More than one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we reflect on inspirational stories of strength, resilience, and community action
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 was a seminal moment in world history. The pandemic brought into every person’s life a series of complicated problems most never considered before: how to mitigate risk and still get necessities. How to protect frontline workers. How to protect the families of essential personnel. How to shift entire departments to Zoom meetings overnight. How to create a functional government when City Hall is closed. How to school from home. How to protect our most vulnerable and serve the insecure. How to function as a society when the tools we rely on are unavailable. Folks from all over Anne Arundel County stepped forward eagerly to confront an Everest of such obstacles. In the face of these challenges, our most innovative, creative, and empathetic ideas come to fruition. As members of our communities chose just how they would stand, the way we live and the way we view the future was transformed. For every story of forced change, of sadness, or of loss, there is another of triumph, of resilience and transformation. Though with the suffering came a seismic change in how we live, work, and play, there also opened an incredible portal for hope and an opportunity for learning. The following are very personal and professional stories that emerged from our communities.
AN UNEXPECTED TURN OF EVENTS
Prior to February 2020, Chris Dugdale, a business consultant, successful magician, and entertainer, led what could be considered an enviable life. He has dazzled Her Majesty the Queen with his mastery of card tricks, entertained Richard Branson, performed for kings, princes, and the most exclusive billionaires around the world. He is also a consultant to cruise lines, entertainment directors, and movie producers. Dugdale has fostered a multi-faceted career that keeps him on the road for 150–200 days each year. He is the only performer in history to win The Edinburgh Festival Edfest Bouquet Award four times. When COVID hit Europe, Dugdale was traveling there and experienced first-hand the wave of illness, fear, and anxiety sweeping the continent. He returned home to Annapolis, where his business essentially stopped.
When COVID hit Anne Arundel County, it impacted first line responders and hospital workers especially hard. COVID positive patients suffered or passed away alone, a circumstance that broke the heart of nurses, doctors, and caregivers. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), respirators, medicine, and supplies were stretched thin across the country, elevating levels of already intense stress. Staffers were afraid to carry the virus home, and were forced to maintain strict safety protocols if they wanted to see—but not touch—their families. These concerns were no less prevalent for Luminis Health System’s food service division. Manny Lopez, Senior Operations Manager of Food and Nutrition Services says sick patients and the reality of COVID hit the entire Luminis team hard.
Frederik de Pue, a successful restaurateur who owns Flamant in Annapolis, made it through the holiday season and Valentine’s Day rush and had recently finished a series of catered dinners in several of Washington, D.C.’s most beautiful private venues. When the pandemic moved into Europe, de Pue, a Belgian, watched from afar as his countrymen fared the tide of disease. A frequent traveler, de Pue knew it wouldn’t be long before COVID landed on our shores. “I had a bad feeling. I knew it was just a matter of time before our local government would have to impose restrictions on restaurants.”
Corinne Kirkpatrick, a 16-year old sophomore at Broadneck High School was active in sports and activities. For students, COVID meant lives were changed in ways they couldn’t fathom beyond the two week quarantine period initially imposed. School closures meant the sudden end to formative and developmentally important academic, athletic, social, and extracurricular activities, including after school jobs many relied on. “I knew we had to do what we had to, to protect our communities,” Kirkpatrick says. “I thought it was scary. I didn’t know how to react to it. I’ve grown up in an amazing space, and it felt like it was taken away and fell apart. Half of my first year of high school was lost.”
Monica Alvarado, owner of Bread and Butter Kitchen in Eastport, was busy managing her restaurant. “Bird flu, swine flu, COVID flu...the flu was in the back of my mind as the news started to report cases abroad, but I was running a restaurant,” she says. “I had menu specials to plan and orders to place and was busy with my family. COVID was on the horizon, but the elbow bump instead of a handshake at conferences was a sort of a joke at that point.”
For so many people, COVID meant a dramatic change to any sort of plan. Business, schools, and government closed. This alone seemed nearly unbelievable. By the time hoarding of necessities became a meme, and the seriousness of the virus became the topic of most conversations, countless Americans and people all over the globe faced a massively altered future. Dugdale’s appearances were cancelled, his income nil, his plans for future performances precarious. For Chef de Pue, Ms. Alvarado, and the other 2,000 restaurant owners in Anne Arundel County, calculating capacity, hunting down PPE, begging the government for financial assistance, tracking patrons for COVID contact tracing, and figuring out the logistics of curbside service took them away from the kitchen. The Reverend Peter W. Mayer, rector of St. Margaret’s Church, and countless other religious groups, faced delivering sacred Easter and Passover sermons to empty seats. Churches could no longer comfort parishioners through sickness or the end of life. Staff at Anne Arundel County Public Library scrambled to help patrons who needed computers to look for jobs, books to keep them entertained, and warmth from the bitter cold outside. Community organizations faced rising pleas for help. Gavin Buckley, Mayor of Annapolis, watched as his city suffered in every corner.
LOOMING CONCERNS & SERIOUS COMPLICATIONS
Pamela Brown is the Executive Director of Anne Arundel County Partnership for Children, Families and Youth, a grant-funded organization that works in partnership with Anne Arundel County government. “We are a not-for-profit organization that exists as an instrumentality of the county government to find and address gaps in care for low-income communities,” she says. In a typical year, Pam and her staff go to pockets of poverty across the county to help with a variety of needs. When the quarantine loomed, Brown knew members of her staff didn’t have access to basic technologies that would enable remote work. Certainly, they couldn’t do their vital work of meeting the needs of county constituents without internet access, hot spots, cell service, and computers. Alvarado faced the prospect of furloughing her workers, many of whom she knew couldn’t survive without their jobs. As she looked across the county, she wrestled with how she might arrest the spiraling whirlpool of problems faced by folks in her industry who would become unemployed: food insecurity, poverty, and homelessness. Mental health, physical health, and the wellbeing of families and children was on the line. Her singular problem was vast and complex. Lopez and his staff watched medical staff work 12 to 15 hour days only to stumble home to make dinner, clean up, and fall into bed before having to do it all over again. With the dual problems of cafeteria business at a standstill and staff operating under never-before experienced conditions, Lopez, new to the team, needed a plan. Mayor Buckley’s concerns were no less important or tangled. While constituents from a variety of industries faced job loss, small businesses were suffering—not just brick-and-mortar retail and restaurant businesses, but also individual entrepreneurs who risked financial ruin. The Mayor’s office had to figure out how to conduct the essential services of government in untested ways. Concerned with connecting with his constituents in person and with compassion, Buckley and members of his staff working in public spaces operated under the constant threat of contamination and infection.
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS & POSITIVE ATTITUDES
“Our staff is small; we’re nimble. We can drop down to low-income areas to uplift communities, and that’s exactly what we aimed to do.”
—Pamela Brown
Brown approached the challenge of the pandemic with calculation and resolve. Already anchored in neighborhoods that would be hard hit by COVID and the ripple effects of quarantine, Brown and her staff keenly knew what resources were needed. Brown set to work purchasing computers and internet for her staff’s home use, hosting meetings via Zoom, and engaging in endless conference calls. Confident that her organization was prepared and her staff was up to the challenge, Brown decided to attack an exponentially growing problem in vulnerable communities: food insecurity. Although this was a task typically absorbed by the County Office of Emergency Management, under Brown’s leadership, the Partnership quickly assumed a new role as ombudsmen for a growing group of pop-up pantries and food distribution efforts. By tapping into partnerships already in place with Anne Arundel Community Foundation, Brown was able to find fiscal sponsors for the efforts of teachers, churches, and community activists. Her partnership with the Maryland Food Bank and a growing relationship with Anne Arundel County Food Bank became instrumental to the Partnership’s efforts to ensure nutritious foods were accessible in the worst hit areas of the county.
“Our staff is small; we’re nimble. We can drop down to low-income areas to uplift communities, and that’s exactly what we aimed to do,” Brown says.
Alvarado, the restaurateur and, also, a former Senior Airman in the United States Air Force, was trained and prepared for battle. While mandates required restaurants to close to indoor dining, Alvarado says there was never a question about Bread and Butter doing so permanently. “I felt confident that staying open and keeping my employees working was the right thing to do,” she recalls. It was keeping employees working that Alvarado quickly realized would be difficult. She felt intimately the impact of job loss on families. But numbers don’t lie and restaurants were struggling to maintain their bottom line without slipping farther into the red.
Certainly, with revenue a struggle and costs mounting, restaurants in Anne Arundel County couldn’t afford to donate. Alvarado and Reverend Ryan Simmons of Anne Arundel Connecting Together (ACT) launched a Go Fund Me campaign, as they sought donations that would pay restaurant owners to make meals for food insecure families in Anne Arundel County. With their seminal idea, owners were compensated, workers were paid, and the community was fed. Named Feed Anne Arundel and sponsored by The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, the idea quickly took off. “We started the Go Fund Me on Tuesday and that Saturday we sent three hundred meals to Adams Church in Lothian,” Alvarado recalls.
Chef de Pue faced problems common to the restaurant industry with optimism. De Pue was lucky in that, as a long-time caterer to D.C. embassies and elite social circles, he knew exactly how to prepare for restaurant delivery and in-home service. “We were one of the very few restaurants who were set up and had the experience to do deliveries. For the first three months of quarantine, we delivered from St. Michaels to Potomac, Maryland. We built a menu with popular dishes people could easily heat to enjoy at home,” he says.
As summer arrived and other restaurants began to ramp up their take-out and delivery programs, sales at de Pue’s restaurant Flamant began to fall. Unable to bring back his full staff, de Pue worried about how to care for his employees and their families. Rather than lose his sense of optimism and forward progress, de Pue knew he would have to get creative. His ideas were inventive, community oriented, and ultimately successful. He prepared and delivered dishes to Luminus Health and area food pantries, an effort supported through donations made through clients, West Annapolis Business Affiliation, Friends of Annapolis Moms, and Annapolis Community Foundation. By the end of 2020, he had delivered thousands of meals.
Nathan Bowette is the Pastor of Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Annapolis. Governor Hogan’s lockdown orders came on a Thursday. By Sunday, staff members had produced a full virtual sermon that congregants could access remotely. Cheryl Mullis, Director of Small Groups and Women’s Ministry, reached out to the leaders of the church’s many breakout Bible study and worship groups to teach them how to set up Zoom accounts, connect with group members, and identify areas where people were struggling, so resources could be deployed. Tom Beall, Congregational Care Coordinator, assembled a list of all church members and worked with elders, deacons, and church leaders to call every person in the church—more than 1,000 parishioners, just to see how they were coping.
John Cavallero, Director of High School Ministry, knew the kids in his care would need an anchor in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. “We met up at parks in the area, gathered outside on lawns and around fire pits. We created meetings and services to be something [youth] could come to that was COVID safe and where they kids were known.” Cavallero also encouraged youth to be of service in the community, most notable through the West Annapolis Pop Up Pantry, an effort that helped take their mind off pandemic worries.
Reverend Peter W. Mayer, of St. Margaret’s, says “when the ax fell in March and April, people felt dislocated and isolated. Our work became simplified in that we needed to keep people connected to the church, to each other, and to God. When we simplified the mission, it gave us a clear direction about what we do that is important.” Mayer’s staff and parishioners became involved in several outreach efforts, notably area food pantries, clothing drives, and service opportunities. “When we connect our people with folks who need volunteers, who need donations....it gets us away from our own situation, allows us to be more empathetic, to think outside of ourselves,” he says. “This is important when we’re going through grief, the loss of school, sports, going out to eat or to the movies, time together—all that grief needs to be dealt with somehow and serving others is a great way to do that.”
Manny Lopez and his team at Luminis Health took over a space previously used as a cafeteria, to create a full-sized convenience store, selling items the hospital usually buys in bulk at cost to all hospital staff. From spray bottles of bleach to paper towels, fruits, vegetables, family meals to go, beverages, and flour, The Garden Café became the Garden Café Store. Food services merchandised goods with shelving and aisle caps, signage, and shopping baskets, anything they could to make staff feel safe, comfortable, and cared for.
Beyond serving the needs of hospital staff, the convenience store helped the Food Services Department realize a revenue stream when cafeterias were closed. The Catering Department created new product lines and package deals that they will continue to offer. Moving staff into production, sales, and maintenance saved jobs. Perhaps most importantly, morale was positively impacted with the act of caring for others. “We discussed the language of caring, and how to nourish bodies, minds, and families however best we can,” Lopez says.
Dugdale, the magician, had a newborn baby just days before Governor Hogan declared the lockdown. Fearing his shows and contracts would be cancelled for much longer than the initial two weeks of quarantine, he knew he would have to get creative. He started Magic Academy, a Youtube Channel aimed at teaching kids magic tricks. He produces the show with his seven year-old daughter, Lara. Schools in England have made Magic Academy a part of their school curriculum. Along with a stellar entertainment factor, Dugdale says, magic teaches children life skills: presentation, confidence, hand-eye motor coordination. “Magic breaks down all sorts of barriers. I really wanted to give back to the community, to kids near my home in Annapolis, and all over the world. Kids Magic Academy is rewarding from a professional point of view, but also, its been a bonding experience with Lara.”
Dugdale sought to solve the dual problems of income loss and an inability to express his creativity. He decided to incorporate his skills in magic and training in psychology to help top level managers and CEOs become better speakers and presenters. Dugdale took his training online through a website, www.mindtailorleadership.com. Prior to the pandemic, he built a production studio in his basement; he counts that prior planning as very lucky. “The studio provides great production value so I can offer corporate America a really high-quality, award winning show live via Zoom or pre-recorded. The irony is that even though it’s a virtual show, now every viewer gets a front row seat.”
PERSEVERANCE & CREATIVITY
The unique complications of doing business during the COVID pandemic, whether experienced by seasoned business leaders or community activists, required an equally unusual approach. The challenges were mountainous, the controversy multi-layered. The path to the other side is undoubtedly defined by creativity, cooperation, and optimism. Annapolis Mayor Buckley conducted rapid response, socially-distanced curbside chats with residents from each neighborhood and business districts across Annapolis. He set up a small business task force to identify immediate problems and to map plans for economic recovery. The City created recovery zones to encourage outdoor seating, one channel for keeping restaurants alive. The administration paid consultants to guide businesses through sourcing grants and purchasing PPE. These plans, and so many more, required cooperation from individuals, City Council members, county government, and, at times, Governor Hogan’s office. As he put these plans in place, Buckley worked with Senator Sarah Elfreth and other representatives to champion and leverage community groups offering emergency assistance to citizens.
Caleb and Joshua Oh, middle and high school-age founders of Kid Changemakers, a nonprofit organization, began sewing masks when schools closed. After donating hundreds, they applied for grants which they used to create food aid programs. Working with the Annapolis High School Service Club, they donated to local food pantries, collected diapers by the thousands, and threw their focus behind helping the homeless and foster care programs.
Corinne Kirkpatrick, the Broadneck High School student, recalls searching for purpose and finding it in her sewing machine. She crafted thousands of masks with the help of her mother and grandmother, donating many, and in the process finding her first career. She’s transformed her effort into a business making not only masks, but also beaded lanyards, keychains, personalized towels, and other sewn products that she sells on her social media site, By the Bay Sewing. “My grandmother taught me how to sew and gave me fabric. My mom has been by my side through everything. We call it my business but in reality, it’s our business because without her I couldn’t have grown it and make it what it is today.”
Chef de Pue faced his mounting problems with confidence in his ability and knowledge that there was no other choice than to persevere. Over the summer de Pue would spend two days each week with an assistant, hand-making hundreds of croissants. “We sold them on Saturday mornings and people just lined up for them. This brought so much happiness—to them because they could hold this flaky, warm, and delicious piece of Europe when they couldn’t travel, and to me just to see my friends and customers smile,” de Pue recalls. Later, when de Pue heard how worried parents were about the pressures of parenting during virtual school, he started a Wednesday Pop Up family meal. Intended to serve a family of four, the meals were positioned to be primarily convenient, but also upscale and affordable.
Anne Arundel County Library staffers felt the impact of the pandemic keenly. “We always knew we were important to our customers, but it became even more clear when we were closed and we knew people were suffering and we couldn’t help them,” says Christine Feldmann, AACPL Director of Marketing and Communications. “Whether it’s the person applying for a job or the homeless man walking in to get warm—to not meet those needs was devastating.”
The library opened a new, multi-million-dollar branch in Annapolis, executed a long-considered plan to offer curbside service, expanded online offerings through their website, purchased more e-books, and prepared to celebrate their 100-year anniversary. “All levels of the organization missed seeing customers’ faces, and recognized we needed to offer more services,” Feldmann says.
AACPL purchased additional WiFi and Chromebook bundles for check out, brought kindergarten readiness reading groups online, and expanded BrainFuse tutoring from noon to midnight, among many other initiatives. “Rather than despair about how to serve our clients, we got creative about what we can do,” Feldmann says. “Our response was immediate and across the board, from librarians, to our E-Book Buyer, childhood specialists and tutors, we all felt confident we would be able to serve people and we can argue that we did it in more valuable and impactful ways [than before the pandemic].”
LESSONS LEARNED
The lessons learned during a year with COVID19 are largely about sourcing strength in adversity and finding creative solutions in the face of outsized complexities. The months of the COVID19 pandemic have been a stark reminder of what the community loses when services are closed. This loss and lessons are no less powerful for the library, for small businesses, retail shops, restaurants, students learning virtually, or for performers for whom the stage is closed.
In the midst of loss, we learned that we can be nimble, flexible, creative, and generous in ways never imagined or tested before. We experienced firsthand the importance of finding opportunity in every crisis, of thinking outside of the box. As friends, colleagues, schools, and communities have found new ways to communicate, collaborate, and connect, we’ve expanded our networks, broadened our horizons, and expanded our reach. We’ve learned to rely on each other, and to be even more reliable.
Our future, as individuals and as a community, will be significantly defined not only by the lessons we carry forward, but by how we responded individually and collectively to the pandemic: the actions large and small, the attitudes of positivity and optimism, even when the days were endless and the death count felt hopeless, the despair of our worst moments of the year, and the elation at the heights of even small successes.
