Editorial

Chesapeake County, Land of Generosity
           
“People in our counties are generous.”
           
So observed Terry Murray, chairman of the 2005 Annual Cancer Crusade Celebration of Life Gala, which returns to Rod ’n’ Reel in Chesapeake Beach on Thursday, August 4, for the 24th year.
           
The next evening, the Rotary Club of Annapolis feeds several thousand people and brings in a bounty of proceeds at its 60th annual crab feast at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
           
Each event is a great time for great causes, and sponsors tell us that tickets remain for both.
           
Calvert County’s gala supports a single cause: the fight against cancer. In nearly three decades, it has raised almost $2 million, big money that has gone not just to the bigger fight but also to local causes.
           
At home, the money pays for services in Calvert County: transportation; education; and the many costs that insurance doesn’t cover that make the disease a financial wrecking ball as well as a destroyer of life.
           
The gala also supports research, with money going to Maryland hospitals and institutions where scientists chart plans of attack against the pernicious disease.
           
This year’s goal is $350,000. Your $100 ticket not only helps reach that goal but also buys you a sumptuous, Bayside feast that ranges from champagne and lobster to beer and barbecue. To top it off, there’s a cakewalk of deserts you’ll be regretting for weeks.
           
The Cancer Gala also happens to be one of Chesapeake Country’s must-go parties, where you’ll meet plenty of people and politicians before ending the evening with music and dancing.
           
The next day, the Annapolis Rotary serves crabs, crab soup, hot dogs, barbecue and beer in great abundance. Organizers aren’t jiving when they bill this as the World’s Biggest Crab Feast.
           
Partake of the Rotarian’s tradition, and you’ll benefit several dozen charities.
            After the Rotary Club pays its bills each year, it divides some $30,000 in grants to a range of Annapolis organizations that have asked the club for help. (See M.L. Faunce’s Crab Catch column in this issue for the worthy groups that benefited last year).
           
We read many stories about how all of us have grown richer recently because of spiraling housing prices and the sudden surplus in Maryland’s state budget.
           
Here are two fine ways to give back to the communities that make us rich in so many ways.
           
So buy your tickets. Get them early and you’ll save a few dollars at each event. But for causes like these, the more we give, the better for Chesapeake Country.

• 24th Annual Celebration of Life Gala: 7:30-10pm Thurs., Aug. 4, Rod ’n’ Reel Restaurant, Chesapeake Beach. $100 in advance; $125 at the door: 410-257-2735; www.rodnreelcancergala.org.
• 60th annual Rotary Crab Feast: 5-8pm Fri., Aug. 5,  Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Rowe Blvd., Annapolis. $45 in advance; $50 at the gate; w/age discounts: 410-263-6660.