News Corner
Maternity Flight Suits ?
Will Taliban Respect our Soldiers in Maternity Fatigues?
From the Tucker Carlson show of March 9, 2021
Donate Your Bike
Save Those Unneeded Bicycles for Department of Transportation’s Annual Bike Donation Event on Oct. 8
It is a time of year when people start planning for fall and begin to clean out garages and storages spaces. Sometimes they find a bike that is no longer needed. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) is hoping you will hang onto those bikes just a little longer and donate them to the department’s annual bike collection drive that will be held Friday, Oct. 8.
On that day, bikes can be brought to the collection site near the entrance to the public parking garage for the Montgomery County Council Office Building at the intersection of East Jefferson Street and Monroe Street in Downtown Rockville. Donations will be accepted between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Bike parts, accessories and helmets will not be accepted.
Donated bicycles will go to the Rockville Bike Hub, a nonprofit organization whose volunteers refurbish the bikes and give them to low-income residents throughout the County. The bikes are distributed through Rockville's Terrific Kids program and MCDOT's Bike Match MoCo program.
Residents may also donate financially to the program to provide bikes for residents in need. Checks can be made out to the Rockville Bike Hub during the collection event. All donated funds will be used to purchase bike helmets and parts to repair the bikes.
For more information about the event, contact Paul Gatons of MCDOT at 240-777-7162 or [email protected].
Meet Two Great Republicans
Reardon "Sully" Sullivan
“I am late to the party,” says Sully. He became involved in the Republican Party about 4 years ago, and in his youth had no political involvement. Disillusionment with the direction of Montgomery County under total Democrat leadership caused him to seek Republican leadership. He cares deeply about this county and works hard to better the lives of the average resident.
The owner of an architectural engineering firm in Rockville, Maryland, Sully started the firm 26 years ago in his basement! The firm recently opened an office in Baltimore, is opening an office in DC, and later this year will be opening an office overseas. Clients include both public and private sector owners, developers and users. The American dream in progress.
Playing bass guitar in a local rock band is a favorite hobby for a man who describes himself as “incredibly shy.” (Few people knowing him would ever describe Sully as shy). Favorite music is Rock particularly 2000+ and ’80’s metal. A simple grooving funk bass line always gets his attention.
Sully had a dog most of his life, but not at the present time. Maybe as a substitute he does enjoy feeding the deer in his backyard.
The Sullivan family was, in Sully’s words, “Sort of a mid-sixties nuclear family" with two parents, and an older sister and brother who remain unavailable for comment beat him up daily. He describes himself as “the nerd” while his brother was the athlete. The Sullivans were the first black family to move into the now-historic West Rockville are. Both of his parents worked, and his father worked long hours first as a budget analyst, then becoming the first black SES in the White House. (The Senior Executive Service is comprised of the men and women charged with leading the continuing transformation of our government.
Our very talented Republican Party Chairman not only plays music, but he enjoys creating original music. He loves “Good old American food with LOTS of butter, working on cars, his job as CEO of his engineering company, and serving as MCGOP Chairman.
“I value integrity, dislike out-of-control egos, liars, corrupt politicians and boors,” says Sully. Starting and maintaining a successful engineering company that provides employment for 40 people here in Montgomery County for over 26 years is one of his proudest achievements. As for the future? “Maybe I will run for political office.”
Public figures he most admires are Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump because they both took their common sense message to the people and the response was positive. He feels blessed to have personally met Donald Trump and would like to have met Ronald Reagan.
As for favorite place? “I’m happy to stay in the good old USA.”
NANCY GRIFFIN
Nancy dove into the pool of politics in 2006 upon relocating to Washington D.C. after the death of her husband. She joined the Chevy Chase Women's Republican Club (CCWRC) and immediately was consumed with political fever. Appalled at the lack of understanding by the civilian community of how important a strong defense and love of God and country was to to keep America strong and remain the leader of the free world, she initiated a popular club event, “Let’s Talk Politics” to inform and educate club members of political issues of the day.
Nancy is very proud of being born in the Bronx, NY, to parents who were Irish immigrants from County Kerry and County Clare, Ireland, Both of her parents worked hard to afford to send their three children to private school. Despite their strict upbringing, they shared with cousins wonderful family social gatherings that reinforced their pride for her Irish heritage. Everyone was required to participate in the festivities; sing a song, dance, recite a poem or tell a joke. This provided an opportunity for the children to build confidence and the ability to communicate with others in a friendly atmosphere.
She worked while in school as a salesgirl in several department stores and also worked for the Sales Manager of American Airlines in downtown New York which included many interesting tasks: handling the VIP customer complaints, going out to LaGuardia airport “in costume” to advertise new flight destinations for American Airlines, and, when there was a plane crash, worked with the family members of the injured and deceased passengers. Nancy was also a Real Estate broker in Omaha, NE and in Gaithersburg, MD. The one thing she has not accomplished is how to ride a bicycle!
It was a happy childhood that she shared with her older sister and younger brother. They participated in school and church activities together. On an average day the now famous Bronx Zoo and the beautiful Botanical Gardens were favorite play places.
Nancy and her sister would take the city bus to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Despite our meager upbringing we were wealthy in our exposure to the arts and culture that permeated our daily lives” relates Nancy. Sunday was a day of rest. After church breakfast was shared together and devoured the Sunday newspapers. Sunday dinner was a family tradition and instilled the importance of family and how fortunate it was to be part of a family that loved and supported each other through the ups and downs of growing up in New York City.
In the Little Italy section of the Bronx, Nancy acquired a taste for good Italian food. Locally she enjoys eating at Milano’s Italian Restaurant in Georgetown and Gregario’s Restaurant in the Cabin John Shopping Mall.
Raising her children, the household always included dogs.
Nancy greatly admires the famous Opera singer, Luciano Pavarotti, and his charismatic performances of “Nissun dorma”from The opera Turandot. His vibrant high “C”s and showmanship made him the most celebrated tenor since “Caruso” and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar. She feels privileged to having attended his 60th birthday celebration in New York and a second time meeting she spoke to him in the lobby of the of the George V hotel in Paris.
Greece,Turkey, England, Ireland, Paris, Canada, Australia, Newfoundland, Austria, Vienna, Germany, Spain, Alaska and Italy are many of the places to which she's traveled. She has enjoyed learning about the culture, customs, and tasting the variety of food specialties each country, but was always glad to return home to America and the freedom of choice she enjoys here, the opportunity to succeed in any chosen endeavor, the American sense of humor and our ability to laugh at ourselves.
People who complain and criticize, but never make an effort to help solve problems or find a solution to them greatly irritate Nancy..
Her greatest achievement in life was meeting and marrying the “love of my life”, and raising their four children to be independent thinkers and hard workers despite having to move every few years when their dad, who was a pilot in the US Air Force, got reassigned to a new military base. She was privileged to travel with her husband after he retired from the military and worked for an Aerospace company. They went to Air Shows around the world.
She is especially proud of her close relationship with her four children and the bond they share with each other. The icing on the cake has been sharing life with ten grandchildren celebrating the very recent addition to the family of the first great grandson.
Karol Smith is a writer, former candidate, organizer of GOP Asbury and a member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee.