All good things must come to an end. After losing my election for the RA Board
earlier this month, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what the future
holds for me, including my future with RCA.
With our elections just around the corner and the candidate
filing period now open, I felt that I owed it to the RCA and to potential
candidates to make a decision about my plans. And after long and careful thought, I announced
to the Board at last week’s meeting that I have made the difficult decision not
to run for re-election to RCA.
Many factors have gone into this decision. One of the driving factors is the needs of my
family. My new wife and my daughter have
been very supportive of my work with RCA, but they need and deserve more of my
time than I’ve been able to give them.
But perhaps the deciding factor is my belief that it’s time
for me to do something different. I have served the community actively for almost a decade, and I have been with RCA for
almost all of that time, including the last 3 years as president. I have learned a lot and grown a lot in that
time, and now it’s time for me to start a new chapter in my life.
I’m proud of everything that RCA has accomplished under my
leadership. We have raised RCA’s profile
tremendously, and made ourselves part of the community conversation again. We have been a strong voice for Reston’s
citizens on issues like the Master Plan, transportation, open space, parks and
recreation, our library system, and many more.
We have forged strong relationship with fellow community organizations
like RA, ARCH, Rescue Reston, and others.
We have renewed our focus on keeping the citizens informed (one of RCA’s
original missions) by hosting and co-sponsoring community forums, producing analytical
reports, and starting the new Reston 411 series of quick facts.
Our Reston 2020 Committee has become widely-known and
well-respected as an analyst and watchdog on planning and development
issues. Terry Maynard’s reports and
white papers have become a go-to resource for those who want to understand the
community in depth. Our Reston
Accessibility Committee has continued to thrive in its mission of improving
access to Reston’s facilities for people with disabilities. Their excellent work has earned commendation
from Fairfax County, and it has made a real concrete difference at shopping
centers, office parks, and buildings all around our community.
Our revived Citizen of the Year Award has grown into a
much-loved annual event, and we have recognized some very deserving citizens,
including the late Dave Edwards, Nick Brown, Cate Fulkerson, and Kathy
Kaplan. We are also in the process of
taking primary responsibility for our annual candidate forums, which we have
long co-sponsored with John Lovaas and Reston Impact.
In short, I believe that I am leaving RCA in a very good
place.
That very good place includes the state of our Board. Right now, we have the strongest Board that
I have seen in my time with RCA. Our Board
is diverse in age, background, experience, and length of Reston residency, but
we’re united in our strong desire to serve the people of Reston. Every one of our Board members has
contributed to our success. Our
continuing Board members are ready to lead, and they have indicated that they are
ready to step up. One of the reasons I
feel comfortable stepping aside now is that I’m confident that the Board is
ready to carry on our good work without my involvement.
Just to be clear, my time isn’t quite up yet. My term doesn’t expire until the summer, and
I will continue to work hard for RCA and for Reston’s citizens until then. I will be leading our upcoming meetings and
continuing to develop the projects and issues already in progress. And I will work with the incoming President
and the new Board to ensure a smooth transition and make sure that RCA is
positioned to keep growing into the future.
Rest assured that I’m not going away, either. I love Reston, and I intend to continue
serving the community actively. You’ll
still see me at meetings (although not as often, I hope!), and I’ll still be seeking
ways to help Reston address the opportunities and challenges that await us in
the future. I’m currently in the process
of planning my next chapter, but I look forward to sharing it with you all.
Leading RCA has been an honor and a privilege. I have really enjoyed getting to know my fellow
Restonians better, both our leaders and the ordinary citizens that make our
community special. And I have enjoyed
sharing the news about our accomplishments and progress here in this space. Whatever the future holds for RCA and for me,
I’ll always be able to look back on this time with pride, knowing that we
helped make Reston a better place. I
look forward to seeing you out and about in Reston.
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