Kennedy Wins Horizon Foundation’s Transformative Leadership Award Neighbor Ride, AMC Columbia, Autism Society and Montalvo Also Winners

Thursday, June 24, 2010

When Pat Kennedy arrived in Columbia in 1972 to head the Columbia Association, the new town, CA and the city’s nonprofit community were all still very much works in progress.

The former national director of VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), Kennedy saw much of the work that lay before him as community building.

At the Horizon Foundation Awards Breakfast on June 23, winners included (from l.) former Horizon board chair Pat Kennedy, who was presented the Richard G. McCauley Leadership Award; Howard County Public School System Hispanic Specialist Elisa Montalvo, winner of the Youth Development Award; and Executive Director Kim Manning of the Howard County Autism Society, Daniel Harris of AMC Columbia and Executive Director Brad Closs of Neighbor Ride, all of whose organizations won Health Action Awards. The annuals awards recognize significant contributions to the health and wellness of Howard County.

Kennedy was one of the first 10 members of the Peace Corps’ founding staff and designed the original training programs for volunteers serving overseas. He also served as the Peace Corps’ director of volunteer support. In 1964, he left the Peace Corps to help organize VISTA as deputy director and was appointed national director by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968.

He left the government in 1970 to become director of Boise Cascade’s Center for Community Development. Two years later, he joined the Columbia Association as president and CEO.

“People often recall Pat as having been Columbia's tacit ‘Mayor,’” Krieg said. “But they sometimes neglect to say that he was an excellent mayor. He brought an amazing skill set to the Columbia Association's” and other community nonprofits’ leadership.

In his 26 years at CA, he oversaw the development of hundreds of miles of biking and walking paths, Lake Elkhorn, most of CA’s neighborhood pools and community recreational facilities, camps, a before and after school program and membership rates based on a sliding scale so lower income residents could also enjoy CA programs.

But the community building didn’t stop with CA. During his time as president, Kennedy also served as president of The Columbia Foundation and the Columbia Festival of the Arts.

On June 24, he received The Horizon Foundation’s Richard G. McCauley Transformative Leadership award during the Foundation’s annual awards breakfast at the Hawthorn Center.

He was Horizon’s second board chair, serving from 2004 to 2006.

“Pat took the board to the next level of development following its early formative period,” said Horizon president and CEO Richard Krieg. “He was involved in some key initiatives, including the Foundation’s youth asset development programs and our initial work in community emergency response.

“He brought a finely-honed understanding of the community into every discussion he had as board chair,” Krieg added. “He brings wisdom and focus to everything he does, and The Horizon Foundation was no exception."

Kennedy called the award “a great honor.” McCauley, who was the first chair of Horizon’s board, “has done so much for Columbia and Howard County,” Kennedy said. “He’s been such an incredible leader. To receive an award in his name really is a great honor.”

Every year, The Horizon Foundation honors individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to community health and wellness.

Neighbor Ride, which provides affordable, reliable transportation for seniors, is one of this year’s winners of a Health Action Award.

In the past year, the organization’s 245 volunteers have provided 7,200 trips to medical appointments, cultural and social gatherings, fitness and educational classes, religious services, shopping and other day-to-day activities.

AMC Columbia and the Howard County Autism Society also won a Health Action Award for their sensory-friendly films.

Because autism often causes hypersensitivity to light and sound, the theater volume is turned down during sensory-friendly screenings, and the lights are left on.

The program began in 2007, when Elkridge resident Marianne Ross suggested special screenings to then AMC Columbia manager Dan Harris.

More than 300 people turned out for the first show. Three years later, sensory-friendly screenings are available at 93 AMC theaters in 47 cities nationwide.

Elisa Montalvo, the Hispanic Achievement Specialist for the Howard County Public School System, is this year’s winner of Horizon’s Youth Development Award.

Montalvo joined the Howard County Public School System just over thee years ago as its first Hispanic Achievement Specialist. Since then, she has launched ENCUENTROS, the school system’s Spanish-language television program for parents, and formed a Howard County Public School System Hispanic Youth Leadership Team, which builds community among Hispanic high school students, promotes academic achievement and higher education, reinforces positive ethnic identity and helps students develop leadership skills.

She also initiated the school system’s Hispanic Youth Mini-Symposium, which is planned and presented by students, promoted the growth of Hispanic youth clubs in Howard County middle and high schools and graduated three classes of Spanish-speaking parents from the Parent Academy.

The Horizon Foundation, Howard County’s largest philanthropy, addresses community health issues through strategic grants, community programs and partnerships with private and public institutions.