AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi
With below normal temperatures from December through February, a brutal snow and ice storm at the end of January, and a lack of community activities to be involved in or events to attend, winter has seemed to stretch on forever. There were two notable exceptions and both were cause for celebration in different ways.
The earliest and most important event for the well-being of Severna Park and surrounding communities was Good Neighbors Group’s 2026 S(o)uper Bowl Food Drive. Though still battling snow and ice from the storm on the ground and temperatures in the low teens, 71 neighborhoods and businesses rallied to support the drive that began on Thursday, February 5, and ended on Super Bowl Sunday, February 8.
“The food drive is always Thursday before Super Bowl until Super Bowl Sunday,” said Good Neighbors Group executive director Julie Shay. “It went pretty well. Most likely the grand total won’t be bigger than last year, but our S(o)uper Bowl Coordinator Kathie Hamlett will have the final numbers shortly.”
Shay and Hamlett bundled up and delivered boxes and bags full of pantry items to the Anne Arundel County Food Bank drop-off point, then sorted the items.
Also doing double duty at the Anne Arundel County Food Bank drop-off were Sammie Johns and her father J.C. Johns,
Soon completed, Hamlett’s final tally for the number of items collected was 18,179 items collected for 7 pantries and the AA County Food Bank – 179 items over last year’s total of 18,000 for 6 pantries.
In addition to the AA County Foodbank, this year’s pantries included those for SPAN, Inc. (Serving People Across Neighborhoods) as seen in the opening photo, the Asbury Community Assistance Network (ACAN), Caring Cupboard, Rock & Steward Ministry in Glen Burnie, Open Hands of Maryland, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Pantry and Tides of Grace Crisis Center on the Eastern Shore.
Braving the cold to deliver a whole SUV full of food items they collected from their Manhattan Beach neighborhood to the SPAN, Inc. pantry were Ron Aten and Rob Schuyler.
Of course, the real work began immediately after the neighborhood captains made their deliveries with grateful volunteers for each pantry working to restock shelves that had a few empty spaces once the holiday season passed.
Designed to encourage neighbors to collect food and funds to maintain local food pantries, the S(o)uper Bowl Food Drives are a wonderful way to bring people together.
This year 71 neighborhoods and businesses participated in the drive with each selecting a “captain” responsible for collecting everyone’s contributions and storing them in one location – often the captain’s home or garage. Once collected, the captains and/or helpers must transport the donations to one of the designated charities depending on which one their neighborhood is assigned.
Neighborhoods compete with each other to see which can bring in the highest number of contributions and winners are announced and honored at a Wrap celebration. This year the celebration was held at Cafe Mezzanotte on February 18th. Winning the Most Improved Neighborhood title was Linstead (which almost tripled its contributions from last year with their best year yet). The Per House winner was Harlequin (with 11.77 items collected per house). The Winner By Volume was Winchester on the Severn (with a total of 1,652 items).
According to Shay, in view of the frigid weather the Good Neighbors Group expected they wouldn’t collect as much food as in previous years but found, instead, that they exceeded last year’s donation total. As always, they’re thankful to the neighbors who stepped up to make the drive a success. If interested in signing up for the 2027 S(o)UPER BOWL FOOD DRIVE, you can reach out by emailing: souperbowl@goodneighborsgroup.org.
As the month of February ended, a second event was held by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi which has been equally supportive of the community for over 25 years. The school has raised nearly $200,000 for community charities while working daily to raise the fitness, health and wellbeing of its students.
On February 17, the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse began, and Jing Ying Institute celebrated it in style with more than two weeks of special activities.
Jing Ying’s Chinese Lunar New Year activities honored Year of the Fire Horse, highlighted achievements of students
Every year, one of the bright spots people look forward to in February is Jing Ying’s two-week celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year with a series of free classes, a “Cleaning Ceremony”, a tea tasting, and an Open House among other formal and informal activities.
Lunar New Year 2026 marked the start of a new zodiac cycle based on the Chinese lunar calendar and beginning the Year of the Fire Horse. (The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by a different animal. In 2026, the cycle brings us to the Horse, the seventh animal in the zodiac order.)
The Lunar New Year Open House got underway on February 28th at 2:30 pm following a brief testing period for the school’s students earlier in the afternoon. A very important ceremony would be part of this year’s festivities, so many guests arrived early to find a seat.
Nevertheless, there was time to mingle. We had the pleasure of meeting friends Patti Shaffer, Fran Kushner and Nancy Zellmer who were already enjoying themselves.
Shaffer told us she’d first known Jing Ying owners Nancy and Billy Greer through Billy whom she’d met through a Tai Chi class. Kushner first met Greer when he taught a class at Pasadena Senior Center and she has been taking classes at Jing Ying Institute for 10 years now. Zelmer met Greer at Pasadena Senior Center too before beginning classes at the Institute. All three women said they like supporting the Greers because they do so much for the local community.
Formal and meaningful, the ceremony at the beginning of the Open House was conducted by Greer, Jing Ying Institute’s Shifu (martial arts master/ teacher/ father) and involved the awarding of Certificates and silk belt sashes denoting level of training or achievement to four students. The first, Everest Carmona, earned a certificate and a yellow silk sash replacing her beginner’s white sash. Alex Selley, who came next, was awarded a certificate and red sash, the second highest, and received congratulations from a line of Jing Ying’s most senior practitioners who possess black belts.
Then came the most important moments, the awarding of, not one, but two black sashes earned by long time Kung Fu and Tai Chi practitioners James Shey and Chris Selley.
Last to earn a certificate and achieve black sash status after many years of training was Chris Selley who is also the proud father of Alex Selley.
Following those presentations, Shey and Selley made speeches recounting their journeys to black belt status and thanking all those who supported them. Then they joined Greer and the line of black sash practitioners for an official photograph. We managed to catch up with both Shey and Selley to inquire what it was like making the long journey through the belt levels to become black sashes.
James Shay told us he began practicing Kung Fu and Tai Chi in 2008 but took a break in the very middle of his training.
“I was in the Navy and I left here in 2010. It took me six more years to cycle through the Navy and make my way back here to finish my journey. I’d really enjoyed the feeling of family here at Jing Ying so, when I came back, I rejoined.”
Chris Selley said he’d been a student at Jing Ying Institute since 2012, having taken up Tai Chi on the recommendation of an acupuncturist treating him for pain management following a back injury. He said working his way through the belt levels was a long journey for him.
“It took time, self-discipline and hard work though I was helped by the fact that my kids would come with me,” Selley said. “I worked on my diet, my strength, and my flexibility and mastered at lot of skills, movements and forms. But I still feel like a beginner in these arts.”
We also chatted briefly with Everest Carmona and her mother Melissa. We learned that Everest, who is homeschooled, joined Jing Ying Institute because they offered home school classes. She has definitely enjoyed them.
As can be seen from the photo below, the Lunar New Year celebration got seriously underway with a festive buffet that ran the length of the room.
At one of those tables, we found the Selley family celebrating with Chris and Alex. They were having a fine time.
We’d earlier spied an amazing cake we learned was baked by Nicole Selley in honor of her husband Chris and James Shey’s accomplishment. Each layer was iced in a color representing the sash/belt levels from white to black. Each layer was also different, ranging from vanilla and chocolate to fruit-filled, and each was absolutely delicious.
This Sunday, March 8th, in honor of The Year of the Fire Horse Jing Ying Institute has invited author Maria Allessandri from The Horse & People Project to give a presentation called Ask LikeYou Mean It – What Horses Teach Us About Communication. The free presentation will be held from 2 to 3 pm. For more information about the event, visit Chinese New Year.
Chesapeake Harmony Chorus Regional Send-Off Performance at Baldwin Hall
Chesapeake Harmony Chorus invites the public to join them for a free community performance as they prepare for their upcoming Regional Competition. The concert will be held on Wednesday, March 25th at 7 pm at Historic Baldwin Hall in Millersville. It’s a great chance for fans or newcomers to hear the chorus’ latest set and see what they’ve been working on behind the scenes. No tickets are required. Just show up and enjoy.
The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!
and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.
