Voting in the 2022 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 1 through April 1. This week, we will begin posting profiles on each of the candidates. The complete election schedule is available online. All races are uncontested, but a 10 percent quorum must be met.

Featured here is Glenn Small, who is running for an at-large seat. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?
I have lived in Reston since 2007, the year my wife and I got married and bought a home here. My wife grew up in Reston and teaches at South Lakes High School. Even before we bought our home, we enjoyed the pools, tennis courts and trails of Reston.

What inspired you to run for the board? (Note: If you are currently on the board or have held a previous position on the board, emphasize why you are running again). 

I suppose the idea for running and potentially serving on the RA Board had been brewing for some time, with just the thought that the RA Board has a tough job with many new and ongoing challenges and serving on the Board is a way of giving back to this great community. I decided to run after seeing that it looked like there was a need for qualified candidates this election cycle.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

My concerns align with my goals which include: 1) Understanding the fiscal challenges of RA and working to help address them, such as aging infrastructure; 2) Promoting outreach and transparency to our membership, seeking to engage and involve more of our members in using and benefiting from RA and Reston but also in serving the community; 3) Identifying ways to protect recreational and open space.

If elected, I will bring an experienced, common-sense approach, first seeking to understand more deeply how RA operates, and then identifying ways to be helpful while respecting others and looking for ways to involve and include the most perspectives to help drive us to better decisions and better plans that will serve all of us.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

My overall goal is to get immersed in the board to understand more specifically what the current and future challenges are and then to be a voice for helping to address those challenges. The more we involve people and a diversity of perspectives in our problem-solving approaches, the better and more sustainable will be our solutions. That’s the kind of mindset and approach I would bring to serving on the board.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

As a consulting executive and business owner, I work with non-profit universities and colleges to help them achieve transformational change in rethinking and reimplementing systems and processes to serve their constituents. As an RA Board member, I would bring the skills and perspectives of improving operations and identifying and resolving our toughest challenges, keeping our members’ interests top of mind. My approach will be active and engaged, always seeking to understand and address our members concerns.

Photo via Glenn Small

County Government to Develop COVID-19 Memorial — “Fairfax County supervisors on Feb. 8 directed staff from the county’s Facilities Management Department, Park Authority and other agencies to begin planning for a COVID-19 memorial that will be placed on property owned by the county government or its park system.” [Sun Gazette]

Reston Association to Host Candidate Forum — Residents can meet candidates running for RA’s Board of Directors election in a debate-style forum on Feb. 23. [RA]

McKay Responds to Senate Move on Mask Authority — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said that he is deeply disappointed in the state Senate’s attempt to overturn local authority to be able to require masks in schools. He says that a “one size fits all directive will only put our children and teachers at risk.” [McKay]

Photo by David Taube

All three open seats for Reston Association’s Board of Directors are uncontested races this year. The month-long election for the organization’s nine-member board will be held next month.

Despite the lack of competition in the races, RA requires a 10 percent quorum to validate election results.

Glenn Small is running for an at-large director position. Irwin Flashman is running for the Lake Anne/Tall Oaks district director while Laurie Dodd is running for the North Point district director. All three positions are for a three-year term.

Dodd, who has lived in Reston for 26 years, has served on a variety of boards and community organizations, including Reston Community Center and the Reston Swim Team Association. She also ran unsuccessfully for Hunter Mill District Supervisor in 2019. Professionally, she is a child advocate attorney.

Her top goals include fiscal responsibility, member engagement and environmental sustainability.

“I hope to use my commitment to the community, ability to work with a wide range of people, and optimism to bring Reston Association forward while upholding our quality of life,” Dodd wrote in a candidate statement submitted to RA.

Flashman moved to Reston after launching serving at an environmental law practice in Puerto Rico. He was recognized as volunteer of the year in the 55+ category by RA.  He hopes to prioritize board transparency, increased community with members, environmental issues and fiscal responsibility.

“The board should be upfront with the membership. It is the members’ money,” Flashman wrote in a statement.

Small, a former journalist and current consulting executive, said he works with nonprofit universities and colleges to achieve transformational change. His goals include understanding RA’s fiscal challenges, promoting outreach for RA’s members and identifying ways to protect recreational and open space.

“If elected, I believe I would bring an experienced, common-sense approach, first seeking to understand more deeply how RA operates, and then identifying ways to be helpful while respecting others and looking for ways to involve and include the most perspectives to help drive us to better decisions and better plans that will serve all of us.” Small wrote in a statement.

An online ballot will be posted on RA’s website at 5 p.m. on March 1. Members can also submit mail-in ballots.

Freeze Warning In Effect — A freeze warning is in effect from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Friday while a frost advisory remains in effect until 9 a.m. today. [National Weather Service]

Toys for Tots is On — The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department is taking part in the annual toys for tots campaign. Stations will accept donations through Dec. 12. This year, collection boxes will be placed outside the front door of every fire station each morning. Residents have until 8 p.m. to drop off today every day. [FCFRD]

Dump Your Pumpkins Elsewhere — The Fairfax County Park Authority is reminding residents that parks aren’t for pumpkins. Residents should not discard pumpkins at county parks. [Fairfax County Government]

Candidate Call for Reston Association Board — Three seats are open for the association’s Board of Directors. The month-long election is held every March. Positions for at-large director, Lake Anne/Tall Oaks District director, and North Point district director are open. [RA]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Reston Association Board Election Ends Tomorrow — Voting in Reston Association’s Board of Directors election will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 2. There are four candidates seeking two at-large seats, along with one person running for the South Lakes District seat. Reston Now ran profiles of the at-large candidates earlier this year. [RA]

Major Development Coming to Innovation Center Station — Developers are planning to bring 4 million square feet of development to the Innovation Center Metro station. The latest proposal focuses on Loudoun County but was made possible by the sale of the Center for Innovative Technology campus in Herndon [Washington Business Journal]

Virginia Adopts First State Voting Rights Act in U.S. — “Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday approved the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, which aims to eliminate voter suppression and intimidation in the state.” [CNN/WTOP]

South Lakes Students Install Public Art at Lake Thoreau — Students on the South Lakes High School STEAM Team finished installing their Part and Parcel art exhibit at Lake Thoreau earlier this week. The work took nearly 17 months to put together and was developed through a partnership between Reston Association and Public Art Reston. [@SeahawkBoosters/Twitter]

FEMA to Help with COVID-19-related Funeral Costs — “Beginning in early April, residents may apply to FEMA for financial assistance to help cover funeral costs incurred by COVID-19-related deaths. This assistance will be available to all residents…who incurred expenses after Jan. 20, 2020, for a death attributed to the virus.” [Fairfax County Health Department]

Leidos Wins Multimillion-Dollar Navy Contract — The Reston-based contractor Leidos has been awarded a contract with an estimated value of $149.2 million to provide engineering, technical, and management services for the U.S. Navy’s Naval Array Technical Support Center. [PR Newswire]

Photo by Ray Copson

Voting Underway for Reston Association Election — Members of RA can now cast their ballots for the 2021 board race. Voting will remain open until April 2 at 5 p.m. [RA]

Large Metal Object Found in Lake Audubon — A contractor plans to remove debris from Lake Audubon as soon as possible. A barge crew and diver are expected to retrieve and dispose of the metal object later this week. [RA]

Transportation to Vaccine Appointments Offered in Fairfax County — The county’s Department of Neighborhood and Community Services has subsidized a taxi voucher program for seniors and other residents seeking to receive a vaccine. Other community organizations are also offering transportation services. [Reston Patch]

Photo by Marjorie Copson

Voting in the 2021 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 1 through April 2. This week, we will begin posting profiles on each of the candidates. The complete election schedule is available online.

Featured here is Vincent Dory who is running against three other people for one of two at-large seats. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words.

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

I have lived in Reston for two years. I decided to set my roots down here because of the unique design and architectural philosophy that governs the design of this place and for the great location in regards to jobs in the area.

What inspired you to run for the board? 

I was inspired to run for the board out of my great appreciation for Reston’s history and design, desire to serve a greater community, and because of the fact that I am a self-driven person. The local activism in regards to the preservation of Reston’s green spaces has also inspired me to run.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

Finally, I would be an important asset in the work to ensure reston.org‘s current redesign is the best possible for our member’s usage. I am a professional software developer, which gives me knowledge in being able to assist the Association with any technology issues. I also have certifications in cloud computing, which our IT infrastructure recently transferred to. All of this will be valuable for making our technology the best it can be in this time of transition.

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

I hope to accomplish the aforementioned goals, and help govern the RA in a measured, effective manner.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

In addition to my aforementioned skills with technology, I also was the president of my fraternity during university. I am also active in many local political and activist organizations in my spare time. This all gives me experience in managing organizations effectively, dealing with and utilizing personnel to their best abilities, and having a smooth management of finances and assets. You can find more about me at my website, vincentdory.com.

Photo via Reston Association

Voting in the 2021 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 1 through April 2. This week, we will begin posting profiles on each of the candidates. The complete election schedule is available online.

Featured here is Sarah Selvaraj-Dsouza who is running against three other people for one of two at-large seats. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words.

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

I have been fortunate to call Reston my home for the past 13 years. What brought me here was fate, but what has kept me here is a love and appreciation for Reston and its many wonderful offerings, the nature, the amenities, the attractions, and most of all the people who make our community so vibrant and unique.

When I came to Reston, I brought with me a business degree, ideas, and dreams. In 2013, I launched a small business in Northern Virginia. The Reston community helped me realize this dream. Ceramic classes and studio offerings at the Reston Community Center were an intricate part of my growth. I spent countless hours with the amazing instructors there, playing with clay. And as a mom, I have thoroughly enjoyed all that Reston has to offer from museums, art galleries, trails, parks, lakes, even a zoo, kids classes, ice-skating, pools, tennis courts, shopping, and so much more.

Each of our stories on what brought us to Reston and what keeps us here is unique and what makes this area an amazing place to live work and play. I want to hear about your story. Visit me on SARAH4RESTON.com so we can get to know each other and chat, I would love to talk, text, email or simply good ol’fashioned meet for coffee.

What inspired you to run for the board? (Note: If you are currently on the board or have held a previous position on the board, emphasize why you are running again). 

This year on the board, I championed several initiatives including:

• resisting substantial increases to our dues,
• offering pool pass discounts and refunds to members whose enjoyment of our facilities had been impacted by COVID
• encouraging RA to take a very public stance in support of our golf courses
• insisting on greater transparency from the association, board, and staff
• improving cluster communications
• advocating for an IT committee to help RA staff with strategy and oversight to protect members’ data and address several technology concerns that have plagued us over the years.

But Reston we’ve got a lot more work to do.

I am committed to ensuring RA’s primary focus is our membership – YOU.

Please vote for me to represent you for a full 3-year term so together we can see Reston flourish. Please visit me at Sarah4Reston.com for more info.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

• Affordability – From affordable housing to affordable RA assessments, affordability is KEY to all of us. We need to ensure our assessments are affordable. Being a mom and a small business owner I know every dollar spent towards an assessment is a dollar not spent on my family or my business.

• Density and Redevelopment – RA must be an advocate for Restonians on Land Use issues. We need a strong board that can effectively represent us to the county on plans that conflict with our members’ best interests. New development must be part of RA. Many of these developments tout RA’s wonderful offerings like our amenities, lakes, and trails to entice new owners but are not members of RA and do not contribute to the upkeep.

• Climate Change – The urgency of climate change cannot be ignored. Reston under the RA Environmental Advisory Committee(EAC)’s leadership is working towards being a leader on this front. We can and must do more. This year as liaison to the EAC I advocated for more visibility and input from this amazing group of volunteers on RA operations that impact the environment. I invite you to learn about and take the biophilic pledge with me and to visit Reston Today’s informative video.

These are big issues and need lots of conversations with the community and voices to find the right solutions for Reston. I want to start/continue these conversations. If you would like to join in, visit SARAH4RESTON.com

What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

I had the honor to serve as one of your At-Large Representatives on the board this year. I am asking for your vote again because I want to continue to advocate for fiscal responsibility, transparency, two-way communications, and action-oriented leadership.

• Greater Fiscal Responsibility: I believe smart money management does not mean raising assessments or pay cuts for hard-working RA staff. Smart money management means the efficient and effective use of available resources, including the knowledge and experience of the RA Fiscal Committee. It also means exploring the possibility of public/private partnerships and other non-assessment revenue streams to meet membership needs.

• Greater Transparency and Communication: The RA Board must be committed to transparency and empowering the membership through meaningful engagement. We can achieve this by disseminating necessary documents and reports sufficiently prior to board/committee meetings to allow member participation and comment.

• Action-Oriented Leadership: I will use my skill set as a successful business owner for creative problem-solving, where consensus building, communication, and firm deadlines will be key. I will encourage implementing action items in a timely manner.

5. How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

Making a small business grow and prosper over the last eight years has required the ability to adapt and innovate especially to survive 2020. Those skills would benefit the RA board and our community.

Diversity, innovation, and adaptation have been an integral part of my life. I grew up in India, completed my engineering degree in Singapore, obtained my MBA in Bristol, England, and moved to Reston 13 years ago to start my family.

I love that our Reston community is much more than shared zip codes. When COVID hit and the struggle for civil rights and justice came to the forefront, I founded RESTONSTRONG and organized more than 5000 neighbors for community action including a peaceful demonstration and no-contact donation pods. I serve on the GMU School of Music Board, foster for LostDogRescue.org, and now help my 5th grade Terraset Tiger with distance-learning.

Most importantly, as a homeowner, a business owner, and a mom, I know the value RA brings to our community and lives, and I am also keenly aware of the strain we can face when assessments are raised or prices for programs and amenities become more expensive. I will ensure our money is spent wisely, I will champion accountability and transparency, and I will use my experience and passion for our community to implement creative solutions.

Photo via Reston Association

Voting in the 2021 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 1 through April 2. This week, we will begin posting profiles on each of the candidates. The complete election schedule is available online.

Featured here is John Farrell who is running against three other people for one of two at-large seats. The profiles are in a Q-and-A format. With the exception of minor formatting edits, profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words. 

How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?

My family had the good fortune to move Reston in 1984. My 4 kids went to Terraset, Hughes and South Lakes Schools. They went to RA camps, learned to swim at RA pools and played ball on RA fields.  Our cluster has been home to many kinds of families of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.  That diversity has enriched all of us and truly makes Reston a unique and amazing place to live, work and play.

My passion for Reston actually began many years before I moved here. In 1965, like other 12 year olds, I was fascinated by coverage of the Gemini V mission sponsored by Gulf Oil.  Gulf’s ads featured Reston, a planned Virginia community.  In the midst of the Massive Resistance era, Gulf touted Reston’s housing for all socio-economic levels throughout a family’s lifecycle and the absence of racial covenants. Those ads set my life’s course: to study urban government in college and zoning and planning in law school.

Getting to raise my four children in Reston has been the fulfillment of a vision formed 55 years ago.

What inspired you to run for the board? 

I love all that Reston offers it members. Our amenities are one of the top reasons we are a nationally recognized place to live, work and play.  There is a cost and as we welcome new neighbors and as facilities age, upkeep costs will increase as well.  When I heard from RA leadership that it had not even asked the developers of the new apartments around the Metro station to join RA to help fund the upkeep of our trails, parks, lakes and ball fields that their tenants will use, it was clear the RA needs change. When I later found out that RA had not made a written demand to receive part of the recreational contributions made by those developers, it was clear that RA needed someone to advocate for its membership.

The bookshelves of the RA offices groan with one study after another, yet there is little action, advocacy or accountability by RA leadership.  It’s time for RA to take action. It’s time for RA to vigorously advocate for its members interests. It’s time for accountability by RA leadership to its members.

What are three of the biggest concerns you have for Reston?

My overriding concern is to insure that we retain what’s best about Reston and that it prospers for the next generation. Some of my specific means of advancing that intention are to:

1. Permanently preserve both golf courses;
2. Promptly reopen Lake Thoreau pool as efficiently as possible and advocate that all RA facilities are open during their intended season; and
3. Strongly advocate for the new apartment owners near the Metro stations to pay RA assessments to help pay to maintain our trails, open space and ball fields that their tenants will use.It’s only fair and will hold down our RA assessments
4. What do you hope to accomplish by being on the board?

First and foremost, I want to be your advocate.  There’s a lot to love about Reston and there’s a lot that we can do together to make living, working and playing here even better.

Here are a few of my ideas:

• Advocate for some the $25 million in recreational facility contributions from the developers of Reston’s new residential projects to be used for RA facilities and that all of it be spent in Reston;
• Do our part to protect our environment by adopting a clear plan to convert RA’s fleet to electric vehicles;
• Require all commercial properties to comply with RA’s covenants that protect our property values;
• Increase transparency and encourage member engagement by avoiding executive sessions and revising RA’s committee structure to improve members’ understanding of RA functions;
• Create a RA website that provides easily accessible information and two-way communication for all RA members at reasonable cost;
• Insist that RA engage knowledgeable people to securely protect its members personal data; and
• Preserving Reston’s legacy of inclusion of all social-economic groups at all stages of a family’s life-cycle.

How will your personal or professional experience help you in your role with RA?

• I’ve spent my professional career advocating for homeowners and homeowners associations and I can use what I’ve learned to strengthen RA.
• As an attorney specializing in zoning and wetlands law, I understand the regulatory challenges to preserving our unique community.
• As President of the Fairfax Girls Softball League, I worked with others to successfully lobby the County Board of Supervisors to spend $100,000 per year for 10 years to bring the softball facilities up to the same quality as the baseball facilities.
• As National President for the 40,000-member Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, I managed a large volunteer membership organization.
• As President of Colonial Oaks cluster, for the last 6 years, I’ve successfully dealt with the many issues facing RA clusters and learned the strengths and weaknesses of the RA covenant process.
• I’ve spent the last 20 years protecting the right to vote in Fairfax.

I hope you’ll agree that all of that is experience you can trust.

Find out more by visiting farrell4reston.com.

Photo via Reston Association

Reston Association is surveying its members to determine preferences on receiving electronic ballots, which would require members to provide email addresses to RA and candidates running for the Board of Directors.

The two-question survey, which was released yesterday, asks members if they wish to receive electronic elections ballots and if they want to receive campaign emails directly from candidates without opting in.

In the past, RA has required members to opt-in for electronic ballots. Paper ballots are mailed to members who do not opt-in.

“An increasing number of members have found online voting to be more convenient than mailing their ballots. Voting electronically helps increase participation in the annual board election, which is held throughout the month of March,” RA wrote in a statement.

The survey is intended to be an informal gauge to determine members’ preferences.

Reston Association’s Board of Directors will select new its new officers at an online meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) at 6:30 p.m.

Newly elected members Robert Petrine, Sarah Selvaraj-Dsouza and Mike Collins recently won seats on the board, as well as incumbent Caren Anton.

The board will select a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer for the coming year.

Here’s more from Reston Association on the process:

The selection process involves board members submitting nominations and then nominees making brief statements about their qualifications to serve as an officer. Then the board will vote. A simple majority of the nine-member board is required for a director to be chosen for an officer’s position.

The board will also select committee assignments for entities like the fiscal committee and the environmental advisory committee.

A virtual meeting is also planned on May 21 at 6:30. p.m. RA’s Design Review Board will hold a virtual meeting on May 27 at 6 p.m.

Details on how to log-in are available online.

Photo via RA/Facebook

At an annual meeting held online yesterday (Thursday), Reston Association announced the results of its board election.

Robert Petrine won the at-large seat for a three-year term while Sarah Selvaraj-Dsouza won the at-large seat for a one-year term. Current board member Caren Anton retained her three-year position for the Hunters Woods/Dogwood District seat and Mike Collins won the seat for apartment owners, which also has a three-year term.

Ed Abbott, chair of the elections committee, said that a 10 percent quorum to make the results official was met in the election this year. Overall, turnout was around 16 percent for all races.

Despite technical challenges on the first few days of voting, Abbott said he was confident about the integrity of the election results. Some RA members received ballots with names of other members.

A breakdown of voter turnout for each position is below:

• At-large (one-year): 18 percent
• At large (three-year): 18 percent
• Hunters Woods/Dogwood: 14.5 percent
• Apartment Owners Representative: 33 percent

The new board will select officers this month. The elections committee will evaluate the election and provide recommendations on how to improve the voting process to the board in the coming months.

The meeting was held virtually via Zoom and included live comments from RA members. Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who spoke at the meeting, said he was impressed by the set up of the event.

Photo via YouTube

Reston Association Reschedules Annual Meeting — The organization has rescheduled its annual meeting from April 14 to April 30 at p.m. The meeting will be held online. Election results will also be announced at the meeting. [Reston Association]

Roundup of Town of Herndon Restaurants and Grocery Stores — Town officials have put together a roundup of local grocery store hours, as well as restaurants that are offering delivery and take out. [Town of Herndon]

Surge of Cases Expected in Late April through May — “It could still be weeks before the worst of the coronavirus crisis hits Virginia. State officials are preparing for a surge in the number of people who test positive between late April and late May, Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday that analysis of the latest models shows Northam told residents he was planning for the worst and hoping for the best.” [NBC 4]

FCPS Superintendent Writes to Class of 2020 — Superintendent Scott Braband said that the state superintended plans to provide “maximum flexibility for graduation requirements.” “Even if you were not passing all of your required courses, I want you to know that there is still time for you to graduate this June.  Your teachers will ensure you have access to what you need to be able to complete your coursework through distance learning,” Brabrand wrote. [Fairfax County Public Schools]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Metro Services Limited to 26 Bus Routes — Metro is only running a core network of 26 bus routes and twice-hourly rail service only for the region’s “essential travel needs.” [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]

Local Unemployment Resources Available — Job seekers and employers in N. Virginia can access Virginia Career Works Centers, which offer a system of employment of training services through on-stop resource centers. Although the centers are closed, webinars, career coaching, and local labor market information is available. [Fairfax County Government]

Local Fire Station Demolished — Station 25 on Wiehle Avenue was officially demolished on Tuesday, making way for an upgraded facility that’s expected to open in May 2021. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department]

Reminder: Voting Underway for Reston Association Election — The last day to cast a vote for the annual Board of Directors’ election is April 3, 2020 at 5 p.m. [Reston Association]

Photo via Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department