Come and hear about local religious freedom champion, Thomas Kennedy (1775 – 1832), at the September meeting of the Boonsboro Historical Society.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 – 5:30pm – Boonsboro Library 401 Potomac Street, Boonsboro, MD. Open to the public.
Tom Riford will also speak about the Thomas Kennedy Center, dedicated to celebrating Hagerstown-Washington County’s state legislator Thomas Kennedy’s tireless efforts of advancing religious liberty and inclusiveness in 19th Century Maryland; and teaching how his legacy applies today, regardless of differences that might exist among us in race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, color, orientation, and gender.
More About Thomas Kennedy
The Maryland Constitution in 1818 maintained religious test requirements that effectively prohibited Jews from being elected to state office. Kennedy, a Scottish Presbyterian immigrant, was elected to the House of Delegates in 1817 from Washington County. Kennedy believed religious discrimination was wrong. He began a bitter, eight-year struggle culminating in 1826 with the constitutional changes that freed Jewish citizens of Maryland from political discrimination. Kennedy also served in the Maryland Senate and established the ‘Hagerstown Mail’ newspaper. He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.
About Thomas B. Riford
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan named Tom Riford as Commerce Assistant Secretary in March 2019. Mr. Riford was responsible for managing the Division of Tourism, Film, and the Arts and the Department of Marketing and Communications. He also was the Executive Director of the Maryland Marketing Partnership, a public-private partnership which helps market the State of Maryland. Assistant Secretary Riford was transitioned out, as per the new Administration, on Sep. 1st, 2023.
Prior to state government service, Mr. Riford was most recently the executive director of the nonprofit Thomas Kennedy Center, and continues to serve on its board of directors. Riford served for more than a decade as the president and CEO of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he was successful in significantly driving up visitor spending and visitation.
The Boonsboro Historical Society features interesting, local, historical presentations throughout the year. Sign up for affordable membership today to support these ongoing efforts, which are open to the public.
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Riford Bio
Thomas B. Riford
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan named Tom Riford as Commerce Assistant Secretary in March 2019. Mr. Riford was responsible for managing the Division of Tourism, Film, and the Arts and the Department of Marketing and Communications. He also was the Executive Director of the Maryland Marketing Partnership, a public-private partnership which helps market the State of Maryland. Assistant Secretary Riford was transitioned out, as per the new Administration, on Sep. 1st, 2023.
Prior to state government service, Mr. Riford was most recently the executive director of the nonprofit Thomas Kennedy Center, and continues to serve on its board of directors. Riford served for more than a decade as the president and CEO of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he was successful in significantly driving up visitor spending and visitation. In 2012 and 2013, Washington County led the State of Maryland in increases in all tourism metrics. He also served as marketing director for several years with the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission. For more than four years, Riford was the vice president of Homewood Retirement Centers, and president of the 40-million-dollar Homewood Foundation. He received several awards from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He also worked as the marketing director of the Civil Engineering firm Associated Engineering Sciences, in Hagerstown, and greatly increased the annual client list and billing.
Riford was the long-time President of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, the long-serving chair of the board of directors for Discovery Station and served for several years as chair of the Maryland Destination Marketing Organizations. He was a long-time board member of the Maryland Humanities Council. He is a board member of the Hagerstown Aviation Museum, Breast Cancer Awareness-Cumberland Valley (Treasurer), founder and board member (Treasurer) of the Maryland International Film Festival-Hagerstown, board member of the American Red Cross, and president of the Miss Washington County/Miss Western Maryland Scholarship Foundation. He serves on the board of directors of the Maryland Association of Nonprofits Organizations (Maryland Nonprofits).
He was a charter board member of the Maryland Film Industry Coalition and the C&O Canal Trust. He serves on the Clara Barton Memorial Committee. He also has served on several other nonprofit boards of directors, and committees. He is a published historian.
In 2021, the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives and the Maryland Department of Planning announced the appointment of Tom Riford to the Maryland Semiquincentennial Commission (Maryland 250), which is charged with planning the 2026 commemoration of the American Revolution and the birth of our nation.
Mr. Riford is an award-winning public relations and marketing professional, as well as a radio news reporter and anchor, and has reported the news for decades in Hagerstown on WJEJ and on other radio stations in Maryland and New York. He has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and is a decorated Marine Corps veteran. Riford played semi-professional football in Australia, for the Gold Coast Stingrays in 1987. In 1989 Riford was named CBS Radio News Affiliate Reporter of the Year. In 1994, the former professional ski racer (1983-1987) set a world record for the most vertical feet skied in four hours. He is an examiner in the Professional Ski Instructors of America. He was named the 2004 Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year.
In 2013 he was awarded the Governor’s Tourism Marketing Award, by Governor Martin O’Malley. Also in 2013, Riford was named as the winner of the John Frye Historical Preservation Advocate Award. In 2019, for his lifetime of charitable and nonprofit work, Riford was presented with an Order of Chivalry, and named Knight Commander in the Order of Prince Danilo.
