Bel Air has been recognized as one of the top small communities in the nation, according to a survey conducted by Livability.com.
Bel Air was ranked 42nd on the site's list, "Top 100 Best Small Towns" for 2015. Livability.com publishes rankings of the top places to live in the U.S., as well as information about each community in terms of its educational, cultural, medical, economic and transportation offerings.
"For folks who aren't familiar with the area and might be looking to move into this area, they get at least a small glimpse into what we're all about," Bel Air Mayor Robert Reier said.
Bel Air is ranked between Sheridan, Wyo. – number 41 – and Park City, Utah, number 43.
"There's no doubt in my mind that people who do these surveys have finally recognized that Bel Air is a place that we've always known it to be, which is a great place to live and raise your families," Town Commissioner Edward Hopkins said.
The citation that accompanies Bel Air's ranking cites its founding in 1780, its historic buildings – including the Harford County Courthouse downtown – and newer amenities such as community parks, a "thriving arts community" and University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center.
Statistics on Bel Air, such as its median household income of $64,786 and median house price of $243,300 are also available on Livability.com, along with information on the quality of local schools.
Hopkins is a Bel Air native and a former mayor who has spent eight years on the town board. He is also a past fire chief who has spent 42 years with the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company and worked for the Harford County Sheriff's Office for about 30 years.
He is the director of emergency services for Harford County, and he grew up with many of the people who are in leadership roles in Bel Air and Harford County, such as State's Attorney Joseph Cassilly and Director of Administration Billy Boniface.
Hopkins said he has worked to "emulate" the examples set by his parents and other adults he considers mentors.
"This whole study demonstrates that our forefathers, our families, have all created a community where people want to come and live," he said.
Reier, who has been on the town board since late 2006, is a doctor of chiropractic medicine, who established his practice in Bel Air in 1999 and moved to town in 2004.
He grew up in Lutherville in Baltimore County.
"You feel a very special vibe when you get within the boundaries of the town," he said of Bel Air.
Reier said he felt "somewhat embraced" when he came to Bel Air, and that "people are very welcoming."
He called the Livability.com ranking "a pretty significant feather to put in our cap, if you will."
"I think getting that acknowledgment from a national organization, such as Livability.com, validates that we're doing some things right here in town," he said.
James Welch, who is a part-time public relations officer for the town's Department of Economic Development and member of the Rockfield Foundation board, provided a recent letter to The Aegis about the Livability.com ranking, and he wrote about the many amenities in Bel Air.
"You will discover, as many of us have, it is quite easy to fall in love with Bel Air," Welch wrote.
The Rockfield Foundation supports and operates the historic Rockfield Manor in Bel Air, as well as community events that take place on the manor grounds, such as the annual springtime Easter egg hunt.
Welch extolled the businesses and restaurants available in town, the relationships between the town, Bel Air Downtown Alliance, Maryland's Main Street program and community volunteers, along with local schools, health services and community events.
"Just attend our regular patriotic events at Shamrock Park behind Town Hall, or walk up Main Street and experience one of our fine restaurants, taverns, retail stores or boutiques, and you'll know what we know, and now Livability and the rest of the country knows," Welch wrote. "Bel Air, Maryland, is in fact, one of the best places to live in this great country of ours. God bless America."