LEONARDTOWN — Joe St. Clair’s son had never set foot on St. Clement’s Island. The island where Maryland’s first colonists landed in 1634 can only be reached by boat, and his son, who uses a wheelchair, had no vessel that could safely carry him there.
That gap became a project, and on Oct. 20 the project won an award. The St. Mary’s County Commission for People with Disabilities gave its 2026 Innovative Program Award to St. Clair and Mike Hudson, president and vice president of St. Clement’s Hundred, during the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County meeting. They were nominated by Judy Guy.
According to the award presentation, St. Clair and Hudson worked with community partners to secure $750,000 in state funds to design and build an accessible vessel. The commission said the boat will let people with mobility disabilities experience the island’s history and natural setting, and will support future accessibility improvements there.
Getting there is half the problem
A boat solves only part of the trip. In a fiscal 2027 federal funding request for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which manages St. Clement’s Island State Park, the island’s walkways and piers are described as not adequately accessible. That request seeks to bring the public access pier and a connecting walkway up to ADA standards, which would give people with mobility disabilities full access to the island for the first time.
Boat service to the island has been in transition. The county’s St. Clement’s Island Museum ended its water taxi season Oct. 13 and plans to resume in March 2027 after the vessel undergoes further upgrades and certifications. In December 2025, WTOP reported that the county had retired its 30-year-old, 22-seat water taxi and brought a larger, ADA-compliant boat online. Meanwhile, the museum on shore is being rebuilt and still aims to reopen on Maryland Day, March 25, 2027.
The other honorees
The commission recognized five other people and one business:
- Care Partner Award: Lori Walker, administrative director of Patuxent Habitat for Humanity, nominated by Karen Gill, for helping veterans through the Veteran Critical Home Repair Program.
- Vicki Brown Student Award: Lee Resick, nominated by Kelly O’Grady of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, for advocating for accessibility on campus. Resick is now pursuing a master’s degree in social work at Bryn Mawr College.
- Vicki Brown Adult Award: Melanie Shannon, nominated by Todd Morgan, who runs her own business and volunteers delivering meals, distributing donated bread and collecting recycling.
- Vicki Brown Adult Award: Paige Murray, nominated by LaShel Love, recognized for encouraging others with disabilities and for her work in art, graphic design and baking.
- Notable Employer Award: Dunkin’ in Leonardtown, nominated by Tamika Harrod of The Arc of Southern Maryland, which has employed a person with a disability since 2019.
The Vicki Brown awards honor the late advocate who served on both the Commission for People with Disabilities and the Commission on Aging. She and her husband, Sam, were named Volunteers of the Year at the commission’s first awards program in 2008, and she died in 2011.
The commission thanked Cindy Slattery, the county’s FMLA and ADA coordinator, for organizing this year’s program.
