Five Good Neighbors Honored in Rockville (PHOTO)

PHOTO | City of Rockville

Five extraordinary Rockville residents are being honored as “good neighbors.”

The residents include a Richard Montgomery High School student who helped an unconscious man on a Metro train, a dependable daycare provider, a tireless Friends of the Library volunteer, an unsung hero who helps clear area sidewalks and driveways of snow in the winter, and another resident who makes a difference for our environment and his community by regularly patrolling Wootton Parkway to pick up trash.

The Mayor and Council presented the Good Neighbor Awards on Oct. 19th. The awards honor community members for their exceptional contributions to preserve and improve the quality of life in their neighborhood through good deeds or acts of service.

This year’s honorees include:

• David Hoddinott: Hoddinott, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, came to the aid of a man who collapsed and lost consciousness on a Metro train traveling between White Flint and Twinbrook in August. Hoddinott cooled the man down and stayed with him until emergency medical personnel arrived. “To me, David is a special kind of hero,” Marian Osher wrote in nominating Hoddinott.
• Nadia Hirsh: In nominating Hirsh, Jack Martinelli wrote that Hirsh, a neighborhood day care provider, is representative of “all day care business owners who invest their energy, time and resources to help parents arrive at their employment having the assurance their children are safe in the hands of good people.”
• Aileen Klein: Klein’s volunteer efforts as a nine-year board member of the Rockville chapter of Friends of the Library, Montgomery County include responsibility for a gala that raised more than $60,000 for library enhancements, work on the upcoming 10-year anniversary celebration for the Rockville Memorial Library and advocacy and fundraising in support of ongoing renovations to Twinbrook Library, state Sen. Cheryl Kagan wrote in nominating Klein. “Without her leadership, advocacy, thoughtfulness, follow-through and kindness, the City of Rockville would be a very different place,” Kagan wrote.
• Bruce Redding: Redding helps snowbound fellow seniors in his neighborhood each winter. “Regardless of how much [snow,] Bruce brings out his huge snow blower and walks the neighborhood clearing off not only sidewalks but driveways for these seniors,” Melissa Bourne wrote in nominating Redding. “If he did not do this many residents would be trapped in their homes until the snow melts. He does it with a smile and without being asked. Many times he completes the job without the resident even being aware of it.”
• Charles Simpson: Nominated by Sarah Navid, Simpson, who goes by Bob, was recognized for his regular patrols of Wootton Parkway near the Hungerford neighborhood, picking up trash. “Most neighbors have probably noticed Bob with his ‘pick-up stick’ and have enjoyed the benefits of his action as they drive, bicycle or walk along Wootton Parkway,” Navid wrote.

Good Neighbor Award nominations are accepted throughout the year and awarded in the fall.

To learn more, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/goodneighbor.

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