Chesapeake Charities, a community foundation located in Stevensville, is partnering with Attraction magazine to share the stories of individuals in our community who demonstrate the power of kindness. We encourage you to look for the good in others.
Audrey Scott lives and leads with integrity. She has spent the majority of her life engaged in various forms of community service where she uses her considerable executive skills to benefit others. There is no better role model for effective, ethical leadership than Audrey Scott.
The impetus for Audrey’s decades-long public service career came from a friend who saw potential in a young wife and mother and encouraged Audrey to lead the effort to build the first freestanding Emergency Center in Maryland. Since it was established in 1979, the Bowie Health Center has served over 1.5 million patients.
Audrey’s success with the Bowie Health Center launched her political career, and in 1976 she was elected as the first woman Mayor of Maryland’s third largest city. Proud and unapologetic about being a Republican, Audrey worked across party lines to get the job done and was rewarded with three terms as Mayor of Bowie and two terms on the Prince George’s County Council. Audrey’s ability to lead was so admired by her Democrat colleagues that they elected her Vice Chairman of the Prince George’s County Council. Audrey viewed the elected offices she held as an opportunity to serve all citizens, not just those who voted for her or shared her party affiliation.
She went on to serve Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2003, Governor Robert Ehrlich asked Audrey to serve as Secretary of Planning. Today, she serves on the Board of the Maryland Auto Insurance Fund under Governor Larry Hogan.
Community service has always been important to Audrey. For the past nine years, she has chaired the Board of Directors of Chesapeake Charities and she recently joined the Kent Island Library Capital Campaign to secure funding for the library’s expansion. She has been on the Board of Directors of the Queen Anne’s County Arts Council, the National Capital Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Jefferson Patterson Park, Preservation Maryland, and the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center.
For her work on behalf of the citizens of Maryland, Audrey has won many awards. She was given the distinction of being named a Maryland Woman of Achievement and was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame. While all her achievements are impressive, it is the lifelong friendships Audrey built and maintains with the many people with whom she worked that stand as the greatest testament to her leadership style.
Audrey’s actions define what leadership is all about. People follow her because they trust she will lead them in a positive direction. Audrey never asks anyone to work harder than she is willing to work, she assumes responsibility when something goes wrong, and she graciously shares the credit for a job well done.
Audrey’s Call to Action is simple: Get involved, volunteer, meet your neighbors, spend time with family, treasure your friends, and do something to benefit others.
To learn more about the Look for the Good initiative, contact lookforthegood@chesapeakecharities.org. If you know someone whose story should be told, complete the nomination form at www.lookforgood.org.