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Mollie Morison-Loeffler,
the 2010 Fairfax County Citizen of the Year
Mollie Morison-Loeffler was selected as the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations 2010 Citizen of the Year by the selection committee comprised of representatives from several county-wide organizations.
Mollie Morison-Loeffler, a Mason District citizen community leader who helped revitalize her community, win grants for her neighborhood and local parks, and resurrect the Mason District Council of Community Associations, is the newly announced Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations' 2010 Citizen of the Year.
The Federation will honor Ms. Loeffler at its annual Citizen of the Year banquet at the Tysons Crowne Plaza on Sunday, May 15, 2011.
Ms. Loeffler’s energy and enthusiasm for creating community and taking action are renowned. Known throughout Fairfax County as a real "firecracker," Mollie Loeffler was selected for her leadership in re-establishing her community association and winning two $5000 grants from the Fairfax County Neighborhood Enhancement Partnership Program for both her community and a local county park. Mollie’s work then led to a bigger platform and she spearheaded the reconstituting of the long dormant Mason District Council. Under her leadership, the Council has tackled major zoning issues such as overcrowding, property maintenance, and littering. In addition, the Council created a forum for citizen associations to communicate with each other, share ideas, and work together to solve problems facing their communities.
“Mollie’s positive and energetic civic leadership is exemplary work of what we can accomplish when we empower ourselves to act on behalf of our communities,” said Tania Hossain, Federation president.
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Citation of Merit Recipient Citizen Activist Charlie Dane
Charlie Dane of Annandale will receive a 2010 Citation of Merit at the banquet. Dr. Dane has a long history of public service to Fairfax County. He has been associated with the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations for many years, briefly serving as Chair of the Land Use Committee, and then later as First Vice President. For almost ten years, he served as Chair of the Federation’s Education Committee. He served for two years as co-chair and continues to serve as a member of the Fairfax County School Board’s Advisory Committee of Human Relations. He is a member of the Fairfax County Public School Superintendent’s Business and Community Advisory Council. After attending School Board retreats, work sessions, and selected committee meetings, Dr. Dane offers ideas on educational and administrative practices to improve public education. He participates in the annual review of scholarship applications submitted to College Access Fairfax. In addition to education pursuits, Dr. Dane has served for eight years as the Braddock District representative on the Fairfax County Commission on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation and serves as the Commission’s Vice-Chair. He also participates as a member of the Braddock District Citizens Budget Committee. As a retired federal employee (Chief, Office of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), he is a member of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association and has served as Treasurer, Vice President, and currently, President, of the Annandale NARFE Chapter 1159. Dr. Dane previously served as Area Improvement Chair of his Stone Haven Civic Association, and still coordinates the association’s biennial home tour event to encourage others to remodel and improve their homes and yards.
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Special Gratitude Awards Honorees
Anthony H. Griffin and Bill Lecos
Special Gratiude Award Honoree Anthony H. “Tony” Griffin
As County Executive, Tony oversees the operations of all of Fairfax County government.
On November 22, 1999, Tony was appointed County Executive, effective January 15, 2000. He joined the County in 1989 when he was appointed to the position of Deputy County Executive for Planning and Development and oversaw the areas concerning zoning, public works and public safety. From October 1996 to August 1997, he served as Acting County Executive. Before employment by Fairfax County, Tony was City Manager for the City of Falls Church, Deputy County Manager for Arlington County and served as a U.S. Marine Corps Officer in Vietnam.
As Fairfax County Executive, Tony has provided Fairfax County with solid leadership, good fiscal stewardship, and motivated and inspired the county workforce. He has helped distinguish Fairfax County as both a world-class center of commerce and trade, and the technology hub of the East Coast. Under Griffin's leadership, Fairfax County, well known as a wonderful place to live, work, and play, continues to provide the quality of life we expect, despite the new challenges of the 21st century. His tenure has encompassed projects both large and small, including those that will have a significant impact on Fairfax County and the region for years to come. These include the Tysons Corner Redevelopment, Dulles Rail, McConnell Public Safety and Transportation Operations Center, Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, Fairfax County Code of Ethics Update, Lorton Land Reuse Plan, and the Chesapeake Bay preservation ordinance.
Tony is a graduate of Hobart College and holds master degrees in Urban Affairs and Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Tech.
In 2002, Tony represented the county and received on its behalf the results of the Government Performance Project announced by Governing Magazine, which named Fairfax County "one of the best managed jurisdictions in America." The county received an overall grade of A- from Governing Magazine. Fairfax was one of only two jurisdictions to receive the highest grade awarded in the comprehensive study of management practices in 40 counties nationwide.
In February 2003, Tony received the Stone Practitioner Award from the American Society of Public Administration for his commitment to improve intergovernmental cooperation, especially in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the anthrax incidents in 2001 and the regional sniper attacks in 2002.
In October 2007, Tony was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). He was formally inducted on November 15th during the academy’s fall meeting in Washington, D.C. NAPA fellows are elected by their peers and have extensive experience in a variety of issues at the highest levels of public service. The principal criterion for selection as a fellow is a sustained and outstanding contribution to the field of public administration through public service or scholarship. Founded in 1967, NAPA is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation chartered by the U.S. Congress.
Special Gratiude Award Honoree William D. “Bill” Lecos
William D. “Bill” Lecos is the Principal and Founder of Lecos & Associates, a consulting practice providing the public sector, private sector and non-profit organizations support in advancing their strategic policy and organizational interests through effective issue and project management. Lecos is recognized as a leader in promoting economic competitiveness and sustainability through collaboration with community stakeholders in land use, infrastructure, workforce development, and regulatory policy at the local, regional, state and federal levels of government.
Washingtonian Magazine named Lecos one of the "150 Most Powerful People in Washington" for building the impact of Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce in matters of public policy and he served on the United States Chamber of Commerce’s distinguished “Committee of 100” from 2005 to 2009. He has been recognized by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax County School Board with a Resolution of Appreciation for "dedicated service and outstanding commitment to Fairfax County".
Lecos has played a major role securing approval and funding for such critical regional economic competitiveness infrastructure projects as the Dulles Metrorail Extension; the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge; and the new Washington DC Convention Center. Lecos lead the private sector initiative in partnership with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to create Visit Fairfax as the first public-private corporation for funding tourism promotion in Virginia. He currently serves as the Senior Technical Manager of Transportation Management Plans for the VA MegaProjects – a $94 million initiative of the Virginia Department of Transportation and Virginia Department of Rails and Public Transit aimed a mitigating the impacts of seven major transportation projects on the community in Northern Virginia.
As a leader in regional land use initiatives, Lecos has served as a sub-committee chair of the Tysons Land Use Task Force, which created a land use plan for transforming Tysons Corners into a transit-oriented urban center in order to enhance the livability, economic potential and environmental sustainability of this suburban “edge city”. As a stakeholder advisor of the Greater Washington 2050 Coalition -- a regional coalition of public, business, civic and environmental stakeholders – Lecos helped draft a regional compact among local jurisdictions intended to foster agreement on the major policy issues of growth, transportation and environmental sustainability across Greater Washington. Lecos helped found the Greater Washington Smart Growth Alliance which brought together business, real estate and environmental groups to promote economically sustainable growth in the region.
Lecos is recognized as having designed and implemented effective public education initiatives which resulted in broad community mobilization in support of public policy critical to sustaining the region’s economic competitiveness. Lecos managed two high profile the community focused policy forums called Issues Fairfax and The Potomac Conference. These programs brought together equal representation from the business, civic, non-profit, and public sectors to identify collaborative community interests and policy priorities. Topics have included promoting transit-oriented development models, strategies for sustaining regional economic competitiveness, meeting the community’s workforce and affordable housing needs; and building environmental sustainability.
Lecos served in a number of volunteer leadership roles in Fairfax County and the community including:
- Fairfax County Tysons Land Use Task Force, 2005-2010
- Fairfax County Economic Advisory Committee, 2009
- Fairfax County Redevelopment & Revitalization Advisory Group, 2007– 2009
- Fairfax County Task Force on Solid Waste Management (Chairman), 2004
- Fairfax County Commission on Revenue and Expenses, 1996
- Fairfax County Public Schools Business Advisory Council, 2003-2008
- Fairfax County Public Schools Funding 2000 Task Force, 1997
- Founding Director, Visit Fairfax, 2004 – 2009
- Director, Junior Achievement of the National Capital Area, 2006 - 2011
- Director, Leadership Fairfax (Class of 1995), 2002- 2009
- Director, Fairfax County Arts Council. 2002 – 2008
- Fairfax County Committee of 100
- Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments “2050 – A Region Forward Coalition” 2008-09
- Director, Washington DC Convention and Visitors Assoc, 1993 -2001
- Director, Leadership Greater Washington (Class of 2001), 2005 – 2007
Professionally, he has served as President & CEO of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, Senior Vice President of Policy for the Greater Washington Board of Trade and President of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. In 2002 he served as Policy Director for the Northern Virginia transportation referendum.
Lecos is a life-long resident of Fairfax County, attended Bailey’s Elementary, Glasgow Middle and JEB Stuart High schools. He is a proud graduate of Virginia Tech. He and his wife, Judy Lecos, still reside in the Mason District of Fairfax County with their three college age daughters.
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Banquet Webpage and Pictures
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) again generously supports the Citizen of the Year event. “Encouraging the volunteer engagement of Fairfax County citizens, including the thousands of our employees and their families here, is a major objective of our community relations,” said Douglas Koelemay, SAIC vice president.
The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations, established in 1940, is the countywide voice for homeowner, civic, and community associations. An all-volunteer organization, The Federation works on issues that impact Fairfax County residents, including education, transportation, the environment, human services, land use, the county budget, and state and federal legislative issues.
PRESS CONTACT: Jeff Parnes, COY Chair, FedCOY2010 @ fairfaxfederation.org, phone 703-424-2956.
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