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Reese Madsen Jr. of University Park completed the 30th annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike ride Aug. 1 and 2.

This was the sixth year that Madsen had participated in the 192-mile ride, which raises money for cancer research. He rode alongside his brothers-in-law, Charles and Stephen Bongiorno, as well as Stephen Bongiorno's wife and daughter, Denise and Alyssa Bongiorno.

Madsen's wife and son, Cathy Madsen and 11-year-old Reese Madsen III, worked as volunteers preparing food and water bottles for riders at one of the rest stops.

Madsen prepared for the bike ride by going on round-trip training rides to locations including Baltimore, Annapolis and Alexandria, Va. He also rides 13 miles each day to his job in Crystal City, Va.

County students

honored at UMES

Hermela Dejene of Adelphi and Brittani Thomas and Simone Williams of Beltsville were named to the dean's list during the 2008-2009 academic year at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore in Princess Anne.

The dean's list honors full-time students who earn a grade point average of 3.5 or greater during a semester.

Dejene, a business administration major, earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall. Thomas, a human ecology major, and Williams, a criminal justice major, both earned 3.5 GPAs during the spring.

UM grad completes

Navy basic training

Navy Seaman John A. Turner, a 2002 graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, has completed basic training at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill.

During the eight-week program, Turner was trained in a variety of skills including first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival and shipboard and aircraft safety.

Turner is a 1996 graduate of Eastern Senior High School in Washington, D.C. His parents are Alvin and Jeannette Turner, both of whom live in Capitol Heights.

Community hosts

annual Berwyn Day

The Berwyn District Civic Association will host its annual Berwyn Day celebration from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Berwyn Neighborhood Playground in College Park.

The community picnic will offer refreshments and games as well as bake, book and plant sales. There will also be a yard sale for residents.

The Berwyn Neighborhood Playground is located at the intersection of 49th Avenue and Patuxent Road.

For more information or to volunteer, call BDCA President Kevin Young at 301-474-3577 or e-mail kc5018@yahoo.com.

Youth choir hosts

open house in College Park

The College Park Youth Choir will host an open house for prospective new members at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in College Park.

The choir is open to children ages 5 and up. There is also a youth choir called "Vocetti" for more advanced singers. Both choirs are directed by Greenbelt resident Chris Fominaya, rehearse on Tuesdays and perform several times throughout the year.

The standard choir rehearses from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Vocetti rehearses from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. The cost to enroll is $85 per semester.

The open house will be held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, located at 4512 College Ave. in College Park. For more information, call the College Park Arts Exchange at 301-927-3013 or e-mail info@cpae.org.

Children's soccer expo

at Beltsville Elementary

Beltsville Elementary School will host its third annual soccer expo from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 17.

Students and parents at the school are invited to attend the event, which will feature games, prizes and representatives from several area soccer organizations, including Major League Soccer's D.C. United, Women's Professional Soccer's Washington Freedom, the Beltsville-Adelphi Boys and Girls Club and the Prince George's Soccer League.

"There will be opportunities for [students] to participate in various skills contests," said the school's PTA president Jeremy Roberts. "People tend to learn a lot of things about themselves and each other when they play sports."

Admission is free and there will be food for sale from several local restaurants.

Beltsville Elementary School is located at 4300 Wicomico Ave. For more information, call the school at 301-572-0630.

Music and drawing classes

at the Old Parish House

The Old Parish House in College Park will offer weekly music and drawing classes starting Monday night.

Eric Maring, also known as "Mr. M," will host the "Sing to the Heart" music class for children ages 4 and under. The class will have two 45-minute sessions each Monday — starting at 4:45 and 5:45 p.m. — and will run for eight consecutive weeks. The registration fee is $100 per child and siblings receives a 10 percent discount.

Lucy Dirksen will host the drawing class from 7 to 8 p.m. on Mondays for 10 straight weeks. Class size is limited to 10 children ages 8 and older. The registration fee is $75 per child and $60 for siblings.

Both classes start Monday night. The Old Parish House is located at 4711 Knox Road in College Park. For more information or to register, e-mail Melissa Sites of the College Park Arts Exchange at info@cpae.org.

County resident named

to dean's list at Syracuse

Gregory Papp of Greenbelt has been named to the spring 2009 dean's list at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y.

Papp, an aerospace engineering majoring, was honored by the university's L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The dean's list honors students who earned a grade-point average of 3.4 or greater during the semester.

Club plans Sept. 11

memorial walk

The Freestate Happy Wanderers walking club will sponsor an afternoon 9/11 Memorial Walk on Friday at Montpelier Mansion in Laurel. The event will include five- and 10-kilometer trail walks.

Linda Hassell, club secretary, said the route will take walkers past a series of posters honoring victims of the attacks at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and World Trade Center in New York, as well as victims of the plane crash in Shanksville, Pa.

"It's a tribute to everyone that lost their lives that day," Hassell said.

Montpelier Mansion is located at 9650 Muirkirk Road in Laurel. Registration is from 1 to 4 p.m. and the walks will end by 7 p.m.

For more information or a brochure, call 301-717-3604 or e-mail kindfellow1@comcast.net. Commemorative buttons will be available while supplies last.