MIDDLETOWN — Mayor Charles Harbaugh IV has been chosen as one of the 100 winners of the 2021 Small Town America Civic Volunteer Award.
The nationwide program honors public service volunteers in localities with populations under 25,000.
Harbaugh was selected from nearly 700 nominations in 49 states.
Town Clerk Christina Smith surprised Harbaugh with the news during Monday night’s Middletown Town Council meeting, and a cake was served in his honor.
“Thank you guys so much,” Harbaugh said. “It’s really just a wonderful community.”
A letter from the Small Town America Civic Volunteer Award describes Harbaugh’s service as “an inspiration to all, and is exactly what the organizers of this award program had in mind when it was developed.” The program spotlights the need for citizens to fill critical volunteer roles, including local government boards and councils, volunteer firefighters/EMTs and the many advisory committees that support local government functions.
Harbaugh said Frederick County Sheriff Lenny Millholland and former Middletown mayor Ray Steele taught him “how to work with people and how to treat people and how to make people feel valued and make everybody feel like somebody.”
He thanked the town staff and volunteers who have helped make Middletown the community that it is.
“It’s just a blessing. This is the best town,” Harbaugh said. “I really believe that. I don’t think any other town could give away free ice cream for three years and do all the things that we do. Anytime we need something, it gets done. You guys step up. You volunteer, you work.”
Steele said people often tell him, “You’ve got a nice, young mayor there in Middletown.”
“Because you could be a behind-the-desk mayor, but you’re a hands-on mayor. You’re out in public every day,” Steele told Harbaugh. “And when you’re not out there, you’re out doing something far and wide. And, you know, we as citizens truly, truly appreciate that. And so, you know, it’s a blessing to have you as a personal friend. I just I love you to death.”
Harbaugh has been mayor since 2012 and has started numerous community events, including the Middletown Easter egg hunt, a car show, a Christmas parade and a farm-to-table dinner in the middle of Main Street. He also has been involved with numerous charities and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and sponsorships.
Under Harbaugh’s leadership Middletown hasn’t had a real estate tax increase since 2012. Over the past decade he has worked to upgrade the town’s infrastructure and professionalize its public works, police department and administration. He also has overseen the renovation of the Town Office, the purchase of a building for the police department on Main Street, the construction of a Veterans Memorial as well as a baseball diamond, and the development of a new town website and comprehensive plan. Earlier this year Middletown began constructing a new wastewater treatment.
Professionally, Harbaugh is executive director of Access Independence, a nonprofit that provides independent living services for people with disabilities in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. He previously was director of business services for NW Works, a local nonprofit that helps secure jobs for people with disabilities. Harbaugh also teaches business at Laurel Ridge Community College.
Millholland praised Harbaugh during the meeting.
“Son, I’ve got to say that, you know, I’ve known you for a long time,” Millholland said. “And I’m just proud that you’re where you’re at, and I’m proud of what you’ve done with the help of the citizens of Middletown to make it what it is. Like I said, we love Middletown.”
As a result of Harbaugh’s recognition, Middletown now qualifies for a volunteer management module with 12 months of complimentary support services from web development company CivicPlus.
In other business, Harbaugh presented a resolution, signed by Del. Bill Wiley, R-Winchester, to the Middletown Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company for its 80 years of service to the community. Millholland presented the fire company with the Sheriff’s Office’s Gold Star Award for its service. Capt. Jordan Dalton accepted the accolades on behalf of the company.
Attending the meeting were Mayor Charles Harbaugh and council members Jeff Pennington, Carolyn Aliff, Stephanie Mitchell, Scott Fink and Shayla Rickard.
