Lozinak Family and The Harford Mutual Insurance Companies as Harford County Outstanding Philanthropists of the Year

From the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Harford County Chapter:

On April 7, 2011, more than 140 people gathered at Maryland Golf and Country Clubs in Bel Air to honor members of the Lozinak Family and The Harford Mutual Insurance Companies as the 2011 Outstanding Philanthropists of the Year. The award is presented to an individual, family or business in Harford County whose exceptional generosity demonstrates outstanding civic and charitable responsibility, and whose example encourages others to take philanthropic leadership roles.

The Lozinak Family has been part of Harford County for more than forty years. Bob and Joan Lozinak hail from Altoona, PA where they fulfilled their dream of bringing a minor league baseball team, the Altoona Curve to their hometown in 2008. In 1969, after serving in the US Army and finishing college and married, Bob and Joan became McDonald’s franchisees, and continue as owners/operators of three McDonald’s franchises throughout the county. Always low key and unassuming, Bob and Joan Lozinak instilled in their children, Mike, Steve, and David, the philosophy of giving back. Throughout the last 40 years, the family has supported Catholic and public schools, Harford County Parks and Recreation, Harford County Public Library, Catholic Charities, St. Joan of Arc in Aberdeen, and the Make a Wish Foundation, to name a few. Joan is a founding director of the Harford County Boys and Girls Clubs and a member of the Women’s Alliance of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, a group that provides scholarships to low income students in Baltimore.

Harford Mutual was incorporated in 1842 and began business the following year as the Mutual Fire Insurance Company in Harford County. For more than 165 years, The Harford Mutual Insurance Companies have been providing clients with insurance coverage tailored to protect their businesses through the use of their Insurance Claims Automation Solutions. Over the years, the company has grown, but has maintained a steadfast commitment to personal service, fast fair claims handling, and innovative coverage designed to meet their customers’ changing needs. Through the good times and bad, The Harford Mutual Insurance Companies have thrived, growing from a small local insurer serving homeowners and farmers in rural Bel Air, Maryland to a regional company that offers a range of programs designed to protect the business assets of their clients. They operate in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware, Tennessee, North Carolina and the District of Columbia. Administration of the company’s affairs is under the direction of Steven D. Linkous, President and Chief Executive Officer. Steve began his insurance career in Information Technology. He joined the company in 1985 and assumed his present position in 2006. Harford Mutual has an outstanding record of community philanthropy. In 2010, over 70 Maryland non-profits were the recipients of their generosity. Their top ten charitable donations supported Upper Chesapeake Health including Upper Chesapeake Hospice, United Way, Harford Habitat for Humanity, Center for the Visual Arts, ARC, SARC, American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, American Cancer Society and National Kidney Foundation of Maryland.

AFP Salutes all the members of the Lozinak Family and The Harford Mutual Insurance Companies for the gifts they have given over the years to so many Harford County charities. We are grateful for the difference they have made in our community.

Past recipients of the Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year Award have been The Cook Family and Harford Bank (2010), The Family of Walter and Betty Ward (2009), The Dresher Family (2008) and The Ralph and Shirley Klein Foundation (2007). Recipients are nominated and selected by a committee consisting of Harford County members of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Maryland Chapter.