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Citizen of the Year Award
2025 - Susan Niewenhous
Sue Niewenhous is a longtime Howard Park resident whose deep commitment to community service has made a lasting impact on the Town of Bel Air. For more than two decades, Sue has dedicated her time and talents to ensuring that Bel Air remains a beautiful, ethical, and sustainable community for all who live, work, and visit here.
Since 2003, Sue has been a member of the Town’s Appearance and Beautification Committee (ABC), where she has helped shape the colorful gardens that have become a hallmark of Bel Air. Her work is a testament to how beautification fosters civic pride and creates a welcoming environment for residents and visitors alike.
In addition to her service on the ABC, Sue has volunteered with the Historical Society of Harford County since 2001, contributing her time and expertise to preserving the Town’s unique history as the County Seat and ensuring that Bel Air’s place in Harford County and U.S. history will remain accessible and inspiring for generations to come.
Sue’s civic involvement extends beyond beautification and preservation. From 2013 to 2018, she served on the Town’s Sustainability Action Plan Committee, where her contributions were instrumental in ensuring that Bel Air grows responsibly and sustainably.
Since 2021, Sue has also served on the Town of Bel Air Board of Ethics, helping to uphold integrity and accountability in our government. Her strong moral compass, understanding of Town operations, and long history as a resident make her a trusted voice in maintaining the high ethical standards that our community deserves.
Through her years of volunteerism, Sue’s leadership, compassion, and commitment have enriched Bel Air in countless ways. For her selfless service and unwavering devotion to our community, we are proud to honor Sue Niewenhous as the 2025 Citizen of the Year.
2024 - Michael Blum
Mike Blum is a local businessman and former Town resident who has been at the helm of two of our community’s hallmark events, the Town of Bel Air Independence Day celebration and the Town of Bel Air Christmas Parade.
Since 1990, Mike has chaired the Independence Day Parade Committee, bringing together and leading a dedicated group of volunteers who consistently present the community with an exciting and fun-filled 4th of July celebration capped off with a spectacular fireworks extravaganza.
There is a tremendous amount of hard work that goes into planning the Town’s Independence Day celebration, but Mike expertly navigates those responsibilities, including establishing partnerships with community, business, and government entities and planning the day’s activities, including horseshoe pitching, the bicycle rodeo and many other activities for families to enjoy. Then there are the complicated logistics of the parade to maneuver – including planning the route for the two-hour parade and organizing detours, public safety, parking and seeing that traffic runs as smoothly as possible at the end of the festivities. Each year, Bel Air’s Independence Day celebration attracts over 50,000 visitors, which also provides a significant economic impact for Bel Air. Under the guidance of Mike Blum, the Bel Air Independence Day Parade has become a highly anticipated event famous for the longstanding tradition of visitors claiming the best sidewalk viewing with blankets and chairs days ahead of the festivities.
On the heels of more than a decade leading the 4th of July celebrations, Mike took charge of Bel Air’s Christmas Parade without hesitation in the early 2000s. Under his leadership, this 15-minute event with few entries and several hundred attendees has grown into a premier event with thousands of visitors flocking to Main Street to enjoy a 90-minute display of floats, marching bands and community groups decked out in all their holiday glory. Mike and his committee have made the Christmas Parade an event that attracts visitors from all over Harford County and beyond to Bel Air.
Both the Independence Day and Christmas Parades require extensive year-round planning, but Mike is the consummate organizer and communicator. To underwrite the costs of the parades, Mike has worked over the year to obtain sponsorships and donations, and not surprisingly, his engaging personality and approachable demeanor win widespread support throughout the community. Mike’s talents and generous nature are key to the success of the Independence Day and Christmas Parades, yet he is far too humble to accept any accolades. Instead, he is quick to defer any compliments to the many volunteers he has recruited to make Independence Day and the Christmas Parade events that all of Bel Air and Harford County treasure.
And while Mike is mentoring others to follow in his footsteps, he shows no sign of slowing down! For that level of dedication, commitment, and selflessness, we are proud to call Mike Blum the 2024 Citizen of the Year.
2023 - Peg lucas
Peggy has served on numerous committees and commissions in the Town of Bel Air for more than 40 years. She has generously and selflessly given of her time and talent with no expectation of personal recognition.
Serving as one of the original members of the Bel Air Historic Preservation Commission (HPC), Peg helped shape the HPC’s mission. She has worked tirelessly to assist property owners as well as the Town in making the HPC the successful organization it is today.
Peg played an integral role in the planning and development of the Bel Air Reckord Armory, helping to define the redevelopment needs and uses that have made the Armory the important community asset it is today.
After serving more than 30 years on the Historic Preservation Commission, Peg is now contributing her talents to the Bel Air Cultural Arts Commission, where she works to foster and support the growing and vibrant arts community in the Town of Bel Air and the Arts & Entertainment District.
Peg was recently appointed to the Town’s Appearance and Beautification Committee, where she has contributed to initiatives that enhance the beauty of the downtown Bel Air corridor. She also has served for many years on the Bel Air Downtown Alliance Design Committee, which works to enhance the physical appearance and convey a message of what downtown has to offer. Peg also has contributed her time and talent for the Harford 250 Celebration and has volunteered to be a part of Bel Air’s 150th anniversary celebration as well.
Peg Lucas is a living treasure in the Town of Bel Air, and her example of selfless service and commitment to the betterment of the community make us proud to call her the 2023 Citizen of the Year.
2022 - David & Sandra Guzewich
Throughout the years, Dave and Sandy Guzewich have gone above and beyond for the Town of Bel Air. Through their involvement in the Bel Air Lions Club, there is hardly an event or activity in which they do not participate. Whether it is promoting various community service projects, handling the monumental task of the Christmas tree sales, or donating money or supplies to various projects, Dave and Sandy truly are the best of our community. Their positive, upbeat demeanor and their ability to say “we can do this” are attributes that have served our Town well, and we hope they continue their good work, as we truly are the beneficiaries of their efforts.