But can they dance to Christmas music?  See for yourself as Ric Adams, Shelley Aloi, Betsy Day, Shabri Moore, Billy Shreve, Matt Warner and Rocky Mackintosh try to dance their way into the Holiday Spirit!

I enjoyed putting together Tuesday’s post Our Top Six Christmas Wishes for Frederick County, with the focus of the MacRo Report Blog as always to stay on issues and trends that reflect and impact land and commercial real estate – be it actions of government or happenings in the public sector.

But, I mused, how closely do our priorities align with the rest of the Frederick community?  Are there any real estate development wishes in the minds of other non-real estate folks?

With that said, I decided to seek out a cross-section of Frederick “movers and shakers” in the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to have them share their wish lists for the coming year … and even dance for our readers as well!!!

Read on to find out what they are hoping the New Year brings to our community.

Ric Adams, President and CEO,
Frederick County Chamber of Commerce

“I wish for Frederick County to have a charter government.  We are the 8^th largest county in Maryland, yet we don’t get our fair share of state funding nor do we have a seat at the table.  A charter government will give us a voice in Annapolis.

“I also want Frederick to have a hotel and conference center [not necessarily on the site proposed by MacRo, Ltd!]  that would complete our downtown development.  This item is number one on the wish list of Frederick County’s major employers.”

Shelley Aloi, Alderman,
City of Frederick

“My Christmas wish for Frederick is that our leaders in both the public and private sectors prioritize service to others.

That they work together for the good of the larger community, forsaking political and self-serving agendas, to focus on making Frederick the premier place to live, work and play.”

Matt Warner, President,
R.W. Warner, Inc.

“My number one priority for Frederick is to build Parking Deck 6.  It would bring more stimuli to Frederick City by freeing up construction on projects that have been delayed while we are waiting for the deck to be built.

“My number two is a hotel and conference center downtown.  It would be great for the City of Frederick to move the development of Carroll Creek forward.”

Betsy Day, President,
Community Foundation of Frederick County

“If I were Santa Claus, I’d give every Frederick County resident who would like to pursue post-secondary education or vocational training a scholarship to help them achieve their career goals and dreams. Then, because so many local nonprofits are working harder than ever to provide services in spite of these difficult economic times, I’d give each one enough grant money to ensure it can fulfill its mission and continue creating positive and lasting change.

“I hope Santa will bring more resources and collaboration so that families who are precariously housed are able to stay in their homes, children are ready to learn when they enter school, and all persons are able to receive affordable and accessible medical care.

“For Christmas, I’d like everyone to know that every charitable gift they make, whether it’s one dollar or one thousand dollars, does make a difference in changing people’s lives for good. “

Billy Shreve, Member,
Board of County Commissioners (R)

“Frederick County could really use a facilities assessment of properties managed by the Board of Education.  We need to know what items have to be addressed from a third-party perspective and what the priorities should be.  BOE also needs a policy in place to fix their properties.

“I would also like to see Frederick County receive the $36 million that the State of Maryland owes us for forward-funded schools.

“We also need a republican governor of Maryland:  someone who will make a priority of stabilizing the economy and establishing a business-friendly environment.”

Shabri Moore, President,
Moore Wealth, Inc.

‘Twas two weeks before New Year’s and Rocky did call,

Asking for 2012 wishes from one and all.

No limit he decreed,

No wish too big or too small.

And so I did heed,

Sharing my wishes for Frederick:

Growth, development and cooperation from all.

A tremendous beginning on Carroll Creek!

Complete the plan with a convention center

Condos, ethnic restaurants, and clever boutiques.

A business-friendly county and city is what it’s all about:

Biotech, IT, and supporting industry,

Small business, large business, mom and pop.

Bold audacious wishes for sure,

But what would you expect from a business owner

Whose tag line is “Expect Moore.”

What do you think?

Will we see progress in making some, or all, of these dreams a reality in 2012?

.
.

The author: Rocky Mackintosh, President, MacRo, Ltd., a Land and Commercial Real Estate firm based in Frederick, Maryland. He also writes for TheTentacle.com and Want2Dish.com
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Eleven year old singing sensation Anna Graceman sings the National Anthem. We hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend!

To honor all the brave men and women throughout our nation’s history who have served our country, this Memorial Day we would like to share the inspiring and heroic rescue story of a soldier hit by an unexploded RPG bomb as reported by Ruth Reiss for 20/20.

Thursday, March 16, 2006 in Paktika Province, eastern Afghanistan, twenty-three-year-old Pvt. Channing Moss and his fellow “two dozen 10th Mountain Division soldiers mounted in five armored Humvees and a handful of Afghan National Army troops riding in a pickup truck” to meet with tribal elders.

“Four hours into the drive and just miles from the village, gunfire broke out.”

“I smelled something smoking and I looked down … and I was smoking,” Moss said, the tail fins of an RPG were sticking out of Moss’ side…

Luckily for Moss, the company medic Spc. Jared Angell, 23, who the soldiers call “Doc,” was in his Humvee. With Alpha company still under fire, it would have been nearly impossible for Angell to get to Moss in time if he hadn’t been close by…

An injury report was radioed to the medical evacuation helicopter, but they did not tell them that Moss had a live, undetonated ordnance in him for fear that they would not come.

Army policy states that they are not supposed to transport soldiers in Moss’ condition. But they also knew if they didn’t take Moss, he would die.

The rescue crew quickly decided to take the risk.

If procedure had been followed, Moss would likely have bled to death, but the doctors on base felt compelled to save him. While the deadliest part of the RPG was not inside Moss, there was still enough power in the bomb to kill Moss and destroy the doctors hands. They all knew the risk they faced.

“I looked everybody in the eye and said, ‘You guys understand what’s going on here, right?’ And I knew everybody heard me, but nobody said anything. They just kept doing their jobs,” he said. With no words exchanged, each had decided to risk their life to save Moss.

Sgt. Brown used an unusual instrument to gently remove the RPG’s tail fins — a hacksaw. The surgeons reached inside Moss, steadying the still lethal rocket, inches from the soldier’s beating heart. Brown quickly walked out of the aid station to a bunker and detonated it.

As broken as Moss’ body was, he focused from the very start on recovery. He said he didn’t need a doctor to tell him if he’d be able to walk again. He underwent four major surgeries followed by intense physical therapy. Pvt. Moss’ recovery was steady … moving from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane.

For Sgt. Brown, there was never a question about taking the gamble. “He was American, he was a solider, he was a brother and he was one of us. And there was nothing gonna stop us from doing what we knew what we had to do … We knew we did right. In that screwed up world we did something right,” Brown said.

Read the complete unabridged 20/20 story written by Ruth Reiss on 5/26/11 for more details.

Here’s wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas holiday. We thought that you might enjoy this video that was posted last year on YouTube and has recieved over 2 million hits … Enjoy!