New Oakland Nonprofit Hopes to Expand Garrett County

Mark Stutzman (Left), along with Eric Robinson (Right), pitch their development plan at the FSU Appalachian Festival 2017.

When people think of Garrett County, Maryland, what do they think? They think of vacationing at Deep Creek Lake, farms in the middle of nowhere, or going skiing at Wisp. What they do not think about is how the job market is like.

In reality, Garrett County’s population is stagnating. Tourism from Deep Creak Lake makes up most of the county’s revenue. In short, Garrett County might not be a great place to live full time unless you own a farm.

Engage Mountain Maryland (EMM), a nonprofit organization based in Oakland, Maryland dedicated to community outreach, wants to change that. Mark Stutzman, President of EMM, created Adventure Capital (AdCap), to promote job opportunities in rural Maryland. “We want to dispel the notion that everybody [in Garrett County] wears straw hats.”, Stutzman said referring to how the county is seen to many.

What Adventure Capital wants to do is bring up and coming business fields such as telecommunication and Cybersecurity that are usually in metropolitan areas like Washington D.C and bring them to rural areas. Doing this would not only increase a stagnating population, it would also promote job training programs at local colleges.

Stutzman says there are three main advantages to working in Garrett County:

• ·       At least six hours from the largest population centers (D.C., NYC, etc.)
• ·       Most of the locals are native English Speakers
• ·       Garrett County is on Eastern Time, like most business
•      Lower taxes, making living more affordable

Mark Stutzman explained that the problem with urban businesses is that they struggle to stand out. EMM’s solution? A “Culture Flock”. Bring talent that would get lost in the city and bring them to “more breathable” environments. The average employment lifespan is about 18 months but if employees are where they want to be, they will be more happier and connect more with nature.

AdCap is a brand new job development program with not a lot of exposure yet. Within the next year, EMM wants to host a conference called “X$pend” to promote their jobs plans to colleges, businesses, etc.

In Engage Mountain Maryland created Adventure Capital to do the following:

• ·       Increase full time resident population
• ·       Retain that population with 21^st century career opportunities within the same area
• ·       Attract families to primary schools

In summary, EMM wants Garrett County to be more than just a place to go on vacation, they want it to be a place where young people start their careers.