Thank you, Montgomery County, for the great turnout for AHCMC’s annual Advocacy Potluck. This year, over 50 arts and humanities advocates prepared and shared a meal with six of the nine County Councilmembers, including Council President Berliner, Craig Rice, Nancy Floreen, Marc Elrich, Phil Andrews, and Hans Reimer. Councilmembers Leventhal and Navarro sent regrets that they could not attend this year.
I’ve been at AHCMC nearly seven years now and I’m still impressed with the upbeat advocacy platform of this event. Volunteers flood the room with great tasting food. The room rings with laughter and conversation. And Councilmembers always show up (is there a Pavlovian aspect to this?).

Council President Berliner’s welcoming remarks were complimentary to the cultural community. A supporter of the arts and humanities as well as the green movement, Mr. Berliner was the motivation behind AHCMC’s creation of the Non-Profit Energy Alliance, which is currently saving 50 non-profits nearly $400,000 in energy costs. Mr. Berliner reminded everyone that we’re at the beginning of the budget discussion and that the County’s budget could still be affected by the State. But even that reality check didn’t dampen the enthusiasm in the room.
After the Potluck, advocates filed into the 3rd floor Council Hearing Room for testimonies. AHCMC submitted three testimonies this year: two in person and one in writing. Click on the names below to see testimonies by:
Suzan Jenkins, CEO of AHCMC, How the arts and humanities enrich Montgomery County’s community
Bethany Mattocks, Marketing Manager of CVB, How the arts and humanities in Montgomery County spur tourism
Business owner, Gary Skulnik. How the arts and humanities foster creative business