RSSCongratulations 12/22
Wolf Trap director retires
William J. "Bill" Crockett, director of Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, will retire in January after more than 25 years of service.
Crockett played an important role in protecting and preserving the park in support of founder Catherine Filene Shouse's mission. He oversaw many changes to the park and facilities, including improvements to parking lot and roadway infrastructure, as well as a major renovation to the Filene Center Plaza, which was completed in 2008.
During Crockett's tenure, more than 10 million people visited Wolf Trap. He himself attended more than 1,600 performances, making sure operations ran smoothly and visitors had a safe, positive experience.
"While I am very thankful for and proud of the changes that took place during my time ... I'm most proud of things that have remained the same," said Crockett in a statement. "For example, Mrs. Shouse's original farmhouse, which some portions date back to the late 1700s, looks the same today as it did when Wolf Trap became a national park in 1966. I hope that if I come back in 20 years, this house and the smokehouse and the meadow will still look the same."
Crockett joined Wolf Trap as a supervisory park ranger in 1983 and was promoted four times; he was named director in 2000. He managed the park's internal and seasonal staff, as well as hundreds of volunteers each year -- who work a combined total of about 40,000 hours -- during the summer. Other areas under his leadership include park tours featuring backstage access to the Filene Center, nature walks and a Junior Ranger Program that encourages youngsters to learn about the park and the performing arts.
"Bill has been an invaluable part of the Wolf Trap family," said Terrence Jones, president and CEO of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, in a statement. "He has always gone the extra mile to make Wolf Trap a special place that is treasured by people across the region and country."
Two graduate from CCU
Amanda Russo of Fairfax and Kathryn Donohue of Vienna were among 345 students who participated in Coastal Carolina University's commencement ceremony on Dec. 12 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Both received bachelor's degrees from the Conway, S.C., school.
Military news
-Army National Guard Pvts. Joseph Polasek and Kyle W. Kennedy and Army Reserve Pvt. James A. Wood have graduated from nine weeks of basic combat training at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla.
Polasek, son of Joe and Mary A. Polasek of Springfield, is a 2000 graduate of West Springfield High School. Kennedy is the son of Stuart and Lisa Lucas of Fairfax; his father, Eddie Kennedy, resides in Manassas. Kennedy is a 2007 graduate of Fairfax High School. Wood, son of Cheryl Lisenby of Lorton and grandson of Viola Wood of Alexandria, is a 2004 graduate of Hayfield Secondary School.
-Army Reserve Pvt. Aaron G. Waldrop has graduated from nine weeks of basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. He is the son of Jerry Waldrop of McLean and Denise Waldrop of Falls Church. Waldrop is a 2009 graduate of Marshall High School.
-Army Reserve Sgt. Randall C. Anderson and Army Reserve Spec. Ciancarlos B. Guerra have returned to the United States after being deployed overseas at a forward operating base in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Operation Enduring Freedom is the official name given to anti-terrorism military operations involving U.S. troops and allied coalition partners. Both soldiers are cargo specialists and members of the 430th Inland Cargo Transfer Company in Baltimore.
Anderson has served in the military for eight years. The sergeant is the son of Harold Anderson of Falls Church and a 2003 graduate of Jeb Stuart High School.
Guerra also has served in the military for eight years. He is the son of Oscar J. and Mayra S. Guerra of Alexandria. The specialist graduated in 2001 from T.C. Williams High School, and received an associate degree in 2007 from Northern Virginia Community College.
-Brandon K. McKeague, son of Kelly K. and Nancy M. McKeague of Alexandria, has graduated from the 32-day Army ROTC Leader Development and Assessment Course, also known as "Operation Warrior Forge," at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Wash. Upon successful completion of the course and the ROTC program, and graduation from college, cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army, National Guard or Reserve.
McKeague graduated from a home school program in 2005, and received a bachelor's degree in 2009 from Providence College in Rhode Island.
-Air Force Airmen Vonelle L. Cherry, Nana P. Osei-Tutu and John C. Marsden have graduated from eight weeks of basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Cherry, son of Patricia Smith of Alexandria, is a 2008 graduate of Robert E. Lee High School. Osei-Tutu, son of Nana Osei-Tutu of McLean, is a 2001 graduate of George C. Marshall High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in 2006 from Virginia Commonwealth University. Marsden, son of Elizabeth Heath of Herndon and grandson of Michael Marsden Sr. of Vienna, is a 2009 graduate of Oakton High School.
-Thomas C. Seamands has been promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army. Seamands, son of George and Loretta Seamands of Springfield, pinned on his first star during a ceremony in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where he serves as chief of the General Officer Management Office, with the Department of the Army Office of the Chief of Staff.
With more than 28 years of military service, Seamands has had assignments in Germany, Hawaii, North Carolina, Iraq and Washington, D.C. He has served in numerous personnel officer positions, as well as commander of a personnel services battalion. As a senior leader, he served as the top personnel officer for the XVIII Airborne Corps, both in North Carolina and through a tour of duty in Iraq. He was named the 14th chief of the General Officer Management Office in 2007.
Seamands was commissioned a second lieutenant through the Army ROTC program after graduation from the University of Dayton, Ohio, in 1981. He earned a master's degree in 1996 from Webster University in St. Louis, Mo. Seamands and his wife, Melissa, have two daughters.
-Navy Ensign Christina L. Blum, Army 2nd Lt. Andrew S. Oh, Army 2nd Lt. Daniel J. Hiler and Air Force 2nd Lt. Connor B. McKeown have entered into the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., as a first-year medical students in a four-year program. The students will be trained and prepared to serve as physicians in the Army, Navy, Air Force or the Public Health Service.
The tuition-free university is recognized as a worldwide reputable center of excellence for military medical education and research. In addition to four years of free tuition, students receive free books, equipment and instruments. Students are considered active duty military members while attending the university. Upon graduation, they are expected to serve at least seven years of active duty and six years on inactive ready reserve status.
Blum, daughter of Corrine E. Lahti and Daniel E. Blum of Burke, graduated in 2003 from Lake Braddock Secondary School. She received a bachelor's degree in 2006 from Emory University in Atlanta, and in 2008 earned a second bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia.
Oh, son of Dai H. and Soon M. Oh of McLean, graduated in 1997 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and received a bachelor's degree in 2003 from James Madison University.
Hiler, son of Kirk E. and Julia B. Hiler of Fairfax, graduated in 2005 from J.W. Robinson Secondary School.
McKeown, son of Barbara L. and Richard B. McKeown of Salt Lake City, Utah, graduated in 2002 from East High School in Salt Lake City. His wife, Katherine, is the daughter of Donald B. and Carol Baker of Springfield.