Social Capital, Two Ways

Last night HoCo Bloggers and their friends came out for a party at the new Nalley Fresh restaurant in Dobbin Center. It's been a while since we've all gotten together, and it almost felt like a family reunion. A big ol' HoCo Holler to Jessie Newburn for coordinating the event and to Greg Nalley and his team for hosting us. Extra cool points go to guitarist Mark Scott for his musical contributions which made this event into a celebration with personality.

As to the restaurant itself, Nalley Fresh truly shone last night. They've redone the space, and it's lovely. The staff were extraordinarily helpful explaining menu choices, and the service was excellent. It's worth noting that the restaurant was open for regular business while also catering to the whims of over one hundred partying bloggers. Well done!

I had a Greek Wrap with chicken and it was delicious. There are so many ways to choose what you want to eat there that I feel like you could go a million times and never run out of fresh choices. I think picky kids could be very happy here, too. I think that's the plan. Fresh choices that are easy choices. I like it.

As always, Jessie encouraged bloggers to use their social capital to pay it forward, and let the community know what they liked about the venue and encourage folks to come on down. I'm happy to recommend Nalley Fresh because it adds a much-needed option to our local mix of fast-casual restaurants: fresh, healthy, tasty, appealing. Try it!

Social capital Part Two:

Howard County parent Barb Krupiarz has put together a new website called A Better Board of Ed. Please check it out. More than that, share it with anyone you know who wants to learn more about what's going on with the Board of Education race. It is a one-stop informational goldmine: extremely well-documented and well laid out.

If you want to know more about Ms. Krupiarz and her story, click on the red box at the top left which reads, "A Better BOE" and then choose "About Me". If you don't know her already, you'll be amazed at what she has been through in working for transparency in the Howard County Schools. She didn't let what happened to her defeat her. In fact, it appears to have energized her.

While the page does offer recommendations for particular candidates, the overall messages are "get educated about the issues" and "vote for new leadership." I urge you to do both, starting with a visit to this page.

And use your social capital to spread the word for a better board of education.