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2007 Nominees
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| Corridor Inc. Staff Writer
Originally published December 2007  Corridor Inc. would like to introduce the six nominees for the 2007 Corridor Person of the Year. These individuals have had the greatest influence on the Baltimore-Washington Corridor in 2007. They have had a significant impact on the community and are the Corridor’s most prominent advocates.
And the nominees are (from left to right) Linda Greene, executive director, BWI Business Partnership; John P. Hollerbach, president and CEO, HarVest Bank of Maryland; Renée M. Winsky, president and executive director, Maryland Technology Development Corp.; Col. Kenneth O. McCreedy, installation commander, Fort George G. Meade; Randall M. Griffin,
president and CEO, Corporate Office Properties Trust; Martha A. Smith, president, Anne Arundel Community College.
 Linda Greene
Executive Director
BWI Business Partnership
Leave it to Linda Greene and once a month you will share the room with the likes of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines.
Greene, executive director of the BWI Business Partnership, leads the public policy organization, comprised of local and regional business and government agencies, in promoting the airport and ensuring a sound transportation system.
Each month she is the voice of the BWI Business Partnership’s monthly breakfast events. Her tireless effort has built the partnership to approximately 175 members today.
While the breakfast events call for an early wake up, the payoffs
are tenfold.
“Those days are a different kind of morning for me,” said Greene. “People say the partnership breakfasts are the place to be.”
Since the partnership began in 1985, the focus has been on transportation, workforce issues and supporting BWI, said Greene.
“Transportation infrastructure is an important link to bringing the Corridor together,” said Greene. “The key to moving through our neighborhoods is transportation and making the Corridor a great place to live and work.”
Greene also serves as first vice president of the Fort Meade Alliance, which was created to
promote and support Fort George G. Meade as an economic asset to the region. * Coffee or tea: Caffeinated coffee
Favorite Web site: Igoggle or www.bwipartner.org
Last trip: Maine and Paris
Favorite Restaurant in the Corridor: Aqua at BWI Hilton and the BWI Marriott salad bar for lunch, Sunset restaurant in Glen Burnie
Morning or evening person: Evening
Favorite TV show: Grey’s Anatomy
Favorite radio station: WTOP
Favorite hobby: Gardening, reading and her dog
Favorite magazine: Decorating magazines
Newspaper (print or online): Print
First job: Project Headstart, volunteer coordinator in Calvert County
Was there ever a job you wanted but didn’t get: No
What animal matches your personality: a golden retriever because they are friendly and enjoy being around people
Last book: Paris 1919
What do you want to be doing in 10 years: contributing to the community and grow award-winning rose bushes
Pet peeve: Spam
Last movie: The War
Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life: Jane Fonda
 Randall M. Griffin
President and CEO
Corporate Office Properties Trust
Randall M. Griffin’s career has included the development of more than $4 billion in real estate and the 62-year-old isn’t stopping there.
“A church and a prison are the only thing I haven’t done,” said Griffin, president and CEO of Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT), headquartered in Columbia.
Since 1973, his real estate career has spanned the globe serving as vice president of development for EuroDisney in Paris, president of Constellation Real Estate Group before it merged into COPT as well as executive vice president and COO of Linclay Corp., a Midwest-based real estate firm.
To date, he has built office buildings, warehouses, apartments, condominiums, individual homes, nursing homes and more than 10,000 hotel rooms.
The Ellicott City resident has helped grow COPT to its current $4.3 billion market value with $400 million in revenue.
COPT, with 132 employees, owns 18.5 million square feet of buildings. In 2007, the company had a 12 to 13 percent growth, said Griffin.
About 100 properties are located in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor with approximately 238 Corridor tenants.
“I love the creativity involved and the conceptualization and design of a building and the ability to have an impact on the fabric of a community,” Griffin said. * Coffee or tea: Caffeinated coffee
Favorite Web site: www.cnn.com, www.yahoo.com
Last trip: Las Vegas for a Urban Land Institute fall meeting
Favorite Restaurant in the Corridor: Charleston Restaurant in Baltimore and the Iron Bridge Wine Co. in Columbia
Morning or evening person: Both
Favorite TV show: doesn’t really watch much TV
Favorite radio station: WETA 90.9 FM
Favorite hobby: Work
Favorite magazine: Sports Illustrated
Newspaper (print or online): Print
First job: Working in a foundry in Indiana
Was there ever a job you wanted but didn’t get: Ran for student body president in high school and lost
What animal matches your personality: A mix between a greyhound and a lion
Last book: Augustus
What do you want to be doing in 10 years: “Still working but the reality is that I’ll be retired and traveling a lot”
Pet peeve: People that want a promotion but not willing to work for it
Last movie: The Bourne Supremacy
Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life: Russell Crowe “because my life is full of action and I’ve done a lot of adventuresome things.æ
 John P. Hollerbach
President and CEO
HarVest Bank of Maryland When John P. “Jack” Hollerbach founded HarVest Bank of Maryland in 2003 he had the community in mind.
“I wanted something that invoked a community feel and a homegrown commercial bank alternative,” he said.
Hollerbach, president and CEO of the Montgomery County bank, has three full-service branches in Germantown, Bethesda and North Bethesda. A Rockville Pike location will open next year.
Under the Ellicott City resident’s leadership, HarVest Bank has reached $140 million in assets — a feat Hollerbach credits to community integration. By year’s end, he expects to reach $165 million in assets — a 65 percent increase from 2006.
“I love being a small bank in a big banking world that’s kicking the butts of the big banks,” he said.
Hollerbach has also participated on government panels in Howard and Montgomery Counties, served on the Baltimore Symphony’s leadership team, state and local chambers and supported the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, among others.
While banking is what he knows best, Hollerbach first learned how to work with people in New York.
He spent 10 years in the Big Apple working with Paramount Pictures and Clairol, where he was involved in the Herbal Essence product launch.
“I’m trained as a financial guy but I’m a marketer by temperament,” said Hollerbach. * Coffee or tea: Caffeinated coffee
Favorite Web site: www.Iona.edu, www.BSOmusic.com
Last trip: Baltic cruise through Scandinavia and Russia
Favorite restaurant in the Corridor: Cesco Trattoria and Athenian Plaka in Bethesda
Morning or evening person: Evening
Favorite TV show: Family Guy, Cold Case and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Favorite radio station: WTOP and WMAL
Favorite hobby: Golf, scuba diving and avid Ravens fan
Favorite magazine: Smithsonian
Newspaper (print or online): Print
First job: Cutting lawns in high school
Was there ever a job you wanted and didn’t get: No
What animal matches your personality: Tiger
Last book: autobiography of Henry Adams
What do you want to be doing in 10 years: “Running a mega-bank called HarVest Bank in anticipation of retiring.”.
Pet peeve: Being tailgated and political diatribes
Last movie: Hairspray
Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life: One of my daughters
 Col. Kenneth O. McCreedy
Installation Commander
Fort George G. Meade
When Col. Kenneth O. McCreedy became installation commander at Fort George G. Meade in June 2005 he knew he wouldn’t be able to finish everything he started.
Next July, just as the momentum of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process begins, McCreedy’s tenure will be over.
But McCreedy, 52, has no complaints.
“Command is something I’m not sure there’s really any comparison to in the civilian world,” said McCreedy, who has been in the military for 25 years. “When you walk away from a group of people who have been your family and a job that consumed you, it’s a really empty feeling but at the same time you take pride in what you’ve accomplished.”
However, McCreedy admits the job comes with its challenges.
“The complexity of this job is something I truly didn’t appreciate when I took command,” he said. “The amount of things it requires and the lives it touches … I’m not sure my military post prior to this prepared me for.”
As Fort Meade prepares to celebrate its 90th anniversary next year, BRAC, which will bring 5,700 jobs to the base in coming years, remains the focus.
“BRAC has focused people on the future and how we want to leverage growth to create a better quality of life for the next generation of citizens,” said McCreedy. “We can view this as an opportunity to make investments and put infrastructure into place.” *
Coffee or tea: Caffeinated coffee, black
Favorite Web site: www.losangelesdodgers.com
Last trip: Cape May, N.J.
Favorite Restaurant in the Corridor: Four Seasons in Gambrills
Morning or evening person: Evening, “although in the Army they don’t give you much choice.”
Favorite TV show: Monk
Favorite radio station: WMAL
Favorite hobby: Fantasy baseball
Favorite magazine: Parameters
Newspaper (print or online): Print
First job: A clerk at Payless drug store
Was there ever a job you wanted but didn’t get: The MI Brigade but it turned out it was for the best
What animal matches your personality: “I find ducks fascinating.”
Last book: A Team of Rivals
What do you want to be doing in 10 years: President of a university and he’s willing to entertain job offers
Pet peeve: People who aren’t considerate of other people’s time
Last movie: Music & Lyrics, “I live in a house full of women.”
Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life: Tom Selleck “because my wife likes him and she would come see it.”
 Martha A. Smith
President
Anne Arundel Community College
After receiving her master’s degree in chemistry, Martha “Marty” Smith realized she liked the diversity and feeling of a college campus more than the periodic table.
The first person she broke the news to was her mother.
“I called home to tell her and she said ‘I was wondering when you would realize that,’” said Smith. “It was reaffirmation for me that you just have to be who you are.”
Smith, president of Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) since 1994, has made community college education her focus ever since.
“Community colleges really are where America goes to college and the challenge is to meet that need,” she said. “Our role is to be accessible to every person.”
The community college has 55,000 students, which range from freshmen to continuing education adults. Enrollment is increasing 2 to 3 percent annually, said Smith, adding that the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process brings more anticipated growth.
Constant communication and working relationships with the business community also keep AACC on the cutting edge.
In 2008, Smith hopes to increase enrollment in the teacher education and world language programs, further develop the homeland security associate’s degree and expand construction trades related to BRAC.
“I’ve been to 13 graduations here and every one is like the first and best,” she said. “You’re looking at the faces of the world and it’s such an incredibly powerful moment.” *
Coffee or tea: Decaffeinated coffee in the morning, then green tea
Favorite Web site: www.aacc.edu
Last trip: Savannah
Favorite Restaurant in the Corridor: Gary’s Grille and Café Mezzanotte in Severna Park
Morning or evening person: Morning
Favorite TV show: Friends
Favorite radio station: Sirius, NPR, WBGR 860 AM
Favorite hobby: Hiking and being outside
Favorite magazine: House & Garden
Newspaper (print or online): Print
First job: Camp counselor
Was there ever a job you wanted but didn’t get: No
What animal matches your personality: A dog because she loves them
Last book: Blue Ocean Strategy
What do you want to be doing in 10 years: “I don’t know.”
Pet peeve: Inconsiderate drivers
Last movie: Patton
Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life: Glenn Close
 Renée M. Winsky
President and Executive director
Maryland Technology Development Corp.
Renée M. Winsky is a firm believer that good things come to those who wait.
The 45-year-old was officially appointed president and executive director of the Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) in February, following a nationwide search that lasted more than a year.
But Winsky wouldn’t have it any other way.
“In the end, the search firm found over 100 people and if I can come out on top of 100 people, I’m proud,” she said.
In her 14 months as interim executive director, Winsky put her stamp on the organization through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, further expanding TEDCO’s position as the state’s leading source of funding for capital and business assistance for technology and commercialization programs.
Winsky successfully managed the first year of the stem cell fund which provided 24 grants for stem cell projects.
TEDCO’s Maryland Technology Transfer Fund, which brings technology into the marketplace, has funded 126 projects since 2002 and 87 projects have been completed.
TEDCO’s portfolio includes over 114 companies and approximately 50 federal programs.
The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process will create a unique opportunity for TEDCO.
“It’s more opportunity to fund technology and we want to put that in the hands of entrepreneurs,” she said. *
Coffee or tea: Caffeinated coffee before 4 p.m. then tea
Favorite Web site: www.dogpile.com
Last trip: Little Rock
Favorite Restaurant in the Corridor: Yellowfin in Edgewater
Morning or evening person: Neither, a good daytime person
Favorite TV show: Dancing with the Stars
Favorite radio station: WTOP
Favorite hobby: Watching her daughter play sports
Favorite magazine: What’s Up
Newspaper (print or online): Both
First job: Snack bar at the family-owned roller skating rink
Was there ever a job you wanted but didn’t get: “This one, but I eventually got it.”
What animal matches your personality: “They say you’re like your pet but I don’t think I’m like my Great Dane.”
Last book: The Bourne Ultimatum
What do you want to be doing in 10 years: “I’d like to be retired and working on my second career.”
Pet peeve: People who butt in line
Last movie: The Adam’s Family
Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life: Cate Blanchett
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