Richard Montgomery HS Student Takes Top State Honors for Poetry Reading; Places Second at National Level
Richard Montgomery High School (RMHS) sophomore Blessed Sheriff recently bested more than 375,000 high school students from over 2,000 schools in the country to earn second place in the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest held in Washington, DC.
In mid-March, she took top honors in the regional Maryland State Arts Council contest where she competed against more than 16,000 students from 16 counties and 61 schools around the state. In addition to receiving a trip to the national competition in Washington, DC, Sheriff won $200, while RMHS received a $500 stipend towards purchasing poetry books.
In addition to prizes earned at the state level, Sheriff won $10,000 for her national achievement
Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide poetry contest launched in 2006 as a collaborative effort between the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.
Read more about the competition.
Watch Blessed recite “The Lamb,” one of her three recitations.
Fire and Rescue Service Earns Excellence Award from Congressional Fire Service Industry
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) has received the Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS from the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy institute that works with members of Congress to promote fire and life safety issues. The award recognizes best practices and highlights innovations in the delivery of emergency medical services.Since 2009, the MCFRS has developed and implemented several critical programs that demonstrate its commitment to saving lives in the community. With strong evidence nationally that pre-hospital care has a profound impact on survival, the department was one of the first in the state to implement and deploy paramedic-staffed engine companies, which facilitates faster access and improves pre-hospital care and enhanced patient care during an emergency.
The window of time from when a patient starts experiencing heart attack symptoms to the moment the patient receives treatment is critically important. In 2010, the MCFRS established the Emergency Cardiac Care program which allows paramedics to transmit critical data directly and securely from remote locations to area hospitals using sophisticated technology and equipment. The new technology accelerates the diagnosis process while shaving off critical time that ultimately can make a difference in patient outcome and survival.
Read more.
And, the Winner is: The Shops on Amherst
Montgomery County’s Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee (WRAC) has presented its first annual Revitalization Award to The Shops on Amherst and its owner, Chris Georgatsos.The award recognizes a local business or commercial property owner who initiates and executes projects or programs that enhance the retail or commercial viability of the Wheaton urban core.
The Shops on Amherst, at 11401-07 Amherst Ave., house three popular Asian restaurants offering distinctive cuisines. The improved façade has broadened the appeal of the businesses and serves as an example to other commercial property owners in Wheaton that curb appeal and strong tenants help to ensure continued success.
For information about the award or WRAC, contact Rob Klein in the Department of General Services at 240-777-6016.
Watch the video to learn more about The Shops on Amherst.
County Student to Represent Region in National History Bee Championship
Bennett Miller, a seventh grader at Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring, won the Regional History Bee Championship held in late April at Westland Middle School in Bethesda.Bennett beat out 120 contestants representing Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and DC for the honor of representing this region at the National History Bee Championship to be held in Atlanta in early June. There, he will compete against the 34 other regional winners from around the country.
His proud mom is Shawn Brennan, program manager for Senior Health Promotion in the Aging and Disability Services Division of the Department of Health and Human Services.
