Courtney Hall joined Interfaith Works as Chief Executive Officer in November 2020 following 17 years of service in the public and nonprofit sectors. Most recently he has been the Vice President at Housing Up in Washington DC, where he led the provision of affordable housing and supportive services to more than 700 homeless individuals and at-risk households. Prior to his Housing Up experience, Courtney served as a Child Welfare leader in DC and Alabama. He received his Bachelor of Social Work from Oakwood University in Alabama, a Master of Social Work from The University of Alabama, and holds a Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate from Georgetown University.
Fellow PB Rotarians: Once again our Club has been very generous and has donated $200 to Rotary International for each active member. You should be receiving a recognition of your gifts, $100 to the RI General Fund and $100 to the RI Polio Plus Fund. This year our Club has donated to some very worthy causes: Manna Food Center for $3,400, Nourish Now $500, Believe in Belize (Thank you Nabil!) $1,840, Rotary International General Fund $1,500, Rotary International Polio Plus $1,500, and four beautiful teak benches to various police and fire stations $5,205. Thank you all! Best, Phil
Photo: Our Latest Bench Donation to the MSP Rockville Barracks on Montrose Rd
Dr. Christopher Puttock is an environmental scientist and botanist with more than 35 years’ experience in environmental conservation. In addition to his role asExecutive Director of Chesapeake Natives, he is a research associate in the Botany Department at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Puttock has led many outreach programs for greater community awareness of the consequences of human interruption to the natural environment.
As a conservation scientist, he is convinced that without the effective implementation of outreach strategies to coordinate sustainable use of natural resources and to preserve the world’s ecosystems, the welfare of humanity and all the Earth’s biodiversity will continue to suffer irreparable degradation. Through his work with Chesapeake Natives, he preserves, propagates and promotes plants native to the Chesapeake watershed. Native seeds are gathered and grown by volunteers on the grounds and in the historic greenhouses of Mt. Airy Mansion in Rosaryville State Park, MD.
Dr. Puttock has been President of the Botanical Society of Washington, and a board member of the Maryland Native Plant Society and the Hawaii Conservation Alliance Foundation. Prior to that, he lived in Australia for 34 years as a botanist and writer for Flora of Australia. He was born in England. Dr. Puttock holds a doctorate in plant systematics and a diploma in science education, with many years of fieldwork and research experience in biodiversity, staff supervision and educational outreach.
[L-R] Vincent Upole, Commander of the Rockville Barrack of the Maryland State Police, Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club Treasurer Phil Meade and Fire Marshal Brian Geraci. Phil presented both guests with a Rotary wine glass.
Last Thursday at our social at Bretton Woods, Dr. Noel Howard brought back Fritz Cineas to enjoy the camaraderie and perhaps to rejoin our Club. As you probably remember, Fritz was a member of the Potomac Bethesda Rotary Club years ago. He was the Ambassador from Haiti.
As I mentioned at the Rotary Club meeting, I am working on another project to supply computers to schools in Belize through my nonprofit Believe in Belize and my partnership with MESA in District 6600. This is the link to the first project I did a couple of years ago https://believeinbelize.org/stories/project-205-computers-for-schools-in-belize.
For this new project if you have any computers (monitors, printers, etc. are OK too) you would like to donate please email me to work out the logistics.
Also, I have an opportunity to purchase 65 used computers for $20 each at a total cost of $1300. If anyone is interested in helping fund this purchase you may do so through the PayPal link or by sending a check to Believe in Belize, 9402 Bentridge Ave., Potomac MD 20854. Donations are deductible per US code. Anyone not planning to itemize when filing their 2020 tax return should find this link to be of interest https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cares-act-expands-tax-deductions-220753231.html.
Stuart I. Silverman is the newest member of the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club and October 1 was his first day of membership. He is an attorney in Bethesda focusing on health care law.
Nabil is a co-Founder of Believe in Belize. After visiting Belize with his wife for the first time in 2013, they fell in love with the country and decided to make it their home away from home. Believe in Belize is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Belizeans through education, health, and community development by partnering with other organizations to deliver high impact projects and services. Nabil’s initiative has delivered 205 PCs to Schools, bicycle reflectors, medical equipment and is planning on donating a fire truck. He also has initiatives in educational scholarships, emergency health, medical measurements, COVID-19 relief and more. Nabil retired as a Georgetown University professor in 2011. He spent 29 years of his professional career in Information Technology and Project Management, spanning the government, commercial and education sectors. He has academic degrees in Aerospace Engineering (Bachelor of Science), Systems Engineering (Masters of Science) and Engineering Management with specialty in Artificial Intelligence and Human Factors (Doctor of Science). He is married and has one daughter. Nabil's family origin is from Lebanon, but he was born in Egypt, raised in Kuwait and has lived in the US since 1979. Nabil is a Rotarian (since 2007), member of the Paul Harris Society and a member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Potomac-Bethesda. In his free time he enjoys watching sports and learning about history.
I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone in the club for the wonderful Past President Pin for my 3-year term as President, and for the beautiful plaque that is now hanging proudly in my home-office. They mean a lot to me, as does this club and all of your friendship and comradery in Rotary. I truly feel blessed to belong to a club that supports me and allows me to ‘spread my wings’ and undertake projects that are meaningful to me. I am proud of our club’s commitment to Rotary, the Rotary Fund, and those in need both locally and internationally. Attached, please find a picture of the plaque in my home-office, and a Citation from the District Governor (not a speeding citation :) ) that I received in the mail this morning. Our club has a proud tradition of making a big impact. Thank you again; I will cherish both of these gifts. With the warmest regards and thanks. - Dr. Todd Nitkin
Thanks very much to Past President Nabil Bedewi and Michael Henstra for all the wonderful support to keep the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club meeting via Zoom.
Gladys and Noel Howard led the effort to wrap and distribute pashmina scarves as Valentine's Day gifts to 75 homeless women in Rockville on February 13, 2020.
[November 6, 2019] The beautiful bench from the Potomac Bethesda Rotary Club was delivered to our shelter today! The bench was placed in our non-smoking area for our ladies. Thank you so much for the lovely, thoughtful and useful donation to our center! Please send our deepest gratitude to the members of the Potomac Rotary Club for this generous donation! We will also post the donation on our Center's Facebook. Regards, Josiane Makon, LCSW-C, Program Director, Interfaith Works Women's Center, 2 Taft Court Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20850. www.iworksmc.org
There are Paul Harris (PH) credits available for members to make up the $1000 donation required. It works this way: If you pay half of the amount you need for a PH fellowship, then the club will use available credits to make up the balance. So for instance say you already have PH credits amounting to $ 600. If you donate another $200, then the club will match your amount with some of those credits bringing the total to $ 1000 and bringing you a PH fellowship! And Rotary benefits, too!
the Vice President at Housing Up in Washington DC, where he led the provision of affordable housing and supportive services to more than 700 homeless individuals and at-risk households. Prior to his Housing Up experience, Courtney served as a Child Welfare leader in DC and Alabama. He received his Bachelor of Social Work from Oakwood University in Alabama, a Master of Social Work from The University of Alabama, and holds a Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate from Georgetown University.
Last Thursday at our social at Bretton Woods, Dr. Noel Howard brought back Fritz Cineas to enjoy the camaraderie and perhaps to rejoin our Club. As you probably remember, Fritz was a member of the Potomac Bethesda Rotary Club years ago. He was the Ambassador from Haiti. 
There are Paul Harris (PH) credits available for members to make up the $1000 donation required. It works this way: If you pay half of the amount you need for a PH fellowship, then the club will use available credits to make up the balance. So for instance say you already have
PH credits amounting to $ 600. If you donate another $200, then the club will match your amount with some of those credits bringing the total to $ 1000 and bringing you a PH fellowship! And Rotary benefits, too!
