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News Release

January 2, 2006

ATHENA AWARD FOR GREATER OLNEY – SANDY SPRING TO HONOR BGF FOUNDER AND LOCAL WOMEN LEADERS

The Olney Chamber of Commerce and Brooke Grove Foundation (BGF) are pleased to announce the first ATHENA Award for the

BGF Founder Eleanor Howe Marston cares for a resident in this photo taken in 1960

BGF Founder Eleanor Howe Marston cares for a resident in this photo taken in 1960.

Greater Olney – Sandy Spring community, which will be presented in memory of BGF Founder Eleanor Howe Marston, RN. The award program will recognize and honor women like the late Mrs. Marston who have demonstrated a “dedication of self and a generosity of spirit” through professional and personal leadership and community service.

ATHENA is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and honoring women leaders, inspiring women to achieve their full potential and creating balance in leadership worldwide. Created in 1982, the ATHENA Award® Program now encompasses 300 award programs, and more than 5,000 awards have been presented to ATHENA recipients in the United States and around the world.

The inaugural ATHENA Award for Greater Olney – Sandy Spring will be presented at an April 6, 2006, luncheon to be held at Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on the Brooke Grove Retirement Village (BGRV) campus. Nominations for the award will be accepted through March 1, 2006. A selection committee with representatives from BGRV, the Olney Chamber, the Women’s Board of Montgomery General Hospital, the Sandy Spring Museum and the Greater Olney Civic Association will review the nominations and select the recipient.

Through the ATHENA Award, the selection committee and the organizations they represent look forward to honoring women and men in the Greater Olney – Sandy Spring who demonstrate excellence in their profession, devote time and energy to their community in a meaningful way, and generously assist women in attaining their full leadership potential.

According to Pamela Spears, president of the Olney Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the ATHENA Award Selection Committee, the decision to honor the memory of BGF Founder Eleanor Howe Marston with this award is a fitting one. “Mrs. Marston is a shining example of the visionary women who have made our community what it is today,” she commented.

Gifted with inner strength, compassion, faith and professional nursing skills, Mrs. Marston made a decision at age 50 to open her Sandy Spring farmhouse to care for the elderly. The dream that began in 1950 with the care of two residents in that humble farmhouse grew to become Brooke Grove Foundation, which now includes the continuing care retirement community of Brooke Grove Retirement Village in Sandy Spring, Maryland; Williamsport Retirement Village in Williamsport, Maryland; and Rest Assured Residential Living in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania.

The ATHENA Award is represented by an original bronze and marble sculpture inspired by the goddess of Greek mythology known for her strength, courage, wisdom and enlightenment - qualities embodied in the ATHENA Leadership Model.

Award criteria and nominations forms are available on the Olney Chamber and BGRV Web sites, www.olneymd.org and www.bgf.org. Further information and nomination forms may also be requested by contacting Olney Chamber Executive Director Virginia Mauk at 301-924-3555 or olneycoc@aol.com or BGF Corporate Director of Marketing Susan Frazier at 301-924-2811, option 3, or SFrazier@bgf.org.