Dr. Mark Chilton, First Physician Nominated for Frederick County Entrepreneur Of the Year Award

For over a decade, the Entrepreneur Council of Frederick County (ECFC) has been holding the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards to honor Frederick County's emerging and existing business owners in various categories of development. This year’s awards banquet is scheduled for June 7, 2012 at the Linganore Wine Cellars. A non-profit organization established in 1995, ECFC’s mission is to assist entrepreneurs to establish and sustain viable businesses in Frederick County that contribute to the economic well-being of the community, through networking forums, executive roundtables and these annual awards for local business owners. Mark Chilton, M.D. of the Mid-Maryland Musculoskeletal Institute (MMI) has been selected as a finalist for this year’s 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his years of work and vision to establish MMI as the regions premier practice for treatment of muscle, bone and joint. According to Ed Robinson, President of ECFC, this year marks the first time a medical practice and physician
have been nominated.

Dr. Chilton’s journey to this point started with very humble beginnings. Born into extreme poverty in central Pennsylvania, he overcame many obstacles to win both athletic and academic scholarships to attend college and medical school. Dr. Chilton credits his success to a handful of caring high school teachers who saw his potential, guided him away from dreams of being a professional baseball player and towards a career in medicine. In their efforts to ensure his success, these teachers even drove him to and from college numerous times each year since his family didn’t own a car. To this day, every time Dr. Chilton meets a teacher he always takes a moment to thank them for choosing teaching and making a difference in children’s lives.

Dr. Chilton is a firm believer in giving back to the community where he and his physician partners have enjoyed so much success. For many years he has been active in community affairs donating time and money through a myriad of charities including our local hospital and Kids Chance, an organization that offers scholarships to the children of workers who were either killed or severely injured in a work related accident, just to name a few. As a thank you to the many teachers who helped him along the way, Dr. Chilton regularly donates time and financial resources to our local schools.

The father of three boys, Dr. Chilton was very involved with athletics at Thomas Johnson High School and has been the team physician for many years. He also volunteers as the team physician for Frederick Community College and with his colleagues serves as team physicians for Hood College and the Frederick Keys. USA Today Weekend Magazine once called Dr. Chilton “one of the most influential parents in high schools today” because he gives free medical care to indigent student athletes.

Dr. Chilton has taken the lead in nurturing and developing MMI, helping it to grow from a two physician practice to a group that employs over 100 individuals and has five offices. Utilizing a management style that focuses on hiring the best people available, giving them the resources necessary to succeed and focusing on the customer (patient), Dr. Chilton has led MMI to consistently achieve its goals and become a beacon of quality care and community service in Frederick. He is driven to make MMI more than just a medical practice; rather,following his vision the group has embraced it role and mission to also act as a community servant.

As a volunteer member of the staff at Frederick Memorial Hospital Dr Chilton has served as Chief of Orthopaedics and Chairman of the Department of Surgery and he currently serves on the Credentials Committee. He is currently the President of the Maryland Society for Crippled Children and Adults, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of disabled children and adults. He serves nationally as an examiner for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.