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Germantown resident Lyle Shipe started Touching Lives Worldwide, a nonprofit organization working in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, less than three years ago, but he has already accomplished big things.

Shipe, 67, a life-long resident of Montgomery County, retired in July 2008 after closing the title company he founded 27 years earlier and decided to dedicate his life to helping people in the Dominican Republic, the site of his first mission trip in the mid-1990s.

Touching Lives Mission School for the Deaf in Dajabon, a Dominican border town, opened in January 2011 to children of Hispaniola, the island home of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Many of the cases of deafness he sees are the result of poor prenatal and infant care. Thirty-four students at the school receive free education, shelter and much-needed medical attention, Shipe said.

"I never realized how many deaf children there are in the Dominican Republic and Haiti or what challenges they face. In many cases, one or both parents reject those children," Shipe said. "These children grow up not knowing their name, not knowing their age, with no way to communicate. They are treated as outcasts."

Shipe hopes to raise the money to expand the school to 150 more students at a charity golf tournament scheduled for Thursday at P.B. Dye Golf Club in Ijamsville. The tournament costs $155 per player or $599 for a team of four and includes awards, a buffet lunch and gift bags.

He hopes to raise $20,000 for the deaf school and for New Hope Children's Refuge, an orphanage his organization opened in Borgnotte, Haiti, after the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake.

Shipe takes no salary from the nonprofit and runs it out of his home "simply giving whatever blessings I can," he said.

For information on the golf tournament, go to www.touchinglivesworldwide.org or call 301-540-7444.

Campus congrats

The following upcounty students graduated May 7 from Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina: Erin Toman of Poolesville, and Lauren Hammond, Ashley Lozupone and Steven Delmar, all of Gaithersburg. Toman and Hammond graduated cum laude.

Colin Monks of Germantown, a 2007 graduate of Northwest High School, has graduated from the college of business at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. Monks will continue on for one more semester to complete his second major, in economics.

Kevin Marcinko, a 2009 graduate of Wootton High School, was named to the dean's list for the fall and spring semesters at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Marcinko has finished his sophomore year in pursuit of a bachelor's degree in accounting. He is the son of Thomas and Anne Marcinko of Gaithersburg.

Danielle Adrienne Huck of Gaithersburg received a Bachelor of Arts from Lock Haven University earlier this month.

Kalyani Hemant Phansalkar, of Gaithersburg, has been selected as the 2011 student speaker for the College of William and Mary commencement on May 15. The student speaker is selected by the commencement committee and members of the graduating class. Phansalkar will graduate with bachelor's degrees in English and government. Following graduation, Kalyani plans to move back to Maryland to pursue a graduate degree at Georgetown University in media, communications, and technology.

Phong Nguyen of Germantown, 25, was named the 2011 Outstanding Senior in the illustration department at Columbus College of Art & Design. Nguyen is the son of Phu Nguyen and a 2004 graduate of Mansfield High School. Nguyen graduated May 14 with a degree in fine arts.

Yvette Hammond and Timothy King of Gaithersburg and Olivia Kumih, Armelle Leukeu, Felicia Nichols and Jessie Nolasco-Sandino, of Germantown, received scholarships May 12 at the Bernie Scholarship Awards Program ceremony.

Scholarship amounts range between $1,000 and $1,500. The awards program provides financial assistance to offset educational and training expenses for young people entering or in college and adults returning to higher education or job training activities. It has awarded 231 scholarships to county residents who reside in low- to moderate-income housing throughout the past 16 years. To find out more, e-mail Berniescholarship@gmail.com or visit www.berniescholarships.org.

Laytonsville parade

winds closer

Planning is under way for the Laytonsville community parade on May 21.

Students interested in helping with the parade may earn student service learning hours.

Call Charlene Dillingham at 301-869-0042 if you are interested.

Pizza fundraiser

for the homeless

The California Pizza Kitchen at 136 Boardwalk Place, Gaithersburg, will donate 20 percent of checks on Thursday to Friends of Wells/Robertson House, a nonprofit organization in the city dedicated to helping break the cycle of homelessness and addiction.

No reservations are needed, but a flier must be presented for the promotion. The flier may be downloaded at www.gaithersburgmd.gov/communityservices.

For information, go to www.friendsofwells.org or call board president J Persensky at 301-919-2780.

Golf course meetings set

Discuss the future of what some Montgomery Village leaders say is the gem of the community: the Montgomery Village Golf Course. Residents will have the chance to weigh in on the pros and cons of developing on nine holes of the 18-hole course at two meetings, 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 7:30 p.m. Monday, at the Montgomery Village Golf Club at 19550 Montgomery Village Avenue.

At 9:30 a.m. Thursday, community leaders will host a site walk of the golf course.

Rock out at Clemente

Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown is ready to rock.

About 300 of the school's students will sing, dance and play instruments in an electric performance, "Old School Revolution 5," Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. at Seneca Valley High School at 19401 Crystal Rock Drive in Germantown.

Students have practiced for five months for the show, which has sold out since its inception in 2006. The show will feature music from the 1940s to the 1990s.

Tickets are $10 at the door or $7 in advance, available at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/clementems/.

Germantown eighth-grader

wins essay contest

Meaghan Dingwall of Kingsview Middle School in Germantown has won the Afro-American Newspapers' Character Education Contest.

Meaghan was recognized May 9 at a celebration at the Reginald F. Lewis African American Museum in Baltimore. Every eighth-grader at Kingsview submitted a contest entry, writing about a black leader who made a difference in their communities and was inspirational to the student.

Principal Beth Thomas congratulated Meaghan, the only Montgomery County Public Schools student to receive the award.

Youth symphony to perform

The Poolesville Youth Symphony Orchestra presents its 4th annual Spring Concert, 7 p.m. Thursday at John Poole Middle School, 17014 Tom Fox Avenue in Poolesville.

Heather Sprague conducts and Matthew Rizzolo is the assistant conductor. Violinist Sandy Cameron will perform with the orchestra and John Poole student Ellie Creedon will offer her rendition of pop singer Katy Perry's "Firework."

Admission is free. A buffet will follow.

Meals on Wheels needs drivers

Gaithersburg Meals on Wheels needs drivers to deliver hot lunches and cold suppers to the elderly and shut-ins in the Gaithersburg area.

Meals are prepared at Asbury Methodist Village, 333 Russell Ave., and picked up by drivers between 10:45 and 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Delivery takes about one hour. Volunteers are asked to drive once a week or once every other week. Children may accompany their parents.

Call 301-216-4200, or Mary Casamento at 301-253-4626 to volunteer.

This column is for you! Share your good news! Send items to Danielle Gaines at dgaines@gazette.net or to Jen Bondeson at jbondeson@ gazette.net. Or mail to The Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Items for People and Places must be received by 5 p.m. Thursday for consideration for the following week. Don't forget to send us photos!

Looking for Miss Farm Bureau

Girls between the ages of 16 and 19 may apply to be Miss Montgomery County Farm Bureau 2011.

The contest is open to girls who have an interest in promoting agriculture, who are part of a family farming operation or have a 4-H or FFA agricultural project and whose parents belong to the farm bureau.

The winner and first runner up will receive scholarships.

The contest will be held June 12 at the farm bureau's summer picnic.

For an application, call Carolyn Lechlider at 301-253-1501 or e-mail thelecksfarms@aol.com. Applications are due June 8.