tom Kleinhanzl, president and CEO, Frederick Health
The community has invested, too. Kleinhanzl credits “our great philanthropic community,” with boosting the expansion fund by $14.7 million. “We’re very proud of that,” he says. “We don’t take that for granted — we’re grateful.”
Leading the Way
Frederick Health has continued to expand beyond the hospital footprint, opening a new office in Brunswick last year and building on the Mount Saint Mary’s University campus the year before to serve not just students and faculty but the entire Thurmont-Emmitsburg community.
“We’ve already done more than 10,000 visits at these sites since they opened,” says Kleinhanzl. “That’s underscoring our focus on making sure the community has high quality medical services, well distributed throughout the county.”
Indeed, the level of care is so high at Frederick Health that patients seek out the facility from beyond Frederick County.
“We have a cyberknife, over in our cancer program,” Kleinhanzl says. “There are only two of those in the state of Maryland — so it’s a very technical, highly sophisticated piece of equipment for very complex cancers.
“In the outpatient world, we’ve built an endocrinology practice to help with diabetic patients. We’ve really invested in that
practice, given the community’s needs, and we’re finding that people are seeking us out for diabetes management care from outside Frederick County.”
He says Frederick Health’s 300 surgical team members performed 85,000 surgeries last year, and since the hospital is now a leader in robotic surgery, those numbers are likely to increase substantially.
“We have two DaVinci robots, with a third likely next year,” he says. “We’re in the top 5% of volume of all DaVinci facilities in the United States, and No. 1 in Maryland. We’re doing a lot of unique things robotically in surgery — hernia repair, gall bladder repair, colon surgery, general surgery, (gynecology) cases, urology cases, and I learned this week we have a new pulmonologist doing robotic bronchoscopies.
“Those capabilities continue to expand.”
But no matter how big Frederick Health Hospital gets, no matter how far its acclaim may spread, Kleinhanzl knows that the secret to success can be found in the doctors, nurses and support staff who have dedicated their lives and careers to public health.
“We’re very proud of what we’re doing here at Frederick Health — I’m proud of our team,” he says. “We’re an ‘us’ culture, we’re a ‘we’ culture; we’re not an ‘I’ culture.
“That’s how we roll.” 3
New beginnings: Frederick Health leaders and Board Members celebrating the opening Precision Medicine & Genetics, Medical Weight Loss, and a new laboratory at the Frederick Health Village.
Photo courtesy of Alyssa Boxhill, Frederick Health
Job Creation and Preservation
Community Health and Wellbeing
Creating new Benchmarks
Responsible Impact
Thank you Frederick County!
Every time we connect to the internet, send an email or place an online order, we use a data center. Last year, Rowan Digital Infrastructure introduced our first data center project.
Earlier this year, we invited you to join us at the Camp Shoresh Community Center to learn about two more proposed data center projects in Frederick County and share your input and enjoy some light food and refreshments! Over 70 people showed up, asked questions, and gave us feedback!
The Community Open House featured informational stations that enabled guests to visit the station they found most interesting and talk with Rowan Digital Infrastructure representatives about a variety of topics. But we’re not done listening to the community! You can find more information about our projects at www.rowanfrederick.com. Please use the contact form there to let us know what you think!
We look forward to continuing our open and collaborative partnership with Frederick County.
IMPACT
Renovating the Newberry
The City of Brunswick’s revitalization is being led by a creative team who’s been putting blood, sweat
by Chris Slattery
The story of how anthropologist Eric Lindland and yoga instructor Machelle Lee fell in love is only the beginning of a saga of pulling permits, daubing mudding, and undertaking tin ceiling restoration in order to renovate an historic 8,000 square-foot building, and help revitalize the City of Brunswick in the process.
With three street-facing storefronts, the Newberry Building, constructed around 1910, is nearly done being transformed into a modern multi-functional mixed-use space promoting walkability in an urban area that’s on the upswing.
Back when Brunswick was booming, it offered everything from a locomotive roundhouse to an opera house to a five-anddime store. The J.J. Newberry & Co. 5-10-25 Cent Store at 30 Potomac St., had fallen into disrepair over the decades, but Lee and Lindland looked at it from their Roots and River yoga studio across the street and saw the future.
On July 10, Lindland and Lee celebrated as The Newberry passed its full building final inspection with Frederick County, marking a new era for the building. Soon, the Newberry will feature an expanded Roots and River space complete with studios to accommodate massage therapists, talk therapists, and reiki practitioners.
As of mid-July, several tenants have finally opened their doors to customers. They include Potomac River Interiors, a vintage luxury home goods and design store, created by Lisa Tumbarello and Whistle Punk Farm Delicatessen and Market, a brick-and-mortar deli and market inspired by the wildly popular food truck run by chef and local farmer Alexis Holland, serving lunch and dinner.
and tears into giving an old building new life
With three street-facing storefronts, the Newberry Building, constructed around 1910, is nearly done being transformed into a modern multi-functional mixed-use space promoting walkability in an urban area that’s on the upswing.
On the second floor, Integrum Ops, a software development firm, got its occupancy permit approved in mid-July, and C&O Tattoo, whose proprietor Amy Lefebvre designed the Roots and River logo, has plans to open soon as well.
“Although we have passed key inspections and some tenants have opened for business, work and renovations still continue in the Newberry,” Lee and Lindland wrote in a recent social media post.
The duo praised the City of Brunswick and its public works department for its help
upgrading the building’s water capacity, the next big job to get the building ready for all its tenants.
“It was a pricey upgrade but totally necessary to get the Newberry up to modern standards,” they wrote. “It was a worthy investment to fill the building with business as well as stir new life in the downtown. The city has … been so supportive in each step of the process.”
Up next? Sidewalk fixes.
The duo praised the City of Brunswick and its public works department for its help upgrading the building’s water capacity, the next big job to get the building ready for all its tenants.
Whistle Punk Farm Delicatessen & Market
Holland has begun offering carryout service Wednesdays through Saturdays, calling it a soft opening as she and her staff “find our flow.”
Grilled paninis, subs, sandwiches, homemade sides and salads have been filling up customers ever since.
Holland grew up in Urbana and bought a property with her husband in Keedysville in 2012 because “I knew how fun it was (living) in the country and having lots of safe places to romp and explore, and I wanted that for my kids.”
They farmed the 12-acre property named Whistle Punk Farm, starting “with chickens,
Photos by Susan O’Connor
“I randomly saw this Facebook post on the Renovating the Newberry page, which I had been following for about a year,” she says. “I love when people rehab old buildings, old farms, and old barns. It makes my heart smile.”
- Alexis Holland, chef and local farmer, Whistle Punk Farm
the ‘gateway drug’ for farming,” she laughs. “Once you have chickens you start to think, ‘What else could I raise?’”
Goats, she says, were escape artists, and the untraditional meat cuts from the heritage hogs they settled on, Gloucestershire Old Spots, seemed a bit daunting to potential customers at farmer’s markets – until Holland got licensed and started giving cooking demonstrations.
“Sales skyrocketed,” she recalls. “And I decided I really loved preparing food for others.” So, Holland revisited her earlier career in the food industry, starting with a tiny trailer and graduating to a farm-tofork food truck operation after fixing up
and fitting out a box truck she bought on Facebook.
Facebook is where she found Lee and Lindland a few years later, after the Whistle Punk Farm food truck has grown into a mobile restaurant juggernaut, traveling Frederick, Carroll and Washington counties and serving up sliders, sandwiches, salads, stews, and crab cakes at breweries, wineries, farms, private events and business venues.
Holland had been dreaming of adding a commissary to the Whistle Punk stable for years, and when she saw that the Renovating the Newberry project was looking for tenants she leapt.
“I randomly saw this Facebook post on the Renovating the Newberry page, which
I had been following for about a year,” she says. “I love when people rehab old buildings, old farms, and old barns. It makes my heart smile.”
The post she saw was a call for potential businesses to come into the Newberry, and the rest is, or will be, history.
“I walked into Suite 103 and my heart stopped, and my jaw dropped,” Holland recalls. “I thought, ‘This is home. This is where we have to be.’”
Like all the other Newberry tenants, Holland has added her own design and contributed considerable sweat equity to bring the vision to life.
“I’m happy to be a little part of this town getting back on its feet,” . . . “And I hope that what I bring into the community will resonate with people.”
- Lisa Tumbarello, designer, Potomac River Interiors
Potomac River Interiors
Lisa Tumbarello, a designer, has been carefully planning her first-floor retail space for decades.
“It’s been my lifelong dream to open a store,” she says. “I remember when I was 16, writing up shop plans (in school) instead of paying attention to science.”
Tumbarello is also a certified yoga teacher, and she started taking classes at Roots and River when she moved to nearby Sharpsburg in 2017.
“It was about two years ago, after class, Machelle mentioned, ‘Oh, we bought that building across the street — we’re going to fix it up,’” she remembers. “And I knew, in that moment, that I was going to be a part of it.”
For Tumbarello, the stars were aligning: her son would be heading to kindergarten, and the post-pandemic pop-up markets she’d been selling at no longer seemed the right solution for her interior design services and her burgeoning business selling “vintage home goods, a lot of art; vessels, vases, pottery, ceramics, brass, lighting, things like that.”
Anything in the store that isn’t vintage, she says, is carefully curated wholesale merchandise from American brands, usually small, female-owned businesses.
“And then there are the artisans,” she adds. “I have relationships with a local jeweler from Alexandria, a potter from Boonsboro, one from Pennsylvania. I’m giving these ladies another platform for their work to be seen.”
And Tumbarello feels seen, too, as she spreads her wings and follows her Potomac River Interiors dream.
“I’m so excited,” she says. “I grew up around Main Street culture in Ellicott City, with its very vibrant downtown. My husband used to ride on his bike to get penny candy as a kid, and I always loved window shopping.”
At this point Tumbarello pauses, choked up by emotion.
“I’m happy to be a little part of this town getting back on its feet,” she says. “And I hope that what I bring into the community will resonate with people.”
Roots & River Yoga
Throughout their relationship Lindland and Lee have been renovating their homes, and now Renovating the Newberry is the culmination of their experience, with the help of family, friends and future tenants, plus neighbors and city officials. Even strangers have offered support, following along on social media and sending words of admiration and encouragement.
“Even though it’s not us that’s driving what’s happening downtown, and there are other things at play,” says Lee, “Eric and I did come in and say, ‘We see what could happen here, and we’re going to start helping it happen.’”
He was a visiting professor at Indiana’s Notre Dame University; she had a yoga practice in South Bend. They met on the mat in 2006, slowly took it to the next level, got married, and moved east when Eric was recruited by a D.C. think tank in 2010.
And then they fell in love again, with the City of Brunswick, Maryland.
“We were living in Kensington, and we loved the diversity, loved the great
Photos courtesy of Potomoac River Interiors
Photo by Susan O’Connor
restaurants,” recalls Lee. “But we were looking for a little more land, a little more space.”
Friends had recommended neighborhoods in Winchester and Frederick, so the couple drove up to take a look.
“We came across the bridge from Lovettsville and saw this town, built into the side of a mountain, saw the towpath, and we were like: ‘What is this?’”
They spent two hours wandering around Brunswick that day, taking in the history, the architecture, and the views.
“It was gritty, and we were both drawn to its grittiness,” adds Lee. “It hadn’t ‘happened’ for Brunswick yet. And that was, kind of, what we were looking for.”
Technically, Brunswick “happened” in 1890, the year the sleepy little town on the Potomac changed its name from Berlin to differentiate itself from a similarly sleepy town in Worcester County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It had grown from a ferry crossing to a railroad stop when the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad started pushing west toward Cumberland in 1834. Suddenly
the canal locks and farmsteads bloomed into a company town, built up by a railroad boom and nicknamed Smoketown for the clouds the locomotives sent billowing through the streets. Today it’s quaint and quiet, about an hour and 15 minutes to Union Station on the MARC train, which Lindland still takes to his office in D.C.
Lindland comes from a family of Baptist missionaries; Lee is the daughter of a midwestern single mom with wanderlust.
“We had both had these itinerant, mobile childhoods,” Lindland explains, adding that he lived in East Africa, Norway, and Guatemala before landing in South Bend and ultimately Brunswick, and continues to travel extensively both for his job and with Lee on yoga retreats. “I think we both kind of had a hunger to put down roots somewhere.”
Which is why they named their Potomac Street yoga studio, which they opened in 2015, Roots and River.
Lindland remarked that he has now lived in Brunswick “longer than I’ve lived anywhere,” as his wife chimes in, “Me, too!”
“We’re bullish on Brunswick,” says Lindland, and Lee agrees.
“That’s kind of been our motto,” she says. “Anyone who knows us in town will say, ‘Oh, yeah! Eric and Machelle – they’re bullish on Brunswick.” 3
IMPACT
Reconstructed bridge, decades in the making, set as new gateway to Lake Linganore community
by Molly Fellin Spence
Almost five decades ago, flood waters destroyed the bridge over Linganore Creek leaving Eaglehead Drive inoperable, closing a major gateway off Route 144 into the Lake Linganore community. The bridge and that artery into the community have remained closed since then.
However, by the end of this year, a newly constructed bridge is expected to be complete, moving the community one step closer to having a south/west entranceway for the first time since the 1970s.
Until then, Boyers Mill and Yeagertown roads on the community’s east side remain the only routes off Route 144 leading into the community.
Though the bridge reconstruction is on track to finish by year’s end, area residents will need to wait a little longer to utilize it, as the new road it will connect to on the southern side will not be ready until 2025, according to Michelle Jones, general manager of the Lake Linganore Association.
The project has been a long time coming. According to a July 2001 article in The Frederick News Post, titled “Boulevard of Broken Promises,” plans to rebuild Eaglehead Drive and the bridge were already years in the making, estimated to cost $8 million, and being championed by the LLA, community groups and the developer.
IMPACT: Bridge as New Gateway to Lake Linganore
It has taken decades to rebuild the bridge and once it’s complete, it will serve as another gateway into the community, connecting those thousands of residents with the larger Frederick County community more easily, providing access to new business development currently happening along the 144/70 corridor.
The plan was to privately fund the project without using county taxpayer dollars.
The bridge is part of the privately owned and maintained infrastructure within the Lake Linganore Association. Like all roads and infrastructure within the Lake Linganore community, the bridge’s maintenance will be funded by members who own property within the association.
The bridge project started last July under the direction of Elm Street Development with demolition, clearing, and grading, according to contractor CJ Miller LLC. Structural concrete work by Canyon Contracting was completed in the spring, and by the end of May, CJM had posted drone video footage of its construction work, including new drainage ditches on the Eaglehead Drive extension.
“CJM has been working on restoring the bridge from ground up,” the contractor posted on its Facebook site.
Decades ago, the bridge took drivers onto a scenic roadway off Route 144 into the community’s west side, winding through lush woods and around ponds, curling briefly alongside the lake before crossing Linganore Creek.
The area has changed dramatically during the last several decades.
The Lake Linganore Association, chartered in 1968, manages the community just outside the Town of New Market.
It’s currently made up of 14+ villages centered on four lakes, the largest and most prominent being Lake Linganore, a 210-acre reservoir built on Linganore Creek, the largest privately owned lake in the state.
As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the community’s population was 12,351 residents. It has taken decades to rebuild the bridge and once it’s complete, it will serve as another gateway into the community, connecting those thousands of residents with the larger Frederick County community more easily, providing access to new business development currently happening along the 144/70 corridor.
But, LLA officials caution, the road will not be a public throughway.
“Though the public may utilize the roads and bridges within the community when visiting friends and family or getting to school, they are not considered public, scenic routes,” Jones said. 3
Perched atop one of the highest ridgelines in Gettysburg, framed by historic wood and stone architecture and stunning views of historic Gettysburg battlefields and Hunter Lake, The Lodges at Gettysburg is a destination unlike any other in the area.
It’s peaceful here with a timeless tranquility and rustic elegance that settle you into a relaxed state of mind. Beautifully maintained grounds and lodging, surrounded by 63 acres of rolling Gettysburg countryside, with a dash of historic charm – the perfect backdrop for corporate team building, outside-the-box meetings and extended stay conferences.
Frederick County Office of Agriculture Assistance:
• Business Start-Up and Support Services to promote a diverse and thriving agricultural economy
• Agricultural Land Preservation Programs to ensure a future for farming
• Promotion of Local Ag Businesses through Homegrown Frederick thriving agricultural sector.
For a complete list of our services and more information, visit our website: frederickcountymd.gov/Agriculture
Preserving Our Farmers, Our Farmland and Our Future
By Katie Stevens, Director, Frederick County Office of Agriculture
Katie Stevens, the Director of the Frederick County Office of Agriculture, brings a wealth of experience and passion to her role. Her primary focus involves championing agricultural opportunities and acting as a crucial liaison between the industry and the county. For the last nine years, she has developed programs that support Frederick County Agricultural operations, including the Ag Innovation Grant Program, Homegrown Frederick, and the Frederick County Craft Beverage Program. Katie’s roots in agriculture run deep, as she grew up on her family’s dairy farm. Today, she and her husband enjoy farming with their three daughters, continuing their family tradition.
As Frederick County evolves, its agricultural heritage remains a cornerstone of the community’s identity and economy. The Frederick County Office of Agriculture is dedicated not only to preserving the land that sustains us but also to ensuring the economic vitality of agricultural businesses, enabling farmers to prosper. As a newly established office, our mission is clear: to preserve our farming heritage, assist farmers in their endeavors, and promote a thriving agricultural sector. To honor this mission, we are starting with the creation of a strategic plan to discover the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing our local agricultural industry and outline paths toward a healthier future for the industry.
Preserving the Farmer
The Frederick County Office of Agriculture recognizes that the best way to preserve our agricultural heritage is to help farms remain economically viable. Our farmers face a rapidly changing landscape, where the traditional, large-scale fruit and dairy operations that once dominated Frederick County are giving way to smaller, more diverse farming operations. While smaller farms are better able to adapt to consumer demands and lead innovation that benefits the local economy, the diversity of Frederick County’s agricultural sector enhances the strength and resilience of the local community.
The agricultural industry in Frederick County has an economic impact of over $1 billion, with the market value of products sold from county farms in 2022 reaching $184.4 million—a 40% increase from 2017. This level of farm production not only supports local jobs and businesses but also contributes an additional $55.1 million in economic output and $32 million in upstream value-added activity.
Despite these successes, our farmers continue to face significant challenges, including regulatory hurdles, workforce shortages, and rising operational costs. As the average age of asset owners increases, the urgency to attract and support new and beginning farmers grows. Our office is dedicated to enhancing the profitability and retention of agricultural businesses, while also championing the next generation of farmers through start-up resources and technical assistance. To further bolster the economic viability of the agricultural industry, we developed the awardwinning Frederick County Agriculture Innovation Grant program. This initiative encourages businesses to diversify and expand their operations. To date, over $1.5 million has been awarded to local agricultural and craft beverage businesses for various projects, supporting the creation of more than 300 jobs.
The Vital Role of Farmland Preservation
Frederick County is home to over 73,000 acres of permanently preserved farmland, a testament to the county’s commitment to maintaining its agricultural landscape. With over 57% of the county’s land mass zoned agricultural, there are abundant opportunities for farmers to cultivate and
continued next page
Photo courtesy of the Frederick County Office of Agriculture
expand their operations. The county’s preservation programs, administered in collaboration with state and federal partners, are critical in protecting these lands from development and ensuring that they remain productive for generations to come.
However, the importance of farmland preservation extends beyond the land itself. As the American Farmland Trust projects, Frederick County could lose upwards of 14,000 acres of prime agricultural land by 2040 to housing and energy projects. The loss of these lands would have farreaching consequences, not just for our farmers but for the entire community. Protecting this land is about more than preserving open spaces; it’s about safeguarding the local food supply, maintaining the county’s rural character, and supporting the economic engine that agriculture represents.
Promoting a Thriving Agricultural Sector
For agriculture in Frederick County to continue thriving, it is essential to foster an environment where innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration are encouraged. The county is a leader in Maryland’s craft beverage industry, and programs like the Ag Innovation Grant, which was awarded the 2024 Maryland Economic Development Association Large Community Economic Development Program of the Year, are key to sustaining this momentum. These initiatives support value-added production, where farmers can process their products on-site, adding value and creating new revenue streams.
The challenges of today’s agricultural landscape also present opportunities. By working together—farmers, government, and the community—we can address issues like regulatory conditions, workforce development, and market coordination. The Frederick County Office of Agriculture is committed to developing strategies and policies that will ensure a prosperous future for our agricultural sector.
A Future Rooted in Tradition and Innovation
Frederick County agriculture is at a pivotal moment. As the county continues to grow and evolve, the agricultural sector must adapt while staying true to its roots. The Frederick County Office of Agriculture is dedicated to preserving the farmland that makes our county unique, supporting the farmers who are its backbone, and fostering a thriving agricultural economy that benefits all. By preserving our land and investing in our farmers, we are not just protecting our past—we are planting the seeds for a healthy and prosperous future.
Together, we can ensure that Frederick County remains a place where agriculture is not just a part of our history, but a vital part of our future. Remember, without farms, there is no food. How can you help preserve the agricultural industry in Frederick County for generations to come? Start by visiting a local farm or craft beverage business and purchasing local products. Find out more by visiting www.HomegrownFrederick.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on Frederick County agriculture.
Photo courtesy of the Frederick County Office of Agriculture
Discover Why
BRUNSWICK
is a Great Place to Own and Operate a Small Business
THE PERFECT LOCATION
Brunswick is strategically situated near West Virginia and Virginia, attracting traffic not just from Frederick County but also from out of state. Explore the diverse range of real estate options available for lease or sale—including retail, office, and industrial spaces— at brunswickmainstreet.org/brunswickproperties.
REVITALIZATION INITIATIVES
Be part of the exciting revitalization of Downtown Brunswick! Ongoing efforts are enhancing the appeal of our core business district, making it a vibrant place for commerce. Brunswick Main Street also offers grants to assist local businesses with building improvements, ensuring a flourishing environment for all.
COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS SUPPORT
Brunswick Main Street is dedicated to your success. We provide promotional opportunities to boost your visibility and organize ribbon-cutting ceremonies to celebrate your grand opening. Additionally, we can guide you in identifying funding resources to help launch and expand your business.
Take the leap and invest in a community that values your success. Come be a part of our small town’s bright future!
Learn more about starting and operating a business in Brunswick at brunswickmainstreet.org/locatingin-brunswick
STRATEGY & GROWTH
Green Party
How Virginia Crum’s Chartreuse & Co. is making her family’s big old barn in Buckeystown the center of a Frederick lifestyle industry. by Chris Slattery
In the realm of lifestyle influencers, arbiters and cultivators of culture, geography is destiny.
For Martha Stewart it was Westport.
For Ina Garten, East Hampton. Joanna Gaines has Waco. Ree Drummond, Osage County. And Erin Napier has little old Laurel, Mississippi.
Joining them from Frederick County, straight outta Buckeystown, it’s Virginia Crum.
“To me, the idea of opening a shop and sitting there every day as people trickled in sounded like … well, it sounded miserable,” said Crum, 60, whose Chartreuse & Co. sells vintage furniture, accessories and décor at vendor-led monthly events she curates in and around her family’s barn. “It’s part of my personality: I want to change it up, to see it look different each time I go. How do you do that if you’re open every day?”
It’s simple: you don’t. Chartreuse & Co. is open once per month, for three days — a paradigm inspired by Crum’s experience in event planning. “
Everybody comes all at once,” she explains. “Get all the stuff, have all the fun, and then we’ll have three weeks to change everything around and re-do it.
“Come back next month and see what we’ve found!”
When Chartreuse & Co. began, the idea of opening only the third weekend of each month (with extra events in November and at Christmastime) struck some people as “insane,” but Crum held firm.
Monthly market days attract thousands to the Buckeystown farm that once belonged to her grandparents, Virginia and George Leicester Thomas, Jr.
“For a successful event,” she says, “you want to concentrate the most stuff into the smallest amount of space for the shortest amount of time to build energy and excitement about the event itself.”
Thus, the third-weekend-of-the-month business model was born.
In 2002, the concept may have been unusual, but now, not so much. “At the time it was unheard of. It created an energy and a base.”
Crum has managed to build a successful business with two full -ime and up to 10 parttime employees, plus 22 permanent dealers. Monthly market days attract thousands to the Buckeystown farm that once belonged to her grandparents, Virginia and George Leicester Thomas, Jr.
At this place, known as Clifton-onthe-Monocacy, Crum and her sisters and cousins spent their summers living an old-fashioned childhood surrounded by the beautiful, the practical, and the vintage. They put on plays on the Long Room staircase landing, and played on a painted swing set in the meadow.
Beyond Clover Hill
Crum grew up in Downtown Frederick, where her parents, Charles B. Thomas and Sally Smith Thomas, renovated an old
townhouse. She noticed that her family’s lifestyle, with carpenters in the backyard and elaborately decorated bedrooms, was different than most other families.
“All our friends lived in developments called Clover Hill and Wyngate,” she says. “The ones who lived downtown, like we did, lived around the park, not in a rowhouse.
“My mother had lived in New York for a couple of years; she did interior design and was passionate about it — and fashion, too. I’m not very ‘fashionable,’ but I do have a passion for creating a wonderful place to live and a beautiful environment. And that is something my mother did relentlessly.”
Though Crum says she has no formal training, she has plenty of hands-on experience with designing and staging homes, and she dreams of updating nearly every place she sees.
“Every derelict, falling down house I see I would go in, completely renovate it, decorate it, and let other people come live in it the way it ought to be,” she says. “Then I’d go on to the next one.”
She comes by the urge honestly.
When Crum’s father owned Lilypons Water Gardens, a water garden supply emporium in Buckeystown, founded by her great-grandfather, George Leicester Thomas, Sr., her mother renovated a “derelict —
“I’m not very ‘fashionable,’ but I do have a passion for creating a wonderful place to live and a beautiful environment. And that is something my mother did relentlessly.”
- Virginia Crum
Photo
beautiful! — old house,” on the property to become the family home.
(Lilypons is now owned by her sister, Margaret Koogle, the fourth generation to operate it.)
When Crum and her family moved in, “the floors were falling in, there was no electricity and no water.”
But with her mother’s loving and talented touch, it was transformed.
Green is the color
Though she’s as Maryland as a blue crab jousting at the Preakness, Crum once wanted to leave the state and travel around the world and write about it.
“I had some very dramatic ideas about what my life would be,” she admits.
She left Frederick to study European social history at Hollins College (now Hollins University) in Roanoke, Virginia, after visiting Europe on a school trip at 15 and returning as an Anglophile and Francophile. Her passions for Europe and for travel are shared by her daughters, Sasha and Katherine, who are part of Chartreuse & Co., along with her husband, Chip.
The family had been living on Rosemont Avenue in Frederick when the opportunity to move to Clifton-on-the-Monocacy came up. They bought 3 acres of land with a home and bike house, the latter becoming the first home to the business that would become Chartreuse & Co.
“We moved here in August 2001 and had our first sale in May 2002,” she remembers. “It was that little bike house and my love for it that was really the beginning of my business.”
Growing the business was only a matter of time.
“My family still owned the rest of the farm — the fields and the barns and all that,” she adds. “We moved here and fixed this up, which is a lifelong process. We’ve been here 23 years now.”
In 2008 Crum purchased 3 acres of land from neighbor St. John’s Catholic Prep, which included more space as well as barns and other outbuildings.
Barns, beams and beauty
The appraiser they consulted wasn’t happy at all, pointing out that the only value
Crum had plans to fix up the house, but was horrified when the appraiser handed her the fire marshal’s card, suggesting he’d happily burn the barns down for her.
in the 3 acres was the little tenant house that sat on them. Crum had plans to fix up the house, but was horrified when the appraiser handed her the fire marshal’s card, suggesting he’d happily burn the barns down for her.
“It was just the most tragic thing I’d ever heard,” Crum recalls. “It said to me that buildings like these — to me, the most beautiful buildings on our property — were just being routinely destroyed.”
Not on Crum’s watch. The family got started fixing up the buildings and getting the proper permits to open a business in an agricultural zone.
“We saved all the buildings,” she says. “I feel like part of our journey has been to be stewards of this property, and we saved ’em all. I’m proud of that.”
This was 20 years ago, she adds, before barn weddings were a thing and reclaimed wood was sought after.
“Fortunately, people are realizing there’s a real beauty to these buildings,” she says.
The bank barn, for example, was built in the 1700s without nails holding it together, just pegs attaching the chestnut beams, which are valuable beyond measure after a blight about a hundred years ago destroyed just about every living American chestnut tree.
“The way it’s constructed, and what it’s constructed of, are so precious,” she says. “It can never be created again.”
But what can be created, Crum believes, is an aesthetic as unique as the person who lives in it.
“If something is intrinsically beautiful it can be a part of your home and decorating,” she insists. “I am not a fan of the tight styles, like, ‘everything is monochromatic.’ That’s fine for a hotel room, and it’s very soothing in a public space, but in a place that you’re living, you want it to be comfortable.”
Have your books, your collectibles, and your comfiest, coziest things; never buy a chair without sitting in it first, and make sure that your home makes you happy.
“It has to be livable,” Crum says, “and it has to be evolutionary as you travel, as you collect — you evolve as a person in your home and your taste; the things you have around you should evolve as well.
“What you’ll see at Chartreuse & Co.,” she adds, “is definitely a reflection of my very eclectic and layered aesthetic.”
It’s also a reflection of her belief in collaboration, inspiration and mentorship.
“When it started out it was just me,” explains Crum. “I had a big curtain, cordoned off the back 60 feet of the barn because I didn’t want it to be this big barn and just a little stuff.
“People would come and say, ‘I’d like to do this with you,” she adds. “One after the other, it just sort of grew, and it’s become a fascinating group of really creative and exciting people.”
Predominantly women but a handful of men, too, the Chartreuse & Co. vendors descend on the farm and create richly layered tableaux for the event customers to peruse, admire and purchase. Crum finds it “inspiring and satisfying” to walk the barns on market eves and see the power of creativity and diversity of vision in action.
“It’s just so beautiful,” she sighs.
Taking care of business
For all her positivity, Virginia Crum is no Pollyanna.
“In anything you do, no matter how much you love it, there’s some aspect of what you’re doing professionally that you will detest,” she admits. “You just have to get around it and do it.”
Take spreadsheets.
“I’m not a fan!” she admits. “But I understand their importance, and God has given me a brain that is capable of actually doing analysis and crunching numbers and things like that.
“I do understand how important that is, though the creative side of me does push against that sometimes.”
Often in decorating, she explains, she’ll need to have an extra element to make a
Predominantly women but a handful of men, too, the Chartreuse & Co. vendors descend on the farm and create richly layered tableaux for the event customers to peruse, admire and purchase.
project perfect, but finds the addition isn’t cost effective.
“There’s a lot of back-and-forth. Absolutely.”
And that back-and-forth only ramps up when a creative type takes control of a big, sometimes unwieldy, business entity. Crum has managed to stage her business as seamlessly as she stages a Chartreuse & Co. market or holiday event.
“I believe strongly in training yourself,” she says, “and being as knowledgeable as possible about every aspect of the business.”
To enhance her degree and the years of experience she had when starting Chartreuse & Co., Crum took business courses at Frederick Community College ,“to make sure that I had foundational understanding of accounting.
Photo courtesy of Chartruese & Co.
“I believe strongly in training yourself, and being as knowledgeable as possible about every aspect of the business.”
- Virginia Crum
“Then you hire an accountant, and we’ve got a bookkeeper, but I understand what they’re doing, I speak their language and can communicate that way.
“Those kinds of things – payroll! — are not my strength,” she adds.
“It’ll drive me nuts if a picture is hanging an inch out of place, but a spread sheet, and the numbers, and getting down to the penny is completely uninteresting to me — but I understand the importance.”
Delegate the things you don’t do well, in other words, but have some basic functional knowledge.
Crum says her father, “an amazing man who was the real business brain in our family,” offered her lots of great advice, as well as the opportunity to hone her work ethic at Lilypons when she was still a teen.
“He’d say, ‘In a business you’re either growing or you’re dying, so you always have to be looking around at how to grow and change with the times,’” she remembers. It’s a lesson she’s taken to heart, although she understands she’s been in the right place at the right time for a long time, and that helps.
“I have observed that there’s a pocket of real interest in vintage and repurposed merchandise in our area,” she says. “We’re not the only barn sale in Frederick County … It’s not just us, the whole area has evolved into a center for cool vintage places to shop.”
And like a good neighbor, Crum has decided to consciously lean right into that.
Feeling Frederick
“I think Frederick is the best place in the world to live, to be, to visit,” says Crum. “It’s easy for me to tout it.”
And tout it she does, using Chartreuse & Co.’s extensive and beautifully written and designed website to steer customers to recommended restaurants, hotels,and tourist attractions.
“Hey, Chartreuse is great,” she says, “but if you’re spending a whole weekend here it’ll be so much better if you go to Downtown Frederick and spend your evening there, or head to Lucketts and do some more shopping there, or go to Gettysburg.”
In the end she wants the Chartreuse experience to be the best it can be, and sharing what she knows about the area makes her not just a good neighbor but a good host.
The history of Frederick, after all, informs Crum’s business “in a very elemental way.
“I not only grew up here, our family’s been here for countless generations,” she says. “My grandmother was passionate about Frederick history, about Maryland history, about U.S. history, about family history. It just was part of my DNA, the wonder and beauty and importance of all those things, and also the importance of looking after things and stewarding them.
“In a very minor way, working with vintage things, … is my little way of preserving things that would otherwise find their way into the landfill. If somebody didn’t take a hold of them and repurpose them, find what was beautiful about them and share that.
What does she see in her future?
“A variety of things, I suppose,” she says, coyly. “We actually were approached by a producer — they shot a teaser — but nothing ever came of it.”
Whatever direction Crum’s goals take, one thing is for certain: that direction will ultimately lead back to Frederick. 3
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
by Sean Reel
Photo
Is Self-Care the Secret?
by Dr. Kimberlyn Cahill
Self-care is quite the buzzword these days, and yet it’s not a new concept. Perhaps it’s our growing consciousness of suffering that has renewed our commitment or simply awakened our awareness?
Whatever it is that has inspired the latest wellness campaign and specifically the emphasis on rest and restoration, I’m all for it.
The tricky part of self-care is that it looks different for everyone, and even shifts with seasons and periods of our life. It takes time and effort to find what works. And even then, it may shift again.
I admit, sometimes it feels like just as I get used to and comfortable with a self-care routine, then life throws me a curve ball and I have to adapt again. My best advice: Keep exploring options and stay fluid in your expectations and the definition of what selfcare looks like.
Years ago I found an article, written by a researcher who was exploring the strategies of wellness, specifically the practices credited for helping real people live joyful and inspirational lives. I am an Inspired Living Coach and Yoga Therapist, so it was no surprise that my attention was captured! The article proposed 10 practices, with lots of room for adaptation and personalization. I instantly loved the idea. A roadmap and a task list in one! What’s NOT to love!?!
I immediately started using the list to build a strategy for my daily efforts, while simultaneously checking off tasks. I was already doing many of the suggestions, but with renewed confidence I recommitted and expanded slowly during the next few months.
Here are four of my favorites:
1. Gratitude
2. Movement
3. Healthy touch
4. Learn something new
The
tricky part of self-care is that it looks different for everyone, and even shifts with seasons and periods of our life. It takes time and effort to find what works.
Self-care includes the mindset of enough-ness and allowing for imperfection, the actions of recovery, healing and rest as well as the intentional, proactive practices to avoid harm, burn-out and disconnect.
1. Gratitude: The research is overwhelming. Joy is most correlated to practicing gratitude. Most days it’s easy for me to practice gratitude. I have a lot to be thankful for and I was raised to appreciate blessings and opportunities. Yet, these past few years, I have come to appreciate the daily discipline of gratitude even more. Honestly, some days can be extremely challenging to find ANYTHING to be grateful for. On those days, I re-read earlier entries in my journal to find reminders and inspiration. On more than one occasion, my gratitude journal included entries look like:
• I am grateful for this breath.
• I am grateful that this too shall pass.
• I am grateful that nothing is permanent.
2. Movement: There’s no question that movement is like medicine for the body and the mind. But not all movement is created equal.
Over the years I’ve developed a simple strategy I call Breathe, Move, Rest. At this point, I’ve lost count how many students and clients have been introduced to this strategy and found amazing shifts as a result. It has become a key part of my Inspired Living Strategy and Yoga Living program.
3. Touch: Receiving loving, safe touch is essential to our humanity. Although self-touch is good, and can work in a pinch, receiving regular, consistent touch “work” is critical to our well-being. Whether it’s massage, Thai yoga, bodywork, reflexology, Reiki or another wellness modality, or my favorite — really good hugs — we all need healthy, safe touch. The more the better!
4. Learn something new: Learning doesn’t have to be boring, formal or still. Learning and its real purpose: transformational growth can happen through heartfelt, genuine conversation with yourself or others.
It can happen while reading works by your favorite authors and sharing insights or inspirations with others in a book club.
In learning a skill, technique or discipline that may require more structure, find yourself a great teacher. Look for someone who both challenges and encourages you, someone who provides clear guidance and allows room for self-directed inquiry. Tap into a variety of teachers to find the style that works for your preferred way of learning until you find them. Sometimes our teachers guide us for a season or in learning a specific skill. Sometimes they are with us for the entirety of our journey.
‘With all the hype about self-care, it can be a difficult concept to pin down and really understand. In a nutshell, I like to think of self-care as anything that helps us live well. Self-care includes the mindset of enoughness and allowing for imperfection, the actions of recovery, healing and rest as well as the intentional, proactive practices to avoid harm, burn-out and disconnect.
If you, or someone you know needs assistance in the arena of self-care, living intimately with inspiration or cultivating joy, that’s what I do! Let’s connect! 3
Dr. Kimberlyn Cahill, dmol, C-IAYT, #-RYT-500, is an Inspired Living Coach & Yoga Movement Therapist and owner of Life’sWork Yoga. Find her at www.lifesworkyoga.com or call 240-447-4435.
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