Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber Awards Six-Year-Old for Bravery

Photo Credit: Laura Rowles, GGCC Director of Marketing

At the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce (GGCC) annual public safety awards breakfast, six-year-old Kaltoum Fakri was unable to join us to be awarded the 2nd annual Chamber Community Award, so we were delighted that she could join us – with her family- at our annual membership picnic on September 19, 2019.

The 2nd annual Chamber Community Award recipient was six-year-old Kaltoum Fakri, who saved her mother’s life over the Summer. This is a story of bravery. Fakri’s mom wasn’t breathing and she tried to wake her, but nothing was working. She acted fast, called 911, & followed the dispatchers’ instructions to seek help from a neighbor. She ran two doors down to Joe Chornock’s house. Chornock is the Fire & Rescue Chief of the Germantown Volunteer Fire Department. He was able to revive the mother before emergency medical services arrived.

“Not many six-year-olds would have been able to have remained so calm & so brave in a situation such as this. Children are taught to call 9-1-1 & to tell the dispatcher where they are calling from, but in reality, it is not as easy as it seems,” said Chornock.

Fakri is happy to have her Mom alive and breathing. For her efforts, Fakri was the second recipient of the Gaithersburg-Germantown community service award & was presented the Citation of Bravery.

“This was a phenomenal story & it was an honor to give her the award,” said Marilyn Balcombe. GGCC president / CEO.

The GGCC is active in providing business-to-business networking opportunities throughout the year: a collective voice in local, regional, and state legislative affairs, professional development opportunities and other services that enhance the business environment.

About Laura Rowles

Laura authors the blog Your Success is Our Business on MyMCMedia. Laura is the Director of Events & Marketing for the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce - a member-based organization of businesses that have joined together for the purpose of promoting the civic, commercial and industrial progress in our communities. The area's economic well-being is a result of the caliber of work that is done by the Chamber. The Chamber has a major impact on business, income and future growth of the area. My position at the Chamber - Director of Events & Marketing - affords me the opportunity to plan quality events for our Members and market the Chamber is a variety of avenues. At the GGCC, we typically have around 30 events each year including: breakfasts, lunches, after-five's, ribbon cuttings and special events. The consensus is we have high quality events with good energy. In 2012, we had over 2,040 people visit our events. Most our events are free to Members so securing sponsorships for all events. Additionally, I am responsible for planning networking, overseeing the budget and marketing of all events in order to make them successful. Lastly, I coordinate all marketing and communication efforts of the GGCC including weekly email blasts, its quarterly newsletter, all social media platforms, media relations and community outreach.

View all posts by Laura Rowles