From the President and CEO

Howard County is a remarkable place. It’s a community where there aren’t just leaders, but where those who lead do so with purpose and conviction. In many meetings, there is a palpable sense of community. There’s a widespread desire to honor community accomplishments and to pragmatically address the challenges we face. And the participants at community meetings typically give it their “all.”

So, in this community, it isn’t surprising that collaboration takes on a whole new dimension. For example, I can’t imagine another place where shared responsibility is so great that youth participate at every level. From the vantage point of the Foundation’s wide-ranging Connections initiative, described in this report, I’m privileged to see this.

Our organization has worked hard to maintain mature partnerships in which we’re engaged, and also to consider new ones. This report describes both the old and the new.

A new collaboration was recently forged with the Association of Community Services. It includes co-location, working together on a number of important fronts and the establishment of a joint Policy Analysis Center. The Center will enable our two organizations — and the broader community — to do a better job in problem-solving.

Our collaboration with county government has deep roots, even as it grows in new directions. The initial components included a multi-year Aging in Place program, the On the Horizon TV show and other initiatives aimed at important health concerns. But this year, we’re especially pleased that county government has stepped up to the plate — creatively and energetically — in the areas of public health and access to health care.

This report highlights a number of the collaborative ventures to which we are dedicated. Beyond those mentioned above, they include important partnerships with Howard County General Hospital, the Columbia Association, the Howard County Chamber of Commerce an  individual communities through our vibrant Horizon Community Councils.

I suspect that, in 2008, collaboration will be a cardinal Horizon value as we move into our second 10 years of Foundation operation.