Life is like photography: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take

American photographer Aaron Siskin once said, “photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever…It remembers the little things long after you have forgotten everything.” Like Siskin, many other photographers seem to agree on the basic principle that photography has much more to offer than what lays on the surface. It’s is more than just taking a picture, merely capturing an image. Rather, some see it as a form of art used as a tool to express emotion, capture moments in time or tell a story. Others use the craft for business opportunities and economic means of support.  

“Photography has just been something I was always interested in” says professional photographer Jaye Byrd, creator of Bird’s Eye’ photography. “It tells a story. You can go back months later, even years later and actually feel what happened in that moment. I like to do a lot of candid pictures. I can look at a something and automatically see a picture out of it whether its people laughing, having a good time or kids arguing. Whatever it is, I like the thrill of capturing emotion.”  

Her business, Birds Eye Photography, was started seven years ago. Initially, Jaye was interested in videography, but she quickly discovered her true calling for photography on accident at a gathering for a family friend. “I went out and bought all this nice equipment. I started out taking pictures of my kids, but I really wanted to be a videographer.”  

The first gig she had was for a family friend doing videography, but the original photographer canceled last minute. Despite their absence, Jaye rose to the occasion and took on the challenge. Remembering her first professional photography experience, Jaye exclaims “I just jumped right in and I loved it!” From that moment on, she chose to stick with photography and hasn’t looked back since. Of course Jaye isn’t the only one who uses photography for business opportunities.

James Copeland, Photographer

James Copeland, a Bowie Maryland native and founder of J-see Photography, runs a business as well and shares similar reasons for pursuing photography. Capturing moments in time is rewarding for him, and he “uses the camera to study the craft.” He began taking photography seriously in the summer of 2015. “I chose photography because once you take a picture of someone, they’re immortalized forever” he said. Although these are James’ first few years as a professional, he is quickly learning more about himself and the craft.

“The longer I’ve been doing this I’ve noticed that every time I have a photoshoot, I can look back and see how much I’ve grown from the previous one. It gives me this power because I can look at my past and see how far my work has come. At the same time, I can use this craft to plan for my future” James says. Although he is uncertain where his future may take him, he knows art will be a part of it.

 Today, James is using his passion for photography as an economic opportunity. As a student at Bowie State University, he does photoshoots for other students and for different events to earn money on the side while building his portfolio. Beyond simply earning a paycheck, he decided to make it his purpose to capture the culture of his campus. Part of this initiative means “trying to ingrain myself with the resources on campus.” 

Gems of BSU, is an independent blog that highlights the perspectives of Bowie’s State through the lens of a diverse group of people. “I decided to start my own photography business [J-see photography] and it’s been an incredible journey but at the same time it’s been scary. I had a job, but I decided to walk away from my job to succeed as an entrepreneur and as a photographer.” Deciding to risk it all, he began perfecting his skillset behind the camera and turned it into a marketable business. “People don’t understand how transformative it is to walk away from your job to pursue a craft that’s not promised. There’s going to be times when you need to reach out to people for money because you’re not going to always have it.”

 But if there’s one thing James has taken away from the process, it’s the value of a dollar. 

“Once you do start getting money and become consistent at it through the work, the high moments are incredible. And again, you get to look back on those moments from clients who were really happy with their photos. Stuff like that makes you want to keep going.” By in large, photography has been tied to a big chunk of James’ life, impacting his development as a person and supporting his economic needs. Be that as it may, James is not the only one who was influenced by photography within a campus environment. 

Robert Hein, who teaches here at Frostburg State University was exposed to the art of photography while studying painting in the mid 90’s at the University of Cincinnati. For the past ten years, he has been teaching photography and hosting exhibits that feature the artwork of other faculty and artists in the area. For Hein, it was a “buildup of things” that led him to his passion for photography and profession teaching it. 

When he was in college, DSLR cameras were not prominent so film had to be developed and processed the old-fashion way with light and chemistry. “That’s where I got the bug for being in the dark room,” he recollects, “I just like the process of film. It’s a very traditional space to be in.” Working with film back then had just as much of an impact on Hein as it does today. His niche for developing film has carried over to the classroom where he assigns students projects throughout the semester that require them to be immersed in the film process. In the end, they have printouts of the pictures they took using film cameras. 

One student, Tierra Brown, who recently graduated from Frostburg in 2016, continues to use the photography skills she gained as an undergrad for branding and media purposes. “I got into photography the first time I saw a polaroid camera when I was in the first grade. I was so fascinated with it,” she says. Her passion for photography grew once she found photo albums her family kept. “I would spend hours looking at them and imagining the stories behind each picture.” During her four years at Frostburg, she built her audience from the ground up using photography, videography, and blogs. She has worked with other talented students on campus, many of whom were tapped into different facets of pop culture. More importantly, this symbiotic relationship has helped her business expand and propelled her career as a media specialist. 

Lil Uzi performs at Frostburg 2016, captured by Tierra Brown

Even though she enjoys taking pictures of women the most, one of her most memorable moments behind the camera happened when Lil Uzi came to perform at Frostburg. “That was history. I got some great footage and pictures,” she says. Overall, “Shooting different events and people helped to increase my clientele, progress my career in photography, and it gave me the confidence to venture into other avenues and start Pxfitness.” 

Like most entrepreneurs in today’s day in age, Brown’s ambitious drive is complemented by her biggest marketing tool, social media. Her Instagram and twitter pages (@Tbrownmedia) showcase all of her media components. Her photography set the foundation of her brand and has helped mold her into the woman she is today. “T. Brown is its own entity that keeps growing every day. I started with the photography but now here I am with a fitness brand as well.” Her website originally started out as a place to purchase merchandise for her project, The Pineapple Express, . (All of the merchandise was designed by T.Brown herself. caption) an artist showcase featuring various musicians from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. This event paved the way for underground artist from different areas to come together as music lovers. Since last year, the Pineapple Express has already hosted six events in Philadelphia, D.C., Atlanta and other venues up and down the east coast.

Nevertheless, Tierra’s reason for using photography as a business module evolved into something bigger once she realized her purpose. “I want to help others who are struggling to lose weight. Along with my photography, videography and artist showcases this site will house merchandise for my fitness brand; Pxfiness wear.” Fortunately, Tierra has been doing photography for so long that it has enabled her to be independent with the marketing for PXfitness wear. “I don’t need to hire anyone to take pictures of my clothing since I can do it,” she says. Her business https://www.pxfitnesswear.com/, has been steadily thriving since its launch three years ago.

This experience is vastly different from Johnathon Gainey, whose still in the beginning stages of his photography. He is striving to further his skills with the art while being a part time student at Prince George’s Community College. Someday, he hopes to use his Nikkon D 32 to travel. “I would love to travel to Rome or Japan,” he says. For now, photography remains a side hobby, but he hopes to get better with it in his spare time.

Though all of these visionaries may be at different stages in their photography careers, the love for the craft connects them all. Whether you’re a novice or a professional, it’s hard to deny the vast opportunities that await in photography.

By JJ Jones

From a Neighborhood to a Neighborhood: An Area to be great

From a Neighborhood to a Neighborhood: An Area to be great

By: Reginald Simon

 

Helene Matthews, who has lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years stated “twenty-five years ago the neighborhood was 90 percent Black, now it is 90 percent white.” Helene Matthews added that “It has always been a community based location with recreation centers, playgrounds, daycare centers, and shopping areas.”  The one big difference in this community between the 70’s and the 90’s is that neighborhoods and houses were replaced with either public housing complexes (which greatly increased the crime rates) or torn down to build the Metro System.  

Capitol Hill is an area in Washington D.C which expands from Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast to as far as Massachusetts Avenue Northeast.  It is a wide spread community with beautiful landmarks such as the U.S Capitol, Marine Barracks, The Old Soldiers Home, Eastern Market and other shopping places that  include delicious foods.  Focusing on a section of Capitol Hill, a section that has changed dramatically over the years.

Walking around Capitol Hill in Southeast, Washington D.C you will find children playing, fathers and mother raking the leaves off of the sidewalk, people walking dogs, cats sometimes walking themselves, and families bringing in groceries home from the neighborhood Safeway.

Finding the biggest difference from the Capitol Hill streets now and how it was about ten to fifteen years ago, I caught up with Sharon White a resident of 14^th Street on Capitol Hill.  Sharon has no children of her own but loves, cares for, and owns dogs as if they were her own children. I asked her, what is the biggest difference she has seen when walking her dogs on Capitol Hill now compared to 10 years ago?

She stated, “more families with children and dogs in the neighborhood, more dog parks and qualified veterinarians in the area.”

It is an area where you see kids playing on playgrounds, daily soccer games and football games on the field of Watkins Elementary School, basketball games taking place on the courts, and beautiful trees lining the sidewalks.  I observed even saw an angered crossing guard yelling to a driver.

“Your ass will be stuck right here with me”

This is area where you see young African American men and women standing on corners conversing, smoking, shooting dice, laughing and having a good time is in the Potomac Garden area. Where it can be witnessed, police officers are on every corner trying to prevent an almost unpreventable crime from taking place or police officers harassing young men because of where they live at or what they have on, or maybe because they just feel like it.

Catching up with Dion Brown, SR. A resident of Capitol Hill for about thirty-five years, who moved from Washington D.C to Mississippi and then to Atlanta.  I asked him what was it like growing up on Capitol Hill and why did he move? 

“We use to sit on the front porch when I was your age, me and my friends and smoke, drink, yell at the girls walking down the street coming from Potomac Avenue Metro Station, and having a good time. You rarely see that anymore around here because the young folks these days are so worried about robbing each other or doing harm to one another. Plus, you have the police around here who at every moment they get try to harass these kids even if they just having fun not doing anything wrong at all. It’s hard between the wanna be gangsters robbing and the police officers harassing to have fun in some areas, like Potomac Gardens.”

Potomac Gardens is one of the areas on Capitol Hill where Mrs. Matthews explained to me that had been a neighborhood of row housing that was torn down to build public housing for the area.

“Potomac Gardens is public housing, the good in Potomac Gardens is that it is low income, so it provides low income families a place to live. The bad is that it attracts an element that preys on a low income resident. You know selling drugs to make money, this is how you get out of the projects, and it breeds crime.” –Mrs. Matthews

Dion Brown Sr. who in 2014 moved back to live in Capitol Hill said that he moved back because,

“Well after losing almost everything in Hurricane Katrina and moving to Atlanta and experiencing that life, I missed my home. I missed all my friends and all my family, I know that might sound weird because I am a grown ass man but it’s the truth,” he said, he added that “I have two children now and I want them to grow and experience the life lessons that living on Capitol Hill offered, and of course employment opportunity was much greater here then there. I now work as a project manager on base at Fort Belvoir, and I started my own business called Lucas Floor Maintenance. We strip floors, wax floors, get up stains, almost anything that has to do with floors we do.”

As Dion Sr. mentioned he has children and I had the chance to speak with Dion’s oldest child Dion Brown Jr. Who is eleven years old. I asked him how he enjoys growing up in the Capitol Hill area of Washington D.C.

“Ummmm…. Its fine I guess. All of my friends are here. I went to elementary school with the same friends I go to middle school with, I kind of like that part. Everything is close to my house, the store, my school. I only have one friend that lives kind of far from me but not that far. Overall I like it.”

Capitol Hill is an area where you can get some of the best food, right there on 8^th Street Southeast. From “Ted’s Bulletin” to the “Banana Café” the food is amazing. You walk down 8^th street and you can smell the mixture of the different restaurants. Popeyes Chicken mixed the smell from the tortillas at Chipotle at the beginning of the street, the carry-outs French fries and the grease from their chicken mixed with the smell of pizza from Pizza Bolis at the end of the first block. The smell and smoke of cigarettes and bad marijuana fills the entire street. Homeless men and women standing in front of the 7/11 convenient store talking, smoking and drinking, as I walked pass you can hear one saying to a group of people in front of me,

“You all have any cigarettes I can have.”

I also saw a homeless man laying on the ground wrapped up in a U.S flag.

Across the street you have a fire station, Subway, along with other businesses. As you exit off of the first block and cross to the next you see a noticeable difference. A majority African Americans are on the first part of 8^th street, as you head toward the second block you start to see majority of whites. Ted’s Bulletin an old fashion dinner set-up with a bar, as I walked in I quickly noticed the place was packed from the front door to the back entrance to the dining hall. You hear chatter everywhere, you can barely hear what anyone is saying unless you are directly next to them, ear to mouth. You hear babies crying, parents attempting to hush the children, waiters and waitresses greeting people. Since I did decide to eat there I put my name on the waiting list and walked outside, the air smelled so much different. The cigarette and bad weed smell was gone, and you could smell nothing but good ole Ted’s Bulletin food.

Observing the diner, it was set up with a projector in the dining area, the first movie played was the “Three Stooges” which had to be the very first one made because it was in black and white and the quality wasn’t so good. The second movie was “The Wizard of Oz,” an old school classic. The food was delicious which was obvious due to the crowd inside and outside the restaurant. Continuing to walk down the street you saw Marine Barracks on your left hand side with Marines posted inside and outside of the gated area.

An area where people move away once they get older and some stay for the duration of their entire lives. Catching up with Ms. Mary Carter an 89-year-old women who has lived in the same house on Capitol Hill for her entire life, asking her throughout her entire life what are some differences you see in Capitol Hill?

“The street cars are gone, that is now replaced by metro, a lot of two way streets that are now one way, a lot more diversity in the area, age, race, everything. Even on this block where I have been my entire life there are only a handful of people who have been here for over 10 years. Everything is new, new, new. Young couples and new families, and the crime rate up because there are more break in’s, in cars in housing then we have ever had.”

Granted the opportunity to speak with a women named Michelle Brown who left the area, asking her why did she leave a place where she grew up at? A place with so many memories. A historic place.

“I left because I wanted to start something on my own.”

 

 

 

Eastern Market

 Potomac Gardens Public Housing

 

https://washington.org/visit-dc/things-see-and-do-capitol-hill

https://www.wmata.com/rider-guide/stations/potomac-ave.cfm

https://travel.usnews.com/Washington_DC/

 

 

 

 

 

Journalism 'absolutely essential to a functioning democracy'

By Kevin Spradlin
ENGL 336

* Profile: The Herald-Mail in Hagerstown (with video)
* Profile: The Garrett County Republican in Oakland (with video)
* Profile: The Hancock News in Washington County
* Report: Smaller newspapers doing just fine
* Digital media struggles
* Clark: Support newspapers as long as they exist

The landscape of local journalism has undergone a radical transformation over the past decade. Market forces have helped to compel the changes in staff and strength of public presence. In short, consumers of news have far less information than they used to have.

Photo by Kevin Spradlin
The local media landscape has changed drastically in recent
years. There is a better-than-fair chance that more changes
are coming in the future for local journalists.  

In the past 10 years, the Cumberland Times-News, a subsidiary of Alabama-based CNHI LLC, has shuttered its Garrett County and Frostburg offices, reduced its daily footprint in coverage to in and immediately around the city of Cumberland, and cut newsroom hours through layoffs and furloughs. No one from the Times-News responded to a request to be interviewed for this story.

Four months ago, the Sincell family finalized the sale of The Garrett County Republican to NCWV Media, based in Clarksburg, W.Va. The newspaper had been in the Sincell family since 1890. Since the sale, the paper has cut staff and closed its satellite office in Grantsville. The editor, Mary Sincell McEwen, has submitted her resignation after only five months in the position. She's been in the family business since 1991.

And just in the past week, Herald-Mail Media, owned by Indiana-based Schurz Communications, notified all four members of its photography department that they were no longer needed. "We didn't see this coming," wrote one of the two full-time photographers who were let go. We were "totally blindsided by the decision."

But such drastic changes aren't new, and anyone still practicing the craft of journalism should know better than to think their position is safe. A key goal of a private Facebook forum called What's Your Plan B? — which has more than 11,000 members, mostly former or current journalists — is to motivate those still in journalism to update their resumes for the day when the bad news reaches their desk.

Journalism, though, is as important as it ever was. In fact, some suggest that it's more important than ever, given the visible results available to those paying attention, those who realize that fewer quality journalists, and fewer outlets, can lead to more corruption of taxpayer dollars. This series aims to get the opinions of reporters and editors still working in journalism. Their work is completed in a variety of situations — weekly and daily, family-owned or corporate, in print only or both in print and online — with circulations ranging from a weekly average of 1,600 to a daily average of more than 23,000.

Matt DeRienzo is executive director of LION Publishers, a nonprofit formed to support entrepreneurial journalistic efforts. The group has been especially useful in guiding former legacy journalists to a digital platform in the same markets they've covered for years, but from which they have been terminated.

"Just take government, but you can apply this to all powerful institutions," DeRienzo said. "If the people don't have information and there isn't accountability over what is being done, it tends to lead to bad government, tends to lead to people's money being taken from them, tends to lead to people's lives being trampled on. As I think we're seeing in the past year or so, on the national level, what we've always seen on the local level ... that fourth estate ... is absolutely essential to a functioning democracy and human rights."

DeRienzo and LION suggest to journalists who aren't yet business women and men that jumpstarting a new media company is easier, with far less overhead, if you go digital. And there's a growing network across the country, as there are more than 200 LION members operating digital news sites.

For two years, the Worcester Sun has been providing regular digital updates to area consumers of news. The company recently announced it's going old-school. That's right, the Sun is adding a print edition starting next month. The Sun is not alone. The Oskaloosa News in Iowa began as an online-only news outlet and it, too, is adding a print edition, DeRienzo said.

Trust is a major factor in helping readers to determine what is or is not fake news. DeRienzo pointed to a recent study that showed print newspapers have been better at withstanding the onslaught of accusations of fake news than online-only outlets.

"I think, increasingly ... people are leaving print," DeRienzo said. "So I think that people trust journalism that is transparent and accountable and gets result, and is relevant ... to them and their community. They're agnostic, increasingly, about format."

DeRienzo said the success of local independent online news (LION) outlets, whether or not there is a print component, rests largely on the fact that they are locally owned and operated. It's a far different position than what's happening nationwide.

"Increasingly, newspapers are owned by a handful of properties," DeRienzo said, rattling of well-known names like GateHouse, Tronc and McClatchy. But some of those companies are "owned by hedge funds that aren't, have never been in the media business, journalism business in the past, and show no signs that they care about it. I don't think the business plans include those papers existing five years from now."

For all of the drawbacks and difficulties, the surge of online news outlets have a couple of things going for them. First, they are locally owned. Second, they are operated — both on the business and editorial sides — by people with a vested interest in their success.

Regardless, every newsroom is being asked to do more with fewer resources. Linda Gindlesperger, publisher of The New Republic in Meyersdale, Pa., declined to be a part of this story after a series of unfortunate incidents impacted the availability of staff.

"Unfortunately, we won't be a participant as we are a small staff and in the past two weeks have had our staff reduced to three due to health issues," Gindlesperger wrote. "Our editor had knee replacement a few days ago and will be out of the office for a minimum of six weeks. Then, our editorial assistant fell and broke her ankle, had surgery on it and will be off six weeks, then more surgery will be necessary. Another staff member is having major surgery next week and will be out indefinitely. We really can't take on anything additional at this time."

Of course, The New Republic has not missed a publication date despite the setbacks.

How Joy Malinowski Brought Two Unique Lodging Options to West Virginia

Joy Malinowski

The year was 2009. It was an August day, and Joy Malinowski found herself in Thomas, West Virginia, celebrating her 50^th birthday and looking for real estate. Although her best friend, Lisa, had wanted to take her to other towns, they decided to visit their mutual friend in the Thomas area and found themselves checking out the local music scene. As they were sitting on the outdoor patio of the Purple Fiddle, the town’s music venue, Joy looked at the building next door and saw a “For Sale” sign posted. Joy found herself immediately drawn to this building, but decided it was best to see everything that Thomas, and nearby Davis, West Virginia, offered. When she spoke with the realtor, the realtor said, “I’ll show you everything, but you’re going to end up buying the Cooper house.”

After viewing most of the listed properties, they arrived at the building Joy already had in mind, which turned out to be the Cooper house – a six-bedroom home that was built by Dr. Cooper at the turn of the 20^th century, and had been in the Cooper family for generations. As soon as Joy walked in, she was immediately drawn to it. “For a brief, fantastical moment, I had the fantasy that I could have a vacation home,” she said as she recalled that weekend. At that time, she says she was in semi-retirement mode, and ready to settle down somewhere. She decided that a “little inn” would be just the semi-retirement business to open, and within a week or two, she was driving from her home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, back to Thomas to sign the paperwork to purchase the home. Three years and several renovations later, her business was ready.

The Cooper House

Before The Cooper House was furnished, Lisa says they would stay there and throw their sleeping bags on the floor, right on top of the plush carpeting. Now, Lisa says her favorite room is Canary, Crimson, and Coal – a room located on the same side as the Purple Fiddle, “so when the weather’s nice, you can open the window and hear the music.” Joy says that this room was named in honor of coal miners – canary and coal as a nod to their work, and crimson as a nod to the coal wars. Joy’s good friend Maggie helped name one of the other rooms when she saw the 1970’s French provincial tufted bed and commented that it looked like a duchess in reduced circumstances; The Duchess in Reduced Circumstances just stuck. Another room, Clare Q., is a reference to the detective in the novel Lolita, and Joy says she designed this bedroom after that character as well. The final room is E’s Portmanteau, with the “E” standing for Elizabeth – Joy’s mother.

Though there were several names thrown around for Joy’s business, the name that stuck was the name everyone already knew it as – The Cooper House. The house certainly has its own unique vibe, which seems to blend in with the artsy, hipster vibe of the whole town of Thomas. Joy says she wants to draw “a profile of visitor that is buying art, spending money in the town, and is a steward of the outdoors,” and the feeling of the whole town matches that profile perfectly. If she had to describe the typical guest at Cooper House, she feels that they would say, “we’re in our 40s and we left the kids with mom and dad, or grandma and grandpa, and we have the weekend to ourselves.” The Cooper House’s location in the heart of Thomas certainly encourages guests to explore the town and check out the art and music scene.

Interior of the Purple Fiddle during a show by The Steel Wheels

Since her guests are typically interested in checking out music, they are able to take advantage of the building’s close proximity to the Purple Fiddle. Melissa Berube, a guest visiting from nearby Morgantown, West Virginia, had always wanted to check out the Purple Fiddle, and when she found The Cooper House, she knew she had to stay. Her favorite part about staying with Joy at The Cooper House was “how laid back Joy and the environment was,” as well as Joy’s “passion for keeping the community businesses local.” On the Cooper House website, it’s noted that although The Cooper House doesn’t serve breakfast, guests are encouraged to enjoy breakfast at one of the other local eateries (The Flying Pigs Café or TipTop Coffee) in the town.

Another guest, Naila Bhatri, was first visiting from Washington, D.C. for the 4^th of July weekend in 2015, and has been back to stay with Joy several times since. She says that what keeps her coming back is that Joy “just made us feel so welcome and at home, and subsequent visits felt like we were visiting a friend. Often, we just sit around in the living room, talking to other guests and neighbors that come by.” Naila also fondly looks back on that first weekend visit: “One of my favorite memories from our first visit is watching the 4^th of July fireworks. Joy had made a huge pot of gumbo – she often cooks for her guests and she is an amazing chef! We ate a bowl of soup, took the blankets she had out for us and a drink to her backyard, which slopes up. We lay out there, in prime fireworks viewing area and watched as the fireworks erupted from across the river. It was intimate and everyone around was friendly and in great spirits. Thomas does 4^th of July well, and being at Joy’s made it even more special.”

It’s very clear that many of the guests see spending time with Joy as part of the experience of staying at The Cooper House. Former guest Melissa says “she is a very interesting person and definitely makes the place special.” Brian Sarfino, Marketing Manager of the Tucker County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, says that “Joy brings enthusiasm, drive, and community involvement to the area.” Joy’s best friend Lisa says that she’s “clever, creative, funny – she’s just so smart. She just has these visions – and she just does it.” She also says that watching Joy tend bar is “almost like poetry.” Lisa also calls Joy the “unofficial mayor” of the town, because “Joy made it her business to know what’s going on with everyone almost from day one.” This is reflected in Joy’s knowledge of the area and ability to give recommendations, as she did with Melissa Berube. Joy says that one of the most important things she teaches her staff is that they will never answer a question with, “I don’t know,” unless they’re following the statement with, “… but let me find out for you.”

The Billy Motel

Many of her staff don’t actually work at The Cooper House, but instead at Joy’s second business, The Billy Motel. The Billy, named after the road it’s located on (William Ave.) in nearby Davis, West Virginia, is a mid-century building with kitschy, mid-century theming. Joy said the building was on the market forever, and that it “just sat here like an eyesore – the poor little thing.” She says that one day she was driving by, and the realtor just happened to be in the parking lot. Joy thought, “I’ll just go and look,” and after viewing it several times and finding a local investor in the business, she decided to purchase it.

The Billy opened in July of 2016, and includes a small lounge and bar area attached to the motel. In comparison to The Cooper House, Joy says her guests here are generally the “younger crowd that doesn’t have kids,” but that also “aren’t looking to be catered to. They’re just looking to be outside, and not looking for a spa situation.” Joy says The Billy really caters to this younger vibe – the cross-county skiers, those people coming to hike, coming to see Dolly Sods (a nearby wilderness area), who are coming to see music and buy artwork, and who enjoy craft beers and specialty cocktails; she calls these guests “experiencers”. “That’s who we’re going after because that’s who I like to hang out with,” Joy says. “I’ve really stopped wanting to please all of the people all of the time, and I really do want to surround myself with nice folks who are nice to others.”

The bar at The Billy, bustling with visitors

One of Joy’s recent guests at The Billy, Brooke Mishler, came from Somerset, Pennsylvania, with her brothers on their annual siblings trip. Brooke says they stayed at The Billy because they were already familiar with Joy from The Cooper House, and that the website gave the motel a funky vibe. Although Brooke says she enjoyed the down comforter and pillows as well as the homemade soaps in the rooms, she says her favorite memory actually involved the bar/lounge. “My favorite memory was having a signature drink that one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Leonard Cohen, drank. The bartender was really talented in drink mixing!” The drink in question is Leonard Cohen’s Red Needle, made with tequila and cranberry juice, garnished with a lemon, and served over ice – a special cocktail around the time of Mr. Cohen’s passing. But the lounge doesn’t only attract visitors from out of town; sometimes Joy gets visitors from Canaan Valley, which is approximately six miles away, or the local towns of Thomas and Davis. Joy says sometimes the locals come to bar at The Billy on dates, before or after their dinner or music experience, and that she enjoys socializing with people that she otherwise may never meet.

Of course, neither of these businesses would exist without the expertise of Joy. A West Virginia native, she spent a good portion of her life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before deciding to relocate to Tucker County. Although she’s currently a dual-business owner, Joy actually obtained a Fine Arts degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts – surprisingly unrelated to business or entrepreneurship. Although she says she never wanted to own her own hospitality situation, she says that her enjoyment of the hospitality business makes everything come very easy to her. She says she works 24/7 – “but not in a martyr-y way” – and that her biggest challenge in her businesses is finding employees. She says it’s not a lack of quality, but a lack of quantity that brings this challenge – which also causes her to be creative when looking at the future.

In the coming years, Joy wants to concentrate on “innovative food,” but knows that she must also be creative in the execution because of the lack of staffing. She hopes to travel to other cities, such as Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, to research some business models of other innovative restaurants. She hopes to do something completely different from what’s currently happening with Tucker County’s food situation, but wants to complement, rather than compete. As her best friend Lisa says: “Joy has really come into her own. She’s in control of all of these things. She’s fully integrated into that community; she’s so big a part of it and she has a great vision, even for the future.” Whatever she decides to do, it’s clear that Joy is invested into the success of the community, and will only continue to help it grow and flourish.

 

RE: FSU Appalachian Festival Symposium: Roundtable Sustaining community and community wealth building

September 15, 2017

On Friday, September 14, 2017, there was a roundtable discussion held in the upper quad area at noon.  The plethora of topics discussed included: anchor institutions, adventure capitalism and geo-tourism, local foods initiatives, coops and benefit corporations, Maryland State entrepreneurial opportunities, etc.  Participants included FSU students and faculty, Allegany College of Maryland faculty, Garrett College faculty, local Frostburg residents, and visitors from other Maryland counties. The format of the roundtable discussion had participants split into five groups that were focused on one of the topics that was stated above.  Each group was assigned a note taker that was tasked with writing down key discussion points and presenting the discussion to the crowd as a whole.  The groups were allotted thirty minutes to discuss their topics. 

The group I participated in discussed the topic of anchor institutions, adventure capitalism and geo-tourism. My group consisted of two FSU students, one FSU faculty member, two retired FSU professors, one Frostburg local, a speaker from Washington, D.C., an ACM professor, as well as a professor from GC.  Throughout our discussion, my group discussed many assets that the city of Frostburg has, and also many needed assets that the Frostburg community needs. The discussion began when FSU professor Kathleen Powell introduced the topic of local business commitment that the city of Frostburg needs to improve.  She stated that her husband owns Main Street Books, which is located at 2 E Main St, and that FSU used to use his business to buy books for the campus.  Recently, FSU has begun to utilize a new payment option that allows the school to pay for books electronically, which has inevitably caused FSU to discontinue their business with Kathy’s husband and start using Amazon instead.  This problem illustrated that there truly needs to be something done that can help with the continuation of business done with local businesses by Frostburg residents and the surrounding communities.

There were many other pressing topics that other groups discussed; one group went as far as coming up with a step-by-step action plan that should be implemented to assist with the deer problem that Western Maryland has.  It was truly inspiring to see people from different communities come together to discuss the great future that Frostburg should attain.