Contributed By Judy Fish
Long-time Laker Debra Kurre, recently tagged to fulfill an unexpired term on the Lake Monticello Owners’ Association (LMOA) Board of Directors, brings to her new role 30 years of experience as a Lake Monticello resident, business savvy—she owns her own business and is a CPA—and even first-hand LMOA Board experience.
Kurre first served on the LMOA Board of Directors in the early 1990s. During her current one-year term, Kurre wants to focus on community development.
“LMOA should have a voice in the development and politics of Fluvanna County,” Kurre said in a recent phone interview. She called the new LMOA Community Development Committee “instrumental.” Kurre served on that committee prior to her appointment to the LMOA Board.
“We have seen some movement,” she said from her car, as she and her husband travelled out of town. “We have spoken at planning meetings and believe the county is hearing us now. There is a window of time—and it is now—while Fluvanna County works on its comprehensive plan.”
Kurre said LMOA is working through what the Lake community’s vision is for future development. She would like representatives of LMOA to meet with other homeowners’ associations (HOAs) in the general vicinity of Lake Monticello.
“I personally would love to see us converse with representatives from other HOAs. We can learn from each other,” she said. “We are the largest community in the county by population and revenue center. We need to define our voice, own our voice and speak our voice.”
Lake Monticello and Fluvanna County are “the good part in the middle,” Kurre said. “We are halfway between Charlottesville and Richmond. That makes us easy to get to, but also easy to bypass. Lake Monticello is a great place to be, to live and to visit. We can not only get to Charlottesville and Richmond easily; we are not far from the DC area.”
She said she wants the county to bring more business, while maintaining its rural character. “We have a beautiful, small-town character and should be able to develop tourism and business,” Kurre said.
“On our travels, we have all visited those quaint or attractive towns,” she said. “Those towns are quaint and attractive because of very good planning. We are a diamond in the rough. Currently, there is no plan and that creates a hodge podge community. Without a vision, a community perishes.”
Debra and Jim Kurre met in Macon, Georgia, where both completed graduate degrees at Mercer University. Kurre completed her MBA in 1988 and is a licensed CPA in Georgia and Virginia. The couple, who have been married for 38 years, “moved briefly to Syracuse, NY before transferring to Fluvanna County for what we thought would be ‘three or four years’ and became 30,” she said with a laugh.
When asked what she loves most about living at Lake Monticello, Kurre quickly answered, “the Lake.” She is known to swim most mornings at Beach 3. She said her husband enjoys golfing at the Lake Monticello Golf Course. “We enjoy the Pro Shop and dining at The Pub too,” she said. “Lake Monticello is a great place to live.”
