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LEDC director named

2009 EXCEL award recipient

Manuel Hidalgo, the executive director of the nonprofit housing cooperative Latino Economic Development Committee, was one of three EXCEL awardees selected by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Nonprofit Advancement for outstanding nonprofit chief executive leadership in the Washington metropolitan area.

This week Hidalgo received the 2009 Gelman, Rosenberg and Freedman EXCEL Award at the Center for Nonprofit Advancement's 30th anniversary meeting and breakfast at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., according to an LEDC press release.

Hidalgo will receive a $5,000 professional development account to use in his role as LEDC's executive director. In addition, LEDC will receive a $2,000 grant to provide professional-development opportunities for its staff.

Hidalgo has served as LEDC executive director since May 2005. In the Washington area, he has served as interim executive director of the Spanish Catholic Center, director of development at CASA of Maryland, and YouthBuild program manager at the Latin American Youth Center. He now serves as vice president of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development's Board of Directors and was recently elected to the Nonprofit Roundtable's Board of Directors and the Wheaton-Kensington Chamber of Commerce. A full biography of Hidalgo can be found at http://ledcmetro.org/

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Silver Spring Jazzercise celebrates 30 years

The Silver Spring Jazzercise, a dance and fitness company based in Silver Spring, is celebrating 30 years of teaching by the same owner and certified instructor. The jazzercise company was started by local resident Candy Marshall at the Silver Spring Boys and Girls Club, and it eventually grew to classes across the metroplex, nation and world. A number of students have been coming to Jazzercise classes for 10, 25 and even the whole 30 years.

Evening classes are taught at Pinecrest Elementary school in Silver Spring, and morning classes are available three mornings a week at the Silver Spring Boys and Girls Club. For more information about classes, visit www.Candy

BarrJazz.com.

Free information for homeowners facing foreclosure

Silver Spring real estate agents Juanita Perry and Gary Downs of Long and Foster Real Estate have created a new web site that offers information for homeowners worried about the future of their homes.

"When faced with the possibility of foreclosure, we've seen too many homeowners make poor choices, even walking away from their homes without calling their lender or a real estate agent,'' Downs said. "These people didn't know the options available or even how to find any information on their situation."

The web site, www.DreamTeamRE.com, serves as a hub for free information on the facts and issues for struggling homeowners, putting the information in one location, according to a press release. Perry and Downs are also planning local seminars this fall to spread the information. Details on the seminars can be found at www.DreamTeamRE.com or by calling 301-476-8660. The Long and Foster Real Estate phone number is 301-384-8700.