Five original members of GARBO at Saturday's anniversary celebration
(from left) Wellington Page of Darnestown, Larry Plummer of Germantown, Angelo
Perkins of Gaithersburg, James Moten of Rockville and Francis Beckwith of Germantown.
    - Stacie D. Marshall/Special to the Gazette

They came to the anniversary affair immaculately dressed. Some of the
men wore top hats. Many women wore evening gowns and shawls.

The GARBOs, members of the Great and Respectable Black Organization, threw a party
on Saturday at the Damascus Volunteer Fire Hall to celebrate the group's 25th anniversary.

And, by the group's own admission, "There ain't no party like a GARBO party."

GARBO, a group of black men mostly from the upcounty, is similar to a
fraternal organization with a focus on socializing and social service.

The group began on a baseball field in the '60s and '70s. Several of the
men played together on a Rockville baseball team, which later turned into a softball team
as the league changed.

"Most of us were over 40 and just a little on the slow side," member
Larry Plummer, 61, of Germantown, remembered.

That is how the group originally got its name, Plummer said.

"GARBO [was] our slang for garbage," he said. "Our symbol is an old
trashcan."

The men, including Plummer and other original members such as Francis
Beckwith, 58, of Germantown, and Angelo Perkins, 56, of Gaithersburg,
started playing for fun. But after some practice, they actually starting
winning their games in the Rockville city league, members said.

Longtime member Wellington Page, 71, of Germantown, said his fondest
memories with the GARBOs were "when we really were playing baseball on a
regular basis. That was great," he said. "I wouldn't miss one [game],
unless I had to."

But now, years after they have put down their gloves, the group has
grown to take on the cause of service for less fortunate members of their
community.

They changed their name from just GARBO to the Great and Respectable
Black Organization, which they felt was a better fit.

"We began to think that that was our new mission," Plummer said, "to
serve the community rather than to play softball. "We felt there was a need in the
black community to do the things that we were doing."

The group's primary giving occurs around the holidays, when it gives away
Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner baskets packed to the rim with food.

The Christmas basket includes "a full 10-12 lb. turkey dinner, dressing,
potatoes, apples, sauerkraut, corn, string beans, apple pie or pumpkin pie,
milk, cranberry," said Perkins, the basket committee chair. "The full
dinner."

He said his best memories with GARBO have been with the Christmas basket
committee.

"It's a real pleasure serving the community and getting all the thank
you's from the people," he said. "It's all about the community."

GARBO also awards small college scholarships to students who need
assistance. Sometimes members chip in to help families who have simply
fallen on hard times.

For instance, last year, a couple connected with the GARBOs lost their
home in a fire. So the group stepped in to help.

Another time, Francis Beckwith's wife, Ellen, learned about a pregnant
female student who needed help paying for college. So GARBO gave her a
scholarship.

"To me, this organization is about giving back," said six-year president
Donny Ambush, 51, of Frederick. "We seek a lot of individuals who are in
need of things in the community. There are a lot of people who have been
in accidents, and a lot of people who have been burned out."

Ambush said his group tries to give people a "little spot," in the way
of scholarships or support, to help them get the right opportunities or to
get back on their feet.

"This is nobody's eggs and bacon," he added, emphasizing that the group
steps in to assist when they can. "We just like being a part of a social
group and helping others. I just appreciate what we do in the
community."

Back at the fire hall, black and silver balloons bobbed all over. Rythm
and blues music spun on the deejay's turntables. For a group with just 18
members, GARBO knew how to fill a large space with family and friends.

The annual dinner and dance, at $40 a person, is one of the group's main
fund-raising activities. Handshaking and kisses abounded as members
greeted their guests at the entrance.

After the open bar closed, the GARBOs -- dressed in matching tuxedos
with olive green bowties -- stood in front of their guests and invited them
to the large buffet table in the back, but not before they prayed and gave
a moment of silence in honor of the pope.

After dinner, the GARBOs announced its "Man of the Year," Marcus Dorsey,
the group's secretary for his service.

After that, they danced the night away.

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