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Nellie Maskal said receiving the Civic Achievement Award from the Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce early this month was a "great retirement gift."

"I was shocked," she said, having learned about the honor only days before she received it on May 1. "The award could have easily gone to someone from the community rather than to someone from the government."

She was honored by the chamber for her work on the Clarksburg Master Plan.

"A lot of people have been actively involved in the development of the master plan, so this could have gone to any of them," she said.

The Civic Achievement Award is not annual, but is given to an individual who made a significant contribution to Clarksburg.

Maskal worked on developing several community master plans in her three-decade career with the county Department of Park and Planning, including the original Sandy Spring-Ashton Master Plan in 1980 and the Gaithersburg Vicinity Master Plan, she said.

She said developing the Clarksburg plan was aided by strong participation from the community.

"Clarksburg was a very involved community," Maskal said.

There were more than 30 citizen meetings, each attended by 30-40 residents eager to have their voice heard, she said.

The master plan was officially adopted in 1994 and paved the way for the massive development that is taking Clarksburg from a sleepy village to a bustling residential community.

Maskal retired in January, which gave her time to see the Clarksburg Master Plan in action.

"The best is yet to come in Clarksburg," she said. "It's a great community that's going to be greater."

About a dozen community members attended the ceremony at Upcounty Fine Wine and Beer in Clarksburg, said Patrick Darby, president of the Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce.

Those gathered for the ceremony were there because they appreciated the contributions of Maskal and Pleasants Construction, which was honored with the Business Excellence Award for recycling demolition materials from a Gaithersburg apartment complex.

The owners of Pleasants Construction could not be reached for comment by Gazette press time.

"I'm going to miss Clarksburg and the Clarksburg community," Maskal said.