Billy Clampitt Jr. began attending Arbutus Community Association meetings at the Arbutus Town Hall on Stevens Avenue with his late father, William Clampitt Sr., when he was just a toddler.
Now 62, Clampitt, will lead the organization with his youngest son Gary Clampitt, 25.
The elder Clampitt, who works as a machinist, was sworn in as president of the association and his son was named vice president on Jan. 24.
The two took an oath Saturday night at the hall, along with a new board of directors and other officers, before a group of more than 100 who ate crab cakes and celebrated their induction.
"This place and this association means a lot to me, and it means a lot to be president," Billy Clampitt Jr. said to the crowd. "I want your help. I want your ideas and your input."
The Arbutus resident replaces outgoing president Mark Sadowski.
"I just loved being president of this organization," said Sadowski, 47, an Arbutus resident who served in the role for two years. "We get a lot done for the community."
The group prides itself on being a voice for the community, often giving advice to business owners or fixing problems with infrastructure in Arbutus, Gary Clampitt said.
"We want the community to know that we are here for them if they need us in any way," Gary Clampitt said. "Whatever we can do to help, we will, with a smile on our face."
The organization, which meets each Wednesday at the hall, was founded in 1928 and currently has 120 members, Billy Clampitt Jr. said.
"We are supposedly the oldest regularly meeting community association in the country," he said, adding that the organization received a plaque from former President Bill Clinton designating the group as such.
The group usually meet 52 weeks each year, Billy Clampitt Jr. said.
The Clampitts agreed that the community group is like a second family.
"It's always been a place where you can bring your children and if my father turned his back, there would be like 20 people watching me — it's always been that way," Clampitt said, amid the din of voices chatting and laughing in the background. "It's been our home away from home for a lot of years."
Gary Clampitt, a cashier for a Michael's Arts and Crafts store in Ellicott City, said he joined the organization when he turned 21, the minimum age for membership.
But the graduate of Catonsville High School has been coming to the hall with his father for as long as he can remember.
"Everybody here is like family," Gary Clampitt said.
"It's a great group of people and it really is the core of Arbutus," said 1st District Councilman Tom Quirk, who sat at a table with his legislative aide, Pete Kriscumas, and District 12 state Sen. Ed Kasemeyer. "They do a lot for the community and they're really a decent group of people."
As far as Billy Clampitt Jr.'s plans go, he plans to improve the hall to ensure it is attractive to those looking to rent it for parties, he said.
"I have a lot of new young members and I want to put them to work," Billy Clampitt Jr. said, adding that the age of members ranges from 21 to 90.
Gary Clampitt, who grew up in Arbutus like his father, expressed the desire to see the southwest Baltimore County town thrive.
"I want it to be the same way it was when I was a kid — a great place for families to raise their children and a safe place," Gary Clampitt said. "I want it to continue to remain that way."
Communication is the key to the continual improvement of the area, Gary Clampitt said.
"If we can communicate as a town and as an area, we can do anything to make improvements," Gary Clampitt said.