The recent Super Bowl marked a wonderful day in the life of Vince "Skip" Rusbosin. It was the day the 49-year-old Mount Airy resident was notified he had finally made it into the NFL.
"This Sunday I got the approval," said the president and founder of the Four County Athletic Association. "I will be able to offer Pop Warner [football] to the kids of Mount Airy this fall."
"They're the only football program in the U.S.A. that's endorsed by the NFL," explained Mr. Rusbosin. "I just got the congratulations in the mail today."
Pop Warner's Little Scholars Football Program encourages children to do well in school, have a good relationship with their parents and then play football, Mr. Rusbosin said.
Pop Warner football has a extra significance to Mr. Rusbosin, whose father played under Warner at Albright College in 1935.
"The best thing about it [is] I can offer the rules, regulations, insurance and security of a well-run program," Mr. Rusbosin said. "It's a dream come true for me."
Mr. Rusbosin said the Four County Athletic Association was started in October 1993, with the philosophy that all children would participate equally.
It was born of his frustration as a volunteer coach when "50 kids would register and only 15 would play."
Four County Athletic Association sports are for children from 6 to 18. Games are not held on Sundays or Wednesdays to allow for church and family time, said Mr. Rusbosin, who played football and basketball in college.
The association's first offering was girls' volleyball, a program that attracted 40 participants.
Mr. Rusbosin said he was "really surprised" when 285 children signed up for spring 1994 baseball.
He said good community support from 18 team sponsors made it possible to accommodate the overwhelming turnout.
Mount Airy's American Legion Post 191 allowed use of its field to association teams, and Lisbon Bible Church permitted the group to build a Little League diamond on church property.
St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church is helping solve the shortage of fields by allowing construction of baseball and football fields behind the church.
Four County Athletic Association is looking for people to donate time, money and thought to build the new fields, said Mr. Rusbosin. "It's going to be a costly adventure," he said. "It's for the kids of the future."
When Mr. Rusbosin is not representing the 600 families associated with the Four County Athletic Association or working as the chief executive officer of ATE Construction, he also is vice president of the Twin Arch Recreation Council, which is affiliated with Frederick County Department of Parks and Recreation.
Mr. Rusbosin and his wife, Vicky, have five children. "She and the children have been a real force in this thing succeeding," he said.
Registration is open for Little League baseball, and a new feature of the association's spring ball program are Little League teams exclusively for 13-year-olds, who often get left on the bench when they advance from teams for 12-year-olds and compete with boys who are 14 and 15.
The association also is offering something new in Mount Airy this spring: fast-pitch softball for girls ages 9 to 12.
These teams will play girls in Little League District 2, which includes Mount Airy, New Windsor, Thurmont, Emmitsburg, Taneytown and Frederick.
Fees for spring participants are $45 for the first child, $35 for the second child in the same family, $30 for the third and $25 for the fourth child.
Last year, the Little League senior league team for 16- to 18-year-olds won the District 2 championship and went to the Maryland Regionals.
"We're really interested in the older kids," Mr. Rusbosin said. "When they finish, they want to turn and help coach the little ones. It's a cycle I'm trying to develop."
For information about the Four County Athletic Association, to help with ball field construction or to register for spring ball, call Mr. Rusbosin at (301) 831-0105.
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Brides-to-be and their attendants, family and friends are encouraged to walk down the aisle a little early -- at the second annual Mount Airy Rotary Club Bridal Show on Sunday.
The one-stop wedding planning bonanza will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Mount Airy Firemen's Activities Building at Twin Arch Road and Route 27. A gown show presented by Plush Pretty Bridal and Formal Wear of Frederick will be featured.
The event will showcase companies that make weddings their business and provide information about formal wear, wedding cakes, flowers, catering, balloons, videographers, photographers, gifts, nails, hair, cosmetics and more.
The $5 per bride donation to the Rotary Club includes a free copy of Maryland Bride magazine. Proceeds from the snow or shine event will benefit Rotary children's programs.
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A S.T.E.P. in time may save many hours of parental frustration.
S.T.E.P. (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) classes for parents of children from birth to age 5 are being offered at St. James Episcopal Church and Nursery School, 202 N. Main St., Mount Airy.
Classes begin Feb. 21 (from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) and run for six consecutive Tuesdays, with Lynn Davis as the instructor.
The fee, which includes the text, is $40 for one adult or $68 per couple.
Baby-sitting will be provided. To register, call (301) 829-0014.
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Free income tax preparation assistance for senior citizens is as close as a phone and the Mount Airy Senior Center.
Volunteers will be at the senior center for free, weekly tax assistance visits on Wednesdays beginning Feb. 8. Area senior citizens are encouraged to make appointments for tax help by calling (301) 829-2407.
This is just one of many senior-oriented activities being offered at 703 Ridge Ave. in Mount Airy.