Eagle Scout Recognition
The awards portion of the evening kicked off with our Eagle Scout Recognition of Jonathan Jovene for his Second Street School fence work. Jonathan cleared the brush and re-installed fence posts in the schoolyard and make the fence sound again! Thank you, Jonathan!
Strategic Partners
We were so pleased to see the Mill re-stabilization project come to a successful and on-time completion at the end of July last year. The Mill has never looked better, and we are looking forward to expanded use of the building in the days to come. The construction phase of this project was the culmination of over 10 years of work to secure funding, to study the building and produce a historic structure report, and to plan and execute a restoration project that would stabilize the building for the future. Our 2023 special recognition award(s) recognizes the members of the team who worked to make this treasured building safe for many years to come. Loudoun County Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure has managed the project from the beginning and through the design and construction phases. Glave and Holmes Architects served as project architects through the design and construction phases. As contractor, Carpenter Beach Construction managed the carpenters, masons, and other tradespeople who worked to stabilize and rehabilitate the historic structure. Finally, Arbor Ridge Builders reproduced the massive timber-framed Hurst frame, the most significant structural artifact of the circa 1818 mill. Thank you to everyone involved in this huge and important project!
Community Partners
We would not be the great organization we are today without some great community partners. An important part of preserving the Landmark is conserving the bountiful open spaces that help tell Waterford’s agricultural and industrial story. The connection between the historic and natural fabrics of Waterford can easily be seen out on the Schooley Mill Meadow.
Balls Run, a tributary of Catoctin Creek runs through the property. As erosion has happened naturally along the bank, the need for a riparian buffer was made clear. Thanks to our Community Partners of 2023 – the Loudoun County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Piedmont Environmental Council – 600 trees were planted on both sides of the Catoctin to make up the new riparian buffer at no cost. Now the creek bank will be protected for many years to come. We thank you for your important contribution to our preservation and conservation mission, and look forward to seeing your important work continue in Loudoun County.
Volunteer of the Year
Everyone should have someone to call when you’re in a pinch right before a big event. Say, for example, that you are days away from your biggest educational outreach event and fundraiser, and you find out that the only toilet in a critical building is out of order. Or that the pilot program of your brand new field trip is two days away in November and the heat goes out in a critical building. Who would you call? We’re so grateful that we have Jeff Bean’s number, who has helped us solve so many problems in the past year and beyond. When we discovered that the Mill toilet was not working properly within a few days of the start of the Fair, he understood the urgency of the issue and pulled out all the stops to make sure the toilet was fixed in time for the event. And then just a month later, the heaters at the Second Street School continued to cause problems days before the first group of the Reconstruction program came out. Jeff once again pulled out all the stops, staying until the early hours in the morning to make sure that the seventh graders coming had a comfortable environment to learn in. We can’t thank you enough for all that you have done to keep the Foundation running smoothly Jeff.
Lifetime Achievement
The Lifetime Achievement Award was established to recognize outstanding contributions to the work of the Waterford Foundation. This year, we are honoring a man whose dedication and hard work have been the backbone of our Fair’s ticket booth operations for over two decades and who was a major contributor to the Old School restoration project. Hans Hommels, has been the invisible hand ensuring thousands of fairgoers are greeted with a smile, despite the challenges that arise before they even step foot into Waterford. For 25 years, Hans has orchestrated the complex ballet of ticket booth operations, a task that might seem straightforward to the uninitiated but is, in reality, is a huge undertaking. Managing up to four booths, coordinating shifts that stretch from the early morning till the close of day, and training dozens of volunteers each year, Hans has created the first impression of the Fair for countless attendees. After co-chairing with John DeCourcy from 1997 to 2014, Hans took over as chair for 7 more years, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the Fair and to Waterford. This incredible tenure of service, came to a close in 2022, marking the end of an era. But that’s not all…
In 2007 the Foundation recruited Hans for a job that no one else could have done. Many of us remember watching the fire that destroyed our auditorium and damaged the Old School on that dreadful day in January 2007. The fire was a devastating blow to the Foundation and to the community. However, from the beginning the determination to restore the classroom building and rebuild the auditorium was strong. Hans agreed to lead the rebuilding effort by chairing the Old School Steering Committee, a group that included Susan Sutter, Walter Music, and Kathleen Hughes. With Hans’s commitment to the village and his years of experience in construction management, he was the ideal candidate for the job. Hans thrives on challenges, and there were many challenges during the five years of the reconstruction project. The committee involved the community in the process. Hans visited village residents to ask for their views and participated in a series of public meetings. Then Hans and his team interviewed 12 architectural firms. That search led to the hiring of Quinn Evans, a firm with vast experience with historic buildings, as the project architects for both the classroom building and the auditorium. After Loudoun County approvals had been secured, reconstruction of the classroom building began with Corbett Construction in March of 2008. Hans was a constant presence on the site, working with the builder, checking progress daily, and solving problems as they arose, while always insisting on high quality work. Meanwhile Hans and his team members worked with Quinn Evans to create a design for the auditorium that would complement the historic architecture. The design was finalized after more input from the community and approvals from both the Historic District Review Committee and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, which holds an easement on the building. During this time Hans and his team sent out Requests for Proposals to ten construction firms. After meeting with the firms that submitted the top five bids, the team recommended Scott Long. Construction began on the auditorium in the summer of 2011. Again, Hans was on site at the auditorium almost every day, with pages of plans under his arm, checking work as it was installed—carpentry, plumbing, electrical, HVAC. Amazingly, the project came in under budget, a rare achievement. None of this would have happened without the hundreds of hours of pro bono work Hans donated to the Foundation as our in-house Project Manager. Without his dedication, the Foundation would not have a beautifully restored Old School and a spectacular new auditorium. Please look around you to see his contribution.
Hans, your legacy is not just in the smooth operation of ticket sales or the countless hours you’ve dedicated to the Old School. It’s in the community you’ve helped build, the volunteers you’ve inspired, and the countless fairgoers and Old School event attendees whose experiences you’ve enhanced. On behalf of everyone here, and all those who have had the privilege of working with you or being welcomed by you, we say thank you.
Thank you to Susan Sutter & Bonnie Getty for these kind words.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for such a great evening. We are looking forward to seeing you at all of the fun events coming up in 2024!
