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“Dennis” means “wise discerner.” Little did his parents know, at his birth, the wisdom or discernment he would grow into as a man or how thoroughly those characteristics would define a life-long dedication to using those gifts of birth to serving others. As patriotic and as politically active as Dennis has been all these years, it’s a source of family amusement that Dennis was born on Flag Day – June 14, 1947. He’s always been teased by his three brothers about being wrapped in the flag, rather than a blanket, when he was born.
In reality, politics began for Dennis on the front steps of his blue-collar family home in Essex (Baltimore County), Maryland, just a few miles from Bethlehem Steel where his father, Charles, worked for 39 years in the shipyard as a machinist and near the school where his mother, Mary Elizabeth, served in the cafeteria for over 30 years. Dennis spent hours at his father’s elbow listening to neighborhood conversations about local politics, projects and problems. Many a neighbor’s problem was brought to their front door for a sympathetic ear, an objective viewpoint, or an outright solution. There began the germ for Dennis’ love of public service and the man of substance he was to become. Anyone who’s known Dennis since his boyhood will tell you that Dennis developed his polish and his style over time from his unique hunger for knowledge and his internal drive to experience life beyond his front doorstep.
“Rasmussen” is a bit more common a name than one might think. Although “Rasmussen” is of Danish origin, there are Swedish, German and other derivations and spellings of the name. Then, too, Dennis is a bit of a mixed breed because it’s really his Irish grandmother who’s largely responsible for a rather extended family. At her passing at the age of 93, she left some 176 descendants.
A product of the Baltimore County Public Schools, Dennis graduated from Kenwood Senior High School in 1965 in academic studies, while working part time. Dennis did more than earn a degree in Economics from Loyola College in Baltimore in 1970. He did so while enrolled fulltime in night school, working fulltime during the day at Westinghouse Space and Defense and then at Equitable Trust Company.
While at Equitable Trust, Dennis was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. [read more]
Once elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1978, Dennis left Equitable Trust and formed a series of successful entrepreneurial businesses in the food and beverage, real estate and technology industries. It was during his service as a State Senator that Dennis received the prestigious Outstanding State Legislator in the United States award from the Association of Government Employees. The award hangs on the wall in Dennis’ office to this day. It is more than just a testament to Dennis’ many contributions to the Maryland citizenry as Majority Whip and Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. It is supreme recognition, given to only ten state legislators in the nation annually, of outstanding bipartisan performance on behalf of the electorate.
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Then, in 1986, Dennis took on the challenge of Baltimore County Executive. His performance in office on behalf of the residents of Baltimore County, and his skills in managing the diverse affairs of Maryland’s largest county, earned him a second highly coveted honor, Most Valuable State or County Official in America. City & State Magazine selected Dennis for the award based on his remarkable ability to balance effectively the economy of his Administration, the environment of his County, and the needs of his divergent citizenry.
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Dennis’ executive talent, his remarkable interpersonal skills, and his reputation for consensus-building put him in continual demand for board memberships and appointments to governing councils and nonprofit organizations in need of experienced leadership.
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With all of his many personal, business, government and community service affiliations -- throughout Maryland, in neighboring jurisdictions, and across the nation -- Dennis is also in demand to lend counsel and expertise to other businesses, both informally and by way of professional affiliation. [read more]
Today, Dennis owns and manages one of the State's most successful and respected governmental relations and advocacy firms,
representing business and nonprofit clients across an array of American industry and professions.
For the last 15 years, the work of The Rasmussen Group has kept Dennis close to the heartbeat of State and Federal
governmental affairs, as well as to the legislative and political concerns of Marylanders across the State.
Dennis has never been absent from voluntary public service. He is Chairman of the Board of Franklin Square Hospital Center, on the Board
of Visitors and Adjunct Professor of Public Policy for Towson University, Vice Chairman of the Board for the Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC) of Baltimore, a Board Member of the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce, and a Board Member of Port Discovery Children's Museum. Dennis has received a wall-full of awards over a long career of public and charitable service, but it is the awards from those organizations dedicated to helping others that bring the greatest sense of accomplishment to him. [read more]
What is so significant about these long-term charitable service commitments, as well as Dennis' many other service contributions over the
years, is his level of commitment and participation. He does not simply lend his good name, attend an occasional meeting or two
and write a check to the causes he attaches to his name. He is an aggressive and instrumental player in raising funds for critical nonprofit
programs dependent upon private and governmental sectors for their operations, and he lends an active and experienced executive voice to the various boards of directors on which he serves. When Dennis speaks, people listen. He has a lifetime of experience, success and credibility. And his good name is wrapped in integrity.
Dennis is a man of high energy, capable of energizing and motivating others. It takes a man of that nature to get things done. What's more, he holds himself and others accountable. And that means -- when Dennis is involved -- things not only get done, they get done well, on time and at or under budget.
Kristi and Kandace, Dennis' daughters, heard thousands of times from their father the philosophy that successful people were simply ordinary people with extraordinary determination. Several years ago for his birthday the two gave him a paperweight for his desk: "Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination."
Dennis is entirely a self-made man and he thanks God for the opportunities he has been given to succeed. He has taken nothing and given everything. For Dennis, his personal growth and achievement have forever run in tandem with dedication and hard work. His value system – embedded in a foundation of faith, family and community – drives the public service component of his career and a bone-deep desire to give back for blessings received.
Just right for Maryland!
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