28th Annual Coalition Meeting and Statewide Conference 2019

President Eileen McGuckian called the 28th Annual Meeting of the Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites to order at 9:15 a.m. on May 4th at the Old Greenbelt Theatre in Greenbelt, Prince George’s County, Maryland.

She welcomed members and guests in attendance and summarized activities that have taken place in the past 12 months related to cemetery preservation.

With strong support from advocates across the state, the Maryland Cemetery Preservation Act of 2018 was unanimously passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor.

New cemetery laws in Montgomery County went into effect and a new position was established at Montgomery Planning with responsibility for coordination.  In January 2019, the Maryland Historical Trust presented an award to Montgomery Preservation, Inc. for the Cemetery Inventory Revisited project.

The brief business meeting included reports from Treasurer Reginald Bishop, Membership Chair Kristin Kraske, and Glenn Wallace for the Trader Foundation.  Elected unanimously for the term 2019-2021 were the following Officers and Directors:  Vice President Glenn Wallace; incumbent Directors Kristin Kraske, Robert Mosko, and Tina Simmons; and new Directors Anne Brockett and Elizabeth Larney.

Links to presentations by Anne Brockett and Susan Pearl, appreciated by attendees, are below:

Anne Brockett: “African American Beneficial Societies in Maryland and Washington, DC”

The 2019 Periwinkle Award went to Miss Ella LaGrange, a seventh grader at St. John’s Episcopal School in Olney.  Ella identified the Lee Family Cemetery at Calverton-Galway Park in Montgomery County with new signage, including instructions not to allow dogs inside the fenced area.

Following lunch at Beijing of Greenbelt Restaurant and the traditional Open Forum, Group Discussion and Silent Auction, Susan Pearl led a tour to the Bowie Family Cemetery at Fairview.  Volunteers from Holy Trinity Episcopal Church introduced attendees to the cemetery and discussed their roles as caretakers.