Biography of Glenn Blanchard, 2013 candidate for Commissioner

 I was born on June 10, 1966 in Olney Maryland at Montgomery Hospital.  I was raised in Howard County until I was 13 years old.  In the spring of 1980, my father accepted a job with a defense company in Southern California.  I moved with my family and attended Corona High school in Corona Ca.  Upon graduation from high school, I enrolled at Chaffey Community College in Alta Loma CA.  I attended for two years and received an A.A. degree in general education.  I joined the United States Navy Reserve in 1986 and went through basic training and Hospital Corpsman School in San Diego.  In 1987, I transferred to the University of Maryland in College Park.   While I was at the University of Maryland, I worked as an intern for U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski.   It was here that I really gained an understanding of working with citizens and how rewarding that job could be.

            Upon graduation, I attained a job with the Prudential Insurance Company.  I worked as a liaison between the insurance company and Montgomery County Schools and Government.  Around this time I married Margaret Vinck and moved to Emmitsburg MD  In 1993, I decided to go back to college and get a degree in education.  In 1997, I graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. degree in secondary education with an emphasis on social studies education.   Upon graduation, I attained employment with Baltimore City Schools at Lake Clifton-Eastern High School.  I worked for Baltimore City Schools, until 2000 when I transferred to the Frederick County Public School system.  I worked at Catoctin High School for four years until transferring to Tuscarora High School in Frederick Md. 

During my time as a teacher I have been fortunate to have participated in a number of rewarding activities.  In the summer of 1999, I traveled with ten students to Emory University outside of Atlanta GA.  It was here that I was trained in the art of debate and forensics.  Upon return to Baltimore, I was part of a program known as the Baltimore Urban Debate League.  Schools competed with each other on a monthly basis with the site of each debate rotating to different schools.  In the fall of 1999, I was fortunate to be selected to help chaperone a group of students from my school on the outward-bound experience. We canoed down the Potomac River, camping out along the way.  The experience challenged me both physically along with mentally.

  Upon my transfer to Frederick County, I was able to also participate in a number of rewarding activities.  Among these was the Maryland Model Youth Legislature.  In this program Students are sent to Annapolis each year to learn how bills are turned into laws.  This program was administered through the YMCA with individual schools providing the participants.  Catoctin High had participated for many years before I began my tenure with the program.  My job was to help provide scholarship money for the students since the program cost each student $200.00.  This was done by contacting local non-profits and asking for donations.  I became quite adept at this and one year raised over two thousand dollars in scholarship funds.

Other activities at Catoctin included my involment in the leadership team for the school, along with being the Education multicultural contact.  I also helped students each year apply for and succeed at the Maryland Page Program.  This program consisted of having students work for the General Assembly or State Senate for two weeks in the spring.  To become selected, the students had to compete with other students from the county.  I worked with the students in their development of their speech and their presentation skills.  When 9-11 happened, everybody at Catoctin High School wanted to do something to help.  After going to a Red Cross meeting that week, I helped organize a fund drive at the school.  Over a period of a month, we were able to raise almost a thousand dollars.  The importance of being involved in community action is of the highest importance to me.  Other activities at the high school level that I was proud of consisted of my involvement in the US club and SGA.  The US club (undivided society) was a club that focused on the idea of breaking down barriers between different groups and individuals. During my four years at Catoctin, the US club traveled to New York City each spring.  New York City is the largest outdoor classroom in the world.  Students from Emmitsburg and Thurmont were able to interact with people from very different backgrounds.  China Town and the lower east side opened up the minds of the students who went on the trip.  In the spring of 2004, the SGA representative at Catoctin transferred to a new school.  Understanding the importance of the Student Government Association drove me to make the decision to take the role of advisor for the SGA.  I worked with the other students to help organize the spring election and helped plan the schedule of activities for the upcoming year.

Since transferring to Tuscarora High School at the end of 2004, I have gotten more involved with the Frederick County Teachers Association.  I have been the FCTA building representative since coming to Tuscarora.  In the recent elections, I was selected to represent the school at the MSTA conference in Ocean City in October of 2005.   In the elections of 2004, I worked for Frederick County as a chief election judge.  I have a firm respect for Democracy and believe in security of this institution.  During my time at Catoctin, I became a father.  My daughter Grace was born on May 5^th 2002.  Becoming a father has changed my life.  I feel that I have become more focused and more driven. The birth of my daughter has inspired me to become more involved in my community.  In the last couple of years, I have joined the Sons of the American Legion, and the Knights of Columbus.  I have been a parishioner of St.Josephs parish for 22 years.  Becoming a father has made me think more about what I want to accomplish and how I want to be remembered.  In 2005, I ran for office as a Town Commissioner of Emmitsburg and won.  I ran for reelection in 2007, and 2010.  Altogether, I served the Town of Emmitsburg for seven and half years.  In February of 2013, I stepped down as a commissioner due to health concerns that needed to be addressed very quickly.  Working with my doctor and a dietician, I now have my blood pressure under control and am working on reducing my weight.  I enjoyed serving as a commissioner and hope to bring my experience back to the board.