In November 2002, Brandon James Malstrom was stabbed to death at a homecoming party in College Park. He was a 20-year-old operations and quality management major at the University of Maryland, and, said his mother, Carol, he was very active in a variety of extracurricular activities.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, Brandon?s loved ones found encouragement from the tremendous outpouring of support not only from his friends and the Phoenix/Jacksonville community, but also from all across the state.
Paul Malstom, Brandon?s uncle, decided to honor his nephew with a fund, and that?s how the Brandon James Malstrom Memorial Scholarship Foundation was created. Now almost four years later, Brandon?s friends and family honor his memory by awarding scholarship money to students with interests similar to those of Brandon. Some of the money goes to community projects. For instance, Brandon?s passions were skateboarding and lacrosse, and the fund annually allocates money to promote both sports in the metro area.
Recently, the foundation held a get-together and fundraiser at the Springdale pool in Cockeysville. Many friends of Brandon and his brother Bill attended and raised $1,600 for the foundation. Carol Malstrom said that on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, the foundation will host both a men?s and women?s lacrosse game at 9 a.m., followed by a bull roast at Oregon Ridge. Last year, they raised more than $20,000 and said they hope to exceed that this year.
So mark your calendars, and as Brandon?s mother so beautifully put it, “Thank you, we love keeping Brandon?s name in people?s thoughts.”
If you would like to donate to this fund, you can mail your contribution to the Brandon James Malstrom Memorial Foundation, 13815 Jarrettsville Pike, Phoenix, MD 21131. For information, go to www.brandonmalstrom.org.
READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?
Hundreds of Ravens fans, including yours truly, gathered at Ruth?s Chris Pier 5 location Tuesday night for a few cocktails, great company and a delicious meal. But the main attraction was an interview with Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan conducted by WNST-AM?s “Nasty” Nestor Aparicio. Before the sitdown, Rex and his lovely wife, Michelle, along Ryan?s defensive coaches Clarence Brooks, Mike Pettine, Mark Carrier and the very amusing Dennis Thurman, mingled with fans, which included many Baltimore bigwigs. Some of those were Brooke Boyle, of USA Home Loans, Dave Wells, president of K Bank, Pizza John?s Tim Stevens, Brian Ocheltree, president of Partner Point, and Chuck Boyle, of Boyle?s Buick Pontiac, who were all counting down the hours until training camp starts at 10 a.m. Friday. A very good time was had by all.
Anne Boone-Simanski is the social columnist for The Examiner and can be reached at [email protected] or 410-878-6131.
