Fisher, 57, a physicist who works at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division in Bethesda, said his experience serving on boards of many local associations led him to join the more regional upcounty board.

"I wanted to get up to a regional advisory board," he said. "I wanted to make decisions to help the upcounty citizens as well as those in Boyds."

Fisher, a 25-year resident of Boyds, received a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Maryland in 1966 and a master's degree in technical management from Johns Hopkins this year.

Fisher, whose term on the board expires in 2003, is involved in committees on the upcounty board such as the Development and Agricultural Preservation Committee. He hopes that his active role in committees will enable the board to achieve some of its goals.

"There are about 270,000 residents living upcounty and that is about one-third of the county's population," he said. "However, we are not getting one-third of the county's tax revenues. We're trying to get some parity with the rest of the county."

Fisher said some of his priorities on the board include water management, building "ballfields and stronger recreational facilities in places that do not have them," as well as placing a greater emphasis on road maintenance in parts of the county.

Fisher said he also enjoys the diversity of Boyds' population.

"Although we have a mixture of people from different ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds, we are still a very united community," he said.

Fisher said he enjoys spending time with his wife on his five-acre mini-farm in Boyds. His hobbies include raising sheep, golfing, playing softball and going bird watching.

"What I like about Boyds is that it still has a very rural feel to it," he said. "It's a close neighborhood where everyone knows each other. However, it is also near Germantown, so things that are only available in a city are still accessible."

The Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board represents more than 280,000 county residents living north of Shady Grove Road. The 20-member board advises the director of the Upcounty Regional Services Center, the county executive, and County Council on area needs and priorities such as transportation, human services, environment, public safety, and other issues of local importance.

Members serve three-year terms without compensation and attend meetings one Monday a month, September through June, at the Upcounty Regional Services Center in Germantown.

The board will meet Monday at 7:15 p.m. at the Upcounty Regional Services Center, 12900 Middlebrook Road, Germantown.

For information, call 240-777-8000 or go to http://www.co.mo.md.us/upcounty.