Tell us about your family.
My parents died many years ago. I have a wonderful brother who lives in Maine with his wife. Their daughter married a Norwegian and lives in Oslo with her family. Their son lives in Maine as well. I visit them often and am very close to them. My family here consists of the two monks of our Eastern Orthodox Christian community, Father Mefodii and Father Kyrill. You probably have seen them in their vestments around the community. They are identical twins so you may think you’re seeing double from time to time.
Tell us about a hobby you have.
Among my favorite things are gardening and travel. I have visited 41 countries in my lifetime including almost all the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. I try to plan a trip to Europe at least once a year although the difficulties of air travel are making that more and more burdensome. We have continued to plant daffodils at Glen Burnie, and until recently hosted an annual Daffodil Day open house and lunch for hundreds of local people. Unfortunately, storms and other circumstances have prevented us from holding it the last two years. I think those who came regularly have really missed it.
Describe one of the highlights of your life.
The most important thing in my life was being baptized into the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith in the Rivanna River and being instrumental in establishing a small Orthodox monastery on my property with two resident monks, who are my family as well.
I am also very proud of the restoration and expansion of the Pleasant Grove House. This was a multi-year effort involving complex partnerships between the non-profits I chair and Fluvanna County. It will be a great addition to Pleasant Grove and to our community.
Describe one of the biggest surprises of your life.
I never anticipated being so active in my retirement years nor did I ever suspect that the wonderful people of Fluvanna would be so friendly and welcoming. This is a special place which seems to draw people with diverse backgrounds, and many of them have become actively involved in every aspect of local life. I don’t mean to exclude those who were born and raised here. Our volunteers at the Historical Society are a great mixture of locals and people who moved here from elsewhere.
Describe one of the tragedies/struggles of your life.
My father, who was a successful businessman in Hagerstown, Maryland, died at the early age of 60 just after he and my mother had visited me in Germany, where I was serving in the Army. I was only 25 years old when he died, and I really regret not having more time with him. He loved adventure, and I feel sure he would have been fascinated by my travels in Africa and my service in Eritrea and Vietnam.
Describe a dream you have for your future.
Well, one never knows how long we will live especially at the ripe age of 77. That does not mean, of course, that you cannot have aspirations for the future. I am now working on obtaining grants for the Historical Society’s planned Farm Heritage Museum and am coordinating this with the county folks. I think we will succeed in making this museum an integral part of the new welcome center and museum complex at Pleasant Grove. The county has given us a great site for it – one that will connect it to the restored Pleasant Grove House. So the work continues.
Describe a fear you have for your future.
It seems to me that we’ve not done a very good job in Fluvanna with preserving our rural land. We always develop a great comprehensive plan which lays out commendable goals for doing precisely that. However, we never have followed up on this by passing zoning and subdivision ordinances to protect open space.
Here’s your chance to sound off. If you could give one public service announcement or word of advice to the public at large, what would it be?
The most disappointing thing I’ve encountered here is the lack of participation by many citizens in keeping up with what is happening. I am shocked by the tiny numbers of citizens who turn out for public meetings on planning, zoning and proposed capital projects. The only way to be informed is to get busy and pay attention. So my message to the public is very simple: “Read, study and stay involved.”
