2022 Community Excellence Award Winners

American Rock Hall Service Center

The team at American Rock Hall Service Center exemplifies customer service and community engagement. When owner Steve Leonard came to town, the first thing he did was ask how the business could partner with the community. He heard Economic and Tourism Development wanted to replace the “Welcome to Kent County” sign on the property. Rather than just granting the necessary approvals, Steve went the additional mile and upgraded the landscaping around the sign and added a light to shine on the sign at night so it could be visible at all times during the day. 

Whereas American mostly sells and services commercial buses, they recognized the need in Rock Hall was primarily the servicing of vehicles so they quickly pivoted their operation to accommodate passenger cars and light-duty trucks.

American Rock Hall Service Center also provided a much-needed place of employment in Rock Hall. During business hours, one will find several young men servicing vehicles. Rather than just providing a job for Kent County’s young people–some of whom are new to the workforce–American provides a valuable source of mentorship and training. American’s mechanics are trained not just in the art of servicing vehicles, but also in the art of being an active and responsible citizens. 

And, American is always welcoming to the community and actively encourages residents to just pop in for a cup of coffee, on the house of course. 

Cross Street Realtors

Cross Street Realtors is more than a real estate agency–it is a collection of individuals who are passionate about Kent County. Cross Street’s staff and realtors regularly “preach the gospel” of Kent County to homebuyers who are new to the area and sell them on not just the home they are buying, but the community and lifestyle they are buying into. 

During COVID-19 when Kent County’s real estate market exploded with city dwellers fleeing from urban areas, it was Cross Street Realtors who helped facilitate transactions to welcome these new residents to Kent County. They didn’t just broker home sales, they brokered introductions to contractors, service providers, schools, community organizations–and friends. Cross Street single-handedly drove a portion of our economy during the pandemic and the work associated with each transaction helped keep people employed. 

Beyond the business of real estate transactions, the staff and realtors of Cross Street readily show up for their community. They are truly present and you will find many of the their staff and realtors on the boards of nonprofits, and their logo prominently featured as sponsors/donors for organizations like Mid-Shore Pro Bono, Open Doors, the Kent County Humane Society, Sultana Education Foundation, KART, ShoreRivers, and Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, to name a few. 

The owners, agents, and staff of Cross Street Realtors are authentic and genuine champions for the community–they really are cheerleaders for Kent County.

For All Seasons

For All Seasons remained open throughout the entire pandemic, keeping 100% of its agency employees working full time. During this time, the agency has offered continual access to behavioral health and rape crisis services to everyone on the Mid-Shore, without regard to one’s ability to pay, both in person and through telehealth. The agency grew during 2021, hiring more staff in all departments, including Kent County residents. 

The agency’s school-based clinicians pivoted as the schools went virtual and back to in-person, staying in touch with students, teachers, and school administration employees throughout the pandemic. Students have the opportunity to see For All Seasons staff in the convenience of the school, eliminating after-school appointments. With the stress put on children during the pandemic and a turnover of school principals, For All Seasons also reached out to Kent County Public Schools (KCPS) to provide nine presentations to KCPS 5th, 8th, and 11th graders on test anxiety and stress management in the spring of 2022. These presentations will be conducted by Beth Anne Langrell, CEO of For All Seasons, and Lesa Lee, Chief Clinical Officer of For All Seasons. Realizing the stressors that families are experiencing, For All Seasons is also putting together programs for parents on how to help their children as schools rebound from the pandemic. For several years, For All Seasons has also provided Rape Crisis Services for the student population at Washington College and is available when any issue arises to assist the college with mental health crisis support. 

Participation in For All Seasons' support groups developed with Latino families in 2019 has increased significantly, with sustained interest and even increased participation throughout COVID. The Latino support group for women in nearby Sudlersville, which draws Kent County Latino residents, had been making clothing and transitioned to mask-making during COVID, with sewing machines, fabric and supplies being given to the group participants to take home. The group created over 350 masks to provide to the community in 2020. This effort continued in 2021 and built community and pride among this group of women. 

For All Seasons is the largest outpatient psychiatry team on the Eastern Shore with Board Certified Psychiatrists and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners specializing in every age group from young children to seniors. The agency’s crisis hotlines are open 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. FY21 saw a 35 percent growth in services from the previous year, including 535 mental health and sexual assault crisis calls in FY21. This represented a 31 percent increase from the previous year. Overall, For All Seasons’ clients received 43,046 services in FY2021. This included rape crisis support, therapeutic and psychiatric appointments, representing a 27 percent increase over the prior year. The agency served 2,941 clients in FY21, including 1,116 children and 1,825 adults. This represents a 21 percent increase from the prior year. This number does not reflect the countless lives touched by the healing journey of each client including family, friends, neighbors, and work colleagues. In Kent County, during FY21, For All Seasons served 152 clients in its Kent County Office, an increase over the previous year. This included 101 children and 51 adults. Approximately 118 of these clients also received services at For All Seasons’ satellite offices, including 52 children and 66 adults.

Clinical staff in the Kent County office improved their skill level, through several training opportunities including Collaborative Problem Solving, Trauma certification, and more. As a result, two clinicians in Kent County now also provide neurofeedback, a highly sought-after specialized treatment modality.

The agency has grown to provide an increasing amount and number of services to Kent families and continues to hire more Kent County residents as employees of the agency. The agency partners with Kent County schools and the Board of Education, law enforcement, the courts, healthcare providers, other community organizations, churches, and local businesses to meet the needs of Kent County residents. For All Seasons has been a longstanding contributor to a healthy community and way of life in Kent County. The agency has been called upon to assist with emergency management and crises and takes initiative to respond to community needs daily. For All Seasons remains committed to providing access to mental health services to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay, and provided more than $21,000 in services to uninsured and underinsured individuals and families in Kent County alone in 2021.

Kent Attainable Housing

Kent Attainable Housing (KAH), creates homeownership opportunities for local families in need of safe, decent, and affordable housing. KAH has embarked on a multi-year program to build affordable homes. The high demand, accompanied by increasing numbers of low-income families, has resulted in housing insecurity for many in Kent County. Kent Attainable Housing believes that when homes are built for families in need, foundations are laid for healthier, happier, and more productive families and a stronger community.

In numerous housing reports, data indicates a growing disparity between what families can afford for housing and what housing is available to them in the county. Given the urgent need to provide affordable housing and the absence of any private or public agency charged with this responsibility in the county, Kent Attainable Housing, Inc. is essential to our community and worthy of recognition for what they have accomplished in a short period of time as well as what they will do for the future of our county.

Persons of the Year — Robbi Behr and Matthew Swanson

Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr are a husband/wife, author/illustrator duo who live and make children’s books in Chestertown’s Arts and Entertainment District. 

In October of 2021, Robbi and Matthew launched the Busload of Books Tour—a national social justice project in which they and their family will spend the 2022-2023 school year visiting Title I elementary schools in all 50 states, doing presentations on creativity and collaboration, and giving away 25,000 free books to underserved students and teachers. They will be partnering with the departments of education and sociology at Washington College to conduct the first-ever, large-scale research study of the impact of one-time author/illustrator visits to Title I schools. The resulting data could provide invaluable and long-sought tools to educators looking to obtain funding and priority for literacy interventions. 

Behr and Swanson piloted the research project during an all-day author/illustrator visit to Galena Elementary in December of 2021 in which they delivered two assemblies and had lunch with a small group of students. Every student and teacher received a free hardcover book paid for by a combination of Galena Elementary’s Title I funding and donations from local institutions. 

This spring, Robbi and Matthew will do author/illustrator visits and all-school book giveaways at Rock Hall Elementary School and Garnet Elementary School. 

In summer 2021, Robbi and Matthew gave presentations on their books at all three Kent County public library locations. Each participant was able to select a free hardcover book. 

In the wake of the Busload of Books tour launch, Robbi and Matthew are emerging as education and literacy advocates. The national profile of the Busload of Books Tour project resulted in stories in the Washington Post and Publishers Weekly, both of which referenced Chestertown.

Robbi and a handful of fellow parents Founded SOS (Support Our Schools) in 2016 to improve communication between Kent County Public Schools and the families it serves—by providing clear, up-to-date, reliable information and by moderating an open and respectful conversation about County schools. The SOS Facebook group has 1,800 members and has helped families navigate such challenges as school consolidation, the bussing crisis, and Covid. The group has also provided information about candidates running for local office, endorsing those whose platforms best work to represent the interests of Kent County’s students, educators, and families.

Together, Robbi and Matthew have donated their time to visiting all three county elementary schools to do author/illustrator visits that included free books for every student and teacher.

Robbi and Matthew have brought their design and communications consulting experience to designing logos for such Chestertown organizations and institutions as The Arts and Entertainment District, Main Street Chestertown, the Black Union of Kent County, Chestertown Unites, the Goodseeds Garden at Garnet Elementary, KidSpot, The Rose O’Neill Literary House at Washington College, and Evergrain bakery.

They have gradually emerged as well-known figures within the Chestertown and wider Eastern Shore community—unofficial ambassadors for creativity, family, and adventure.

About the Kent County Chamber of Commerce

With more than 300 member businesses, nonprofits, and individuals, the Chamber is Kent County’s premier business-to-business facilitator. Through our many unique programs, events, and advocacy, we provide a platform for leaders from the private, public, and non-profit sectors to engage with each other to grow their respective organizations for the ultimate benefit of Kent County and its residents. 

Interested in joining? Learn about the benefits of becoming a member today.