The 8th Annual Philanthropy Day Luncheon Celebrated Philanthropy in Southern Maryland. This year’s inductees are recognized for their lifetime commitment to making Southern Maryland the best place to live and give: Nancy Gasparovic, H. Thomas Waring, and Wilson Parran.
Nancy Gasparovic
It’s almost impossible to name a charity or cause in the greater Southern Maryland area that Nancy Gasparovic has not devoted time, talents and resources to advance since she moved to the area in 1975. She was a charter member of the Western Charles American Cancer Society; was named MD Volunteer of the Year for ACS in 1985; she served on the PMH Foundation Board and helped initiate the Mardi Gras Ball, was a Queen candidate. In addition, she was a founding member and continues to serve on the board of the Maples Senior Housing in La Plata; a trustee for La Plata United Methodist Church. Her home “Idyllic” has been the site of fundraisers for several decades benefitting various causes and hosted. The American Red Cross held its annual Heinze Golf Tournament Dinner there for over 12 years, raising over $750,000.00. Nancy also served on the board of ARC for over 10 years. As a patron of the arts, Nancy has supported Port Tobacco Players, Black Box Theater, Arts Alliance, Mattawoman Creek Art Center and others. Nancy is Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign for the Potomac Watershed Study Center being built by the Alice Ferguson Foundation.
Wilson H. Parran
Wison H. Parran, resides in Calvert County and is the Deputy Secretary of Administration and Operations for the Maryland Department of Transportation. Wilson has devoted much of his life to serving others. His many leadership awards are testament to his civic and community dedication and good character. He has an extensive list of Board and Committees he has served on for the betterment of Calvert County, Southern Maryland and Maryland communities. He served eight years as a Calvert County Commissioner from 2002 – 2010 and as its President from 2006 to 2010. He has served on the Calvert County Board of Education, the President of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE), the Maryland State Board of Education for 5 years where he also served as its President in 1989-1990. He served on the College of Southern Maryland Board of Trustees; is a graduate of the University of Maryland – Academy for Excellence in Local Government as well as the County Leadership Institute at New York University Roger F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service; Leadership Maryland Class of 1999 and Lead- ership Southern Maryland Class of 2009. He is the only person in the State of Maryland who has served as President of the Maryland Association of Board of Education (MABE), where he received the Charles E. Willis Leadership Award (2007), the President of the Maryland State Board of Education (MSBE) and President of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), where he received the Marilyn Praisner Public Service Award in 2010.
Henry Thomas “Tom” Waring
Tom Waring moved to St. Mary’s County at age 10 and attended the Peabody School of Music where he studied the Clarinet. He joined the Navy and served in World War II as a musician, traveling all over the Pacific Theatre. Although Waring was an astute business man, he was also socially conscious. He witnessed firsthand how suppressed African Americans were during World War II. Moved by his own experiences, in the 50’s, almost fifteen years prior to the signing of The Fair Housing Act, Waring was compelled to go against the norm and provide equal opportunity housing regardless of race. He purchased ABC Trailer Park, a segregated mobile home park, desegregated it and renamed it Lord Calvert Trailer Park. Waring’s humanitarian efforts continued with a scholarship established at St. Mary’s College of Maryland for African American students, a scholarship for aspiring teachers to spend a semester abroad in Gambia, and a scholarship for African American children to attend the College of South- ern Maryland’s Kids College. Waring received a Doctorate of Humanities from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and served as a Trustee of the institution for fifteen years. H.Thomas Waring Commons a student dormitory at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, erected in 2007 was named after Tom Waring. In addition to providing scholarships, Tom was among a group from St. Mary’s County led by Ed Cox that established Three Oaks Center, a transitional and emergency shelter for homeless men.