President’s Message

Well, the Holiday Season is now part of what are hopefully, collective good memories for all of us and the New Year is in full swing. As we fly into 2015, LRA shows no signs of being deflated, even slightly.

It appears that 2015 is off to a very good start. We have a wide variety of excellent venues, workshops and opportunities for members for the coming year. There is some additional information elsewhere in this issue on some of those opportunitiesthat you should find worthwhile.

Just to highlight a few of the projects and volunteers for the coming year, and taking another step forward, Rudy Guernica wrote a great LRA article,which was published in the RESTON magazine for their “Spring Edition,” that was mailed to almost all Reston residents in late January. We are also in the process of awarding several scholarships to Fairfax County students that should be finalized in the next month or so. Thanks to Karen Hutchison, we have added two new venues that should have a positive impact on opportunities to showcase members’ work. Genny Moore is managing a special Founders Day Exhibition and publication of a related book in April. Due to Charlene Fuhrman-Schulz’s efforts, we have been invited back to another major exhibition at the Ernst Cultural Center in Annedale coming this autumn. Jeff Burton has gotten the Reston Photographic Society (RPS) back on track with informative workshops and meetings. We have such much to be thankful for to these and our group of amazing volunteers.

“Weather you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” I think of what Henry Ford said with that great bit of advice for those who see decisions as success or failure and therefore “hold back” for fear of failure. LRA relies on members to step forward and get involved with various projects. That’s the reason we we have accomplished so much in the past few years. In the past year, despite of all our successes, we turned down a few opportunities when we didn’t have a volunteer to manage a new venue or project. I can tell you from personal experience that volunteering for LRA opens other doors, rewards and opportunities when you least expect it. Some members might not feel that they have the confidence to get out and take on a new task or project, but we have many current volunteers who can assist you with new projects. Step up, make a difference and get involved!!!

Jim Schlett