Linda Ivy “has personified the [Greenbelt Labor Day] Festival as its president for the past 15 years, through the sudden loss of her beloved husband and helpmate Kelly, and then through a terrible pandemic, even while continuing to serve the Greenbelt community in many other ways,” according to Bob Zugby’s introduction of the Outstanding Citizen. Zugby added that Ivy had helped make possible the rides and amusements, the diversity of people and attractions and the wide variety of foods and treats.
“Greenbelt is a unique place,” commented Ivy. “Everybody knows everybody, and everybody is kind. I’m humbled by this award because there are so many people who do great things. That’s what we base it on: if you need help, you just call.” She explained, “If someone needed a volunteer, I would raise my hand. Before I was on the Labor Day Committee, my kids went to St. Hugh’s, and I organized the Bingo for three years, getting callers and volunteers.” Ivy’s husband Kelly was a very active coach of T-ball, Little League, youth softball and baseball, and in the early 2000s, he started a women’s league that played on Braden Field. Ivy worked alongside him, and that started her on the road to volunteering.
Ivy started working with the Labor Day Festival Committee around 1995 and organized the parade for 12 years. She also helped Kelly with the entertainment, booking bands from a wide array of different music styles. After becoming president of the committee in 2008, she added the Rising Stars talent program to showcase Greenbelt’s talented youth and built up the Craft Fair on Sunday and Monday so that Roosevelt Center is full of booths.
Ivy persevered in leading the Labor Day Festival through extraordinary and difficult times. Festival committee member Jon Gardner praised her leadership, saying that she “provided continuity in the Festival committee, and without her, it’s not clear that the Labor Day Festival would be continuing.” She oversaw the Festival through the pandemic and moved activities online in 2020 including a “virtual parade” video. In 2021, she kept the Festival running even without carnival rides – rides returned in 2022. Similarly, in 2014, when after 50 years the Rosedale company moved to a longer event in Virginia, Ivy found a replacement and brought the company back the next year. Ivy said people call the Festival, “Greenbelt’s Homecoming, because people come home for it.”
Ivy has stepped up in many ways to serve the Greenbelt community. For example, she organized a collection of hats, gloves and scarves through Realty 1 called, Working Together to Keep Greenbelt Warm. Ivy explained, “A couple of winters when it was really cold, the people who needed it could go through the box and take what they needed to keep warm.” Because she had three daughters, she organized a collection of prom dresses called Operation Pretty & Polished Prom Donation Drive to provide prom clothing to area high school students who couldn’t afford fancy gowns. In addition to her daughters, Ivy has a son, 14 grandkids and three great-grandkids. Ivy worked for the law office in Roosevelt Center with attorneys William Edwards and later, David Cross. Because they did real estate settlements, she got her realty license, but not as a full-time realtor. She is now happily and productively retired.
The Outstanding Citizen award is primarily supported by the Greenbelt Rotary, along with Greenbelt Federal Credit Union and Fieldstone Properties, proprietors of Franklin Park. Ivy received a gift basket including gift certificates from Cedars of Lebanon, East Pearl Asian Bistro, Generous Joe’s, Greenbelt Arts Center, Greenbelt Barber and Stylist, Greenway Liquors, Jersey Mike’s Subs, New Deal Café, Old Greenbelt Theatre, Shiatsu Massage Therapy, Silver Diner, Three Brothers Italian Restaurant and Wood’s Flowers and Gifts. Greenbelt Co-op Supermarket also provided a goodie basket and Greenbelt Nursery School contributed its Greenbelt is Great T-shirt.