SNOW HILL – County leaders honored Ocean City’s Charles “Buddy” Jenkins this week for his conservation efforts.
The Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday presented Jenkins with a commendation recognizing him as the 2019 recipient of the Stephen N. Parker Conservation Legacy Award from the Lower Shore Land Trust.
“Mr. Jenkins, an exemplary citizen engaged in ongoing service to the community, received this award for his contributions to private land conservation on the Lower Eastern Shore, and specifically for preserving his more than 2,000-acre property, which consists of prime agricultural and coastal wetlands, from future development,” Commissioner Joe Mitrecic read from Jenkins’ commendation.
Jenkins thanked the commissioners for the recognition but said he was simply doing what his parents had raised him to do.
“I was always taught to make things better,” he said. “If they were bad you can always make them better. If they’re good you can always make them better. It’s a never-ending process.”
Jenkins is president of Bayshore Development Corporation, which operates the Jolly Roger amusements, Thrashers French Fries and hotel properties in Ocean City. However, Jenkins is also known as the owner of one of the most significant tracts of land in northern Worcester County totaling over 2,000 acres of forest, prime agriculture and coastal wetlands. The property has been preserved from future development through deed restrictions. Jenkins was announced as the recipient of the inaugural Stephen N. Parker Conservation Legacy Award–created to honor Parker’s own conservation efforts–this winter.
Jenkins, who is also known for his efforts to fight addiction in the community through The Atlantic Club in West Ocean City, used his time with the commissioners Tuesday to commend them for the county’s commitment to addressing alcohol and drug addiction.
“We put together a plan, we executed the plan, and it has come out the way it should come out,” he said of the county’s efforts to partner with local agencies aimed at curbing addiction. “I commend you for that.”
Jenkins also talked about his introduction to environmental stewardship. He said he agreed to preserve his land to support both the coastal environment as well as to support the Nature Conservancy.
“I’m a developer, but I’m also a conservationist and I think that’s where we should try to get in our life,” he said. “Look at the issue, solve the issue, forget what you are. Do what’s right.”
Jenkins said he’d watched the commissioners do just that.
“The other thing I want to commend you for, which is not the case in most political fields…I’ve always believed that if you’ve got an issue, if you’ve got a problem, solve it,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re a male or female, I don’t care if you’re a socialist or a right-winger. It doesn’t make any difference. It’s the issue that makes the difference. I watch you from a distance and you very astutely try to come together to solve the issue.”
