Mrs. B

Southern social graces learned in childhood were the constant threads woven in every aspect of her social and professional life in adulthood. She knows first-hand how deportment can put you in places that most could only dream of. Her mother always taught her and her siblings that: “manners will take you places money can’t.” This was certainly the case when she was appointed by the Commander of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. to serve as the last Historian as they prepared to close their doors after 102 years of service as the the Army Flagship Hospital. She displayed the highest forms of ceremonial protocol and courtesies when hosting tours for numerous government and military leaders to view historic mementos from Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Gen. George C. Marshall, and Gen. John J. Pershing's suite where he lived for seven years. She was singularly responsible for overseeing, safeguarding, and transferring all the significant and priceless artifacts that belonged to MAJ Walter Reed and other world leaders such as Gen. Douglass MacArthur, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson.  

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She has served on many boards where a genuine display of kindness and consideration is essential to gaining support from other board members to advance goals or champion new proposals. As Chair of the Quality-of-Life Committee on her county's advisory board where she was appointed by the Montgomery County Executive, she proposed a youth summit where youth throughout the county would meet with local and state elected officials to learn more about proposed legislation or policies and discuss how they could impact their community.  With the support of her board members, the Montgomery County Youth Summit was convened. Legislators were there to discuss their bills and explain what they meant to the county youth and their community. As one of the top 10 most diverse counties in the nation, this summit was essential. If changes had to be made to particular pieces of legislation or policies, it was done based on those conversations with the county youth. The summit was a success and became a sustained program in the county’s Department of Recreation. She was reminded of another of her mother's sayings: “manners are not only shown at the dinner table, it’s your everyday behaviors that allows you to get invited to a seat at the table in the first place”. On each board she was appointed to serve on, it was mainly from the confidence of those who knew her in other capacities that wanted her to be seated at the table with them. 

In 2017 she set out to found a Charm School, one that from inception would be designed for both girls and boys. Growing up, she did not see etiquette programs designed for boys. They were mostly focused on tea, posture, and the use of utensils. She knew hers had to be different. The ability to interact with social decency and decorum spans gender and cultural norms, proper etiquette is the universal language for collaboration and advancement. In 2020 she established Belle & Beau Charm School where the most important aspects of social and dining etiquette are taught - to ensure participants alway have a seat at the table and they leave positive impressions wherever they go.