Do you see any undamaged Nellie Stevens hollies around? They should be OK in 6B, but not sure. Are deer a problem in your area?

I have one in the Boonsboro area. Maybe 15 years old and 15+ feet tall. We lost a good number of leaves to the extreme winter, but new ones are replacing them. Doesn't seem to be susceptible to holly leaf miner.

They usually are fine here in coastal NJ, zone 7A, but we've seen moderate to severe damage on these hollies after these past two harsh winters. They are putting out new leaves, however, and should be fine.

Mine in Alexandria, VA is fine and we are not that far from you.

I have 3 Nellie Stevens in the Lancaster PA area and the last two winters have been very hard on them. Like the others said, new leaves are replacing damaged ones. I would hardly call this plant 'relatively fast growing' though. Ours have experienced about 6" of growth the last couple springs. Why don't you look to planting the native Ilex opaca? The one I have is faster growing than the NS. Plus it holds up better in the winter.