On April 29, 2017, the Garrett County Commission for Women inducted MFRW Past President Ruth Umbel into the Hall of Fame. This prestigious award is given to carefully selected women who promote a positive image of women, promote awareness of issues affecting women, and facilitate the dissemination of information affecting Women that will assist them in attaining the best possible quality of life.
We are so proud of Ruth and the difference she has made not only in Garrett County but in the state. Here is the write-up upon her induction into the Hall of Fame:
Ruth Hinebaugh Umbel is a native of Garrett County, having grown up on a farm in Friendsville. After graduating from Northern High School, she married and raised three children while helping her husband with his business while working on her own and being involved in her children’s education. After moving to Montgomery County, she attended college, majoring in music, and performed classical music. Her performance career, however, was cut short by a severe skiing accident.
Returning to Garrett County as a single mother, Ruth attended Garrett Community College, completing her Associate’s degree in 1975. In 1976, she graduated from Frostburg State College with a BA in Social Science and a minor in Music.
Ruth’s career has included being an effective teacher, a successful hospitality business owner, a political leader, and an avid community advocate. She taught at Southern Middle School and at Southern High School where she was also the Tennis Coach and the Girls’ Athletic Advisor. In 1981, she left teaching and bought the Red Run Inn on Deep Creek Lake, which she owned and operated for 11 years, developing it into the lake area’s first bed and breakfast. She sold the business in 1994 and decided to return to the classroom, teaching for 3 years in the Baltimore City Public Schools system. In 1998, she completed her Master’s of Education degree from Frostburg State University. Her last 9 years as a teacher were at Allegany High School in Cumberland.
Before owning Red Run Inn, Ruth was the Restaurant and Hotel Manager of the Point View Inn on Deep Creek Lake, managing all facets of the business. When she left teaching, she acknowledged the tourist business explosion of the 1990’s and decided to open another bed and breakfast. In the late 1990’s, she opened The Windy Knoll Bed and Breakfast in McHenry, a business she still operates today.
Ruth is a Life Member of the National Republican Committee, a sustaining member of the Maryland Republican Party, and a multiple-term member of the Garrett County Republican Central Committee. She served two terms as the President of the Maryland Federation of Republican Women and additional terms in other leadership positions within this organization. Her political career also includes service as President and Vice President of the Southern Garrett County Republican Women’s Club, Secretary to the State Republican Central Committee, and a representative of the Governor’s Academy on Government Programs. Ruth has had state and county leadership positions in the presidential and gubernatorial election campaigns since 2000. Recently, Ruth was appointed by Governor Hogan to the Maryland Tourism Development Board and served on the National Committee for the 100th anniversary of the suffrage movement. She was awarded the Republican Woman of the Year Award in 2010 from Allegany County and the Republican Woman of the Year Award from Garrett County in 2011.
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