You will find Aaron Plymouth at just about every political reception, ribbon cutting and community event in the northwest. Considered a go-to person when there is a need for advocacy and action, he can marshal volunteers and get the community engaged on a particular issue. His leadership and influence comes from the strong relationships he has built with elected officials, government and business leaders, and most importantly, his neighbors.
As president of the Stevenswood Improvement Association, an organization representing 205 well-maintained single-family and detached homes off Old Court Road behind Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, Plymouth takes his leadership role seriously. Items related to the safety and quality of the neighborhood—such as installing handicapped ramps and speed bumps, working with Northwest Hospital to enclose an incinerator, and taking a look at deteriorating driveway aprons—get his full attention.
When the neighborhood begins to take on an unruly appearance with tall grass and weeds, unlicensed vehicles parked on the street and the stream littered with debris, Plymouth knows it’s time to schedule an Operation Clean Sweep. He sends a detailed letter to homeowners advising them on what they can expect at the two-day activity, for example a visit from county inspectors who will have no problem writing citations for code violations.
During the second day of the clean-up, a street sweeper whisks through the eight streets and four courts. The activity concludes with a curbside pickup by Purple Heart of unwanted clothes and household items.
Plymouth keeps the community informed and in-the-know at monthly meetings of the improvement association and quarterly meetings of the Combined Communities Advocacy Council of Greater Randallstown (CCACGR), a group of which Stevenswood is a member and he chairs.
Describing himself as systematic and organized, Plymouth says it is also his style to bring individuals’ different strengths together in order to get the job done. He is a stickler for following the bylaws, punctuality and processes, such as following an agenda. If you don’t know what time it is, he’ll tell you in his base voice.
Anyone looking to open a liquor store on Liberty Road will come up against Plymouth’s “Operation 100 Plus 50.” Stevenswood homeowners know the drill: When they receive the call to action, it is their responsibility to see to it that the county liquor board receives 100 letters in the inbox or mailbox and 50 people at its public hearings.
“Since 2010, we have decided that there will be no more class A liquor licenses granted for package goods, e.g. beer, wine and liquor, to anyone west of the beltway to Deer Park Road,” Plymouth says. “We’re also stopping those for class D, which is a bar or lounge.”
He adds, “So long as I can breathe, I will fight and fight to keep all class A and class D out of the area because we have super saturation of liquor stores. We don’t need anymore.”
Everything the group achieves is part of a team effort and he praises his officers for their support. Prince Green is Stevenwood’s first vice president, Arthur Brown is second vice president, Patricia Moseby is treasurer and Carl Waters is secretary.
In the CCACGR, which is comprised of 10 community associations, Danny Blount serves as vice chair, Susan Sherman as secretary, Tim Clark as treasurer, Virginia Jones as sergeant at arms, Nan Sherman as special assistant, and Patricia Clark as public information officer.
Born and raised an hour’s drive away from Raleigh, in Kingston, North Carolina, Plymouth headed north to attend graduation school at the University of Pittsburgh. He earned a master’s degree in education there and received another in administration and supervision from Loyola. His professional experience includes positions as reading specialist, teacher and assistant principal. After deciding that “administration was not my thing,” he returned to the classroom as a reading specialist at Old Court Middle and Scotts Branch Elementary. He has been retired for 10 years.
Plymouth and his wife Bernice Brooks-Plymouth, a registered nurse in adult psychiatry, celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in June. The couple moved from an East Baltimore rowhouse to the Stevenswood community in 1985, attracted by better schools. Their two sons—Phillip, 33, an accounting manager for a large firm, and Paul, 28, an administrative assistant for Baltimore City Councilman Jack Young—attended Winfield Elementary, Sudbrook Middle and Randallstown High School before heading to college.
7 Fun Questions
Dead or alive, who would you like to have dinner with?
Nelson Mandela. We’d have a five-course meal: chilled soup, with a spring salad, Chilean sea bass, ostrich or buffalo venison or rattlesnake meat, and wine from South Africa.
What do you do for fun?
Travel, cook dishes such as poached salmon with lemon dill butter, French lamp chops and filet mignon, enjoy a good glass of wine and reading. I’m currently reading James Patterson.
What are your favorite travel spots?
I have been to 43 states, including Hawaii and Alaska, and over 25 countries and islands. My favorite is the Caribbean and U.S. Virgin Islands.
If you didn’t go into education, what career path would you take?
Law.
What words do people use to describe you?
Thorough, sincere, compassionate.
What advice should you have listened to as a young man?
Read more books.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
At one time, I wanted to be a minister. I used to have a recurring dream that I was in this shack. Christ was bearing his cross saying Aaron I need you. I thought that was a calling. I am a deacon at Catonsville Presbyterian Church.
Anything else you’d like people to know about you.
When my term expires with Stevenswood, I would have served 30 consecutive years as leadership as first vice president, acting president and president and six years as chair of the CCACGR since it began.