2012 Annual Report

2012 ANNUAL REPORT On the Verge of Tomorrow

www.reston.org

Table of Contents Letter from the President

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Board of Directors

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Strategic Goals and Objectives

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Letter from the Founder

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2012 Committees

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Highlights and Accomplishments

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Friends of Reston

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Volunteer Reston

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Volunteer of the Year

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Community Partner of the Year

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Youth Volunteer Group of the Year

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Looking Ahead

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Community Partners

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2012 Financial Statements

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Letter from the President R

eston Association is on a journey. We are no longer that homeowners association established in the 1960’s. Rather, we have evolved into a widely recognized, principal and vibrant community within Fairfax County.

As we have grown, we have strived to move from a “trust us” entity, to one that is data-driven, transparent and accountable. We have aggressively pursued ways to deliver quality services in a more cost-effective manner and we will continue to do so. Since I’ve been on the Board we began efforts to transform the organization—to enhance the physical, social and economic quality of the community; and to deliver quality services valued by our Members.

As you recall, in 2012, I set out to address those objectives in our Strategic Plan that would have the timeliest impact. We attempted to answer the following questions: Are we doing a good job of keeping up with our critical infrastructure assets? Have we prioritized what’s most important, versus carrying on the status quo? Many of our assets are now 30 or 40 years old. Do we abandon, replace, repair or improve upon what’s there? How do our organization’s operations compare with industry standards for information technology, fleet, facility management and management, in terms of both cost and performance?

It has always been my objective to make Reston Association a High Performance Organization, agile and capable of meeting the needs of the community. So I decided to focus the Board’s attention on three priorities we would hold ourselves accountable: •

•

•

To promote the Essential Elements of Reston as standards for the development, redevelopment and revitalization of our community.

To be the leader, representing Reston’s interests, promoting partnerships and fostering community involvement.

To effectively manage all resources, resulting in a sustainable and viable community.

As I complete my term as President of Reston Association I can say: •

•

•

We have established procedures that will ensure Reston Association’s interests are considered in redevelopment and revitalization of our community.

We are now regularly engaging the diverse elements of the community on issues and opportunities that impact Reston.

Going forward, we are now annually developing and allocating appropriate financial resources to sustain and enhance the association’s physical infrastructure.

This annual report documents new quality and productivity initiatives for our community.

Through this report we communicate successful activities to the community and the organization itself so that best practices can be replicated and expanded. In fact, some initiatives have been recognized at the local, state and national levels. One example is being recognized this year by Money/CNN as the “7th Best Small City” to live in the United States.

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The initiatives you read about in this report are not random activities—rather, they represent an ongoing commitment of the homeowners, the many hundreds of volunteers and the strategic partners who make Reston the very best place to live.

Whether tangible or intangible, I applaud all of these activities; they are significant because they contribute to our Quality Community Organization.

As I finish my first term on the Board, I still believe it is critically important we focus on: •

Continuing to raise awareness of civic engagement and responsibility.

• Identify challenging community issues, creating forums for sharing opinions and developing action strategies.

• Bring diverse people — including local officials—and organizations with different perspectives together to build a stronger community.

• Lead efforts to develop a broad and inclusive community vision.

• Walk, talk, think and act as the place where democracy, civic engagement and public discourse happen.

As President, I commit the resources of Reston Association Board, its Staff and its Partners to these ongoing efforts.

What do you need to do? Please join the conversation—without you, Reston will just “get along”.

– Ken Knueven

President, Reston Association

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Board of Directors

Strategic Goals and Objectives Change & Opportunity

To promote the Essential Elements of Reston as standards for the development, redevelopment and revitalization of our community.

Lake Anne/Tall Oaks District Representative BODKnueven@reston.org or kknueven@hotmail.com

Regularly engage the diverse elements of the community on issues and opportunities that impact Reston.

Continuously advocate for, an increase in the number of multi-­modal transportation facilities in the Reston community.

Continuously advocate Reston’s interests to and with key stakeholders of our community.

Andy Sigle, Vice President At-Large Representative BODSigle@reston.org or awsigle@gmail.com

Joe Leighton, Secretary At-Large Representative BODLeighton@reston.org or joe_leighton@comcast.net

John Higgins, Treasurer Reston Association Member BODHiggins@reston.org or jdhiggins3@gmail.com

Amanda Misiko Andere

Apartment Owners’ Representative BODAndere@reston.org or amanda.andere@gmail.com

Cheryl Beamer

Hunters Woods/Dogwood District Representative BODBeamer@reston.org or cherylbeamer@verizon.net

Donna Miller Rostant

Mike Collins

Daily and without interruption, provide Members, staff and the community reliable and secure access to RA information, services and facilities.

North Point District Representative mikecollins@reston.org or mike4ra@gmail.com

Michael R. Sanio

At-Large Representative bodmichaelsanio@reston.org or Michael.R.Sanio@gmail.com

Richard Chew

South Lakes District Representative directorchew@reston.org rc4ra@c2va.com

Milton Matthews, Chief Executive Officer matthews@reston.org

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Technology To actively meet the needs of our Members, staff and community through the effective use of technology.

At-Large Representative BODRostant@reston.org or donnarostant@gmail.com

To be the leader, representing Reston’s interests, promoting partnerships and fostering community involvement.

Prepare Reston Association (RA) to incorporate additional residential and mixed-use properties into the Association, as development occurs.

By 2013, establish procedures that will ensure Reston Association’s interests are considered in redevelopment and revitalization of our community.

Ken Knueven, President

Community Leadership & Engagement

Continuously use integrated technologies to improve service delivery, including more efficient and timely communication and faster financial transactions.

Programs & Services To provide high-quality programs and services to meet the needs of the Reston community.

Establish and maintain an annual process for evaluating existing and potential community amenities.

Continuously evaluate the quality of programs and services to ensure they are valued by the Reston community.

As appropriate, develop cost-­effective new programs and services.

Sustainability & Community Viability

To effectively manage all resources, resulting in a sustainable and viable community.

Annually, develop and allocate appropriate financial resources to sustain and enhance the Association’s physical infrastructure.

Continuously protect, enhance and restore environmental resources.

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Letter from the Founder B

ecoming a resident of a Reston residential unit entails becoming a member of the Reston Association (RA). The association was established in 1964 to maintain and protect the community’s quality of life by caring for Reston’s natural environment, for its recreational facilities and for administering its architectural and maintenance covenants. Dues are assessed annually to pay for all of this.

A comparison of the dues RA assesses its members with the dues payable in five other communities of comparable size shows that the current annual assessment of $590 per residential unit is quite a bargain. Taking the cost of dues at Columbia, Md., for example (where dues are assessed as a percentage of assessed value per residential unit rather than on a per unit basis as in the five other communities of the study) and using $300,000 as the assessed value of a unit for this example, the dues in Columbia would be $1,020 compared to Reston’s $590. Of course, this comparison doesn’t deal with the fundamental question of what Reston members are getting for their money and here it is a tribute to RA’s extraordinarily dedicated staff that the dues paid to maintain 50-plus miles of walking and biking trails with 29 underpasses, the 71-acre Walker Nature Center, many play and ball fields, 15 outdoor pools, 52 tennis courts, many multi-purpose courts and play grounds, four lakes and garden plots are not considerably higher than $590.

Nevertheless and notwithstanding there are a few citizens who have maintained that RA’s dues should be reduced. My reason for writing this piece is to try to help such citizens to appreciate how fortunate we all are to have such wonderful facilities, so ably maintained for such reasonable cost.

- Robert E. Simon, Jr. Reston Founder

Vision:

Leading the model community where all can Live, Work, Play and Get Involved™.

Mission:

To preserve and enhance the Reston community through outstanding leadership, service and stewardship of our resources.

Core Values:

Service • Collaboration • Stewardship • Innovation • Leadership

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2012 Committees 2012 Committees

Communications Advisory Chair: Lisa Bader Members: Sharon Goetz, Nathaniel Dickert, Eric Weinstein and Susan Konrad Board Liaison: Ken Knueven

Covenants

Chair: Victor Van Rees Vice chair: Eileen DuBose Members: Jay Thierry, Kara Wills, Don Schaefer and Rosie Sjamsubahri Board Liaison: Richard Chew Legal Counsel: Wil Washington Alternate Legal Counsel: Dan Streich

Design Review Board

Chair: Joe Enrico Vice chairs: Jennifer Byl, Richard Newlon and Sara Sinclair Members: W. Neal Roseberry, Nelson Kirchner, Ed Abbott, Barbara Byron and Mike Miller Board Liaison: Mike Collins

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Elections

Chair: Sam Stalcup Vice chair: Ed Robichaud Members: Anna Pizzo, Ellen Graves and Donovan D’Souza

Environmental Advisory Co-chairs: Diane Blust, Carolyn Badila and Carol Ivory Members: Robert Mowbray, Nick Bauer, Ben Perchik, Nicole Wynands, Sue Beffel, Irwin Flashman, Brandon Ashby, Nina Hardman, Eric Weinstein, Ron Rubin and Freya De Cola Board Liaison: Michael Sanio

Fiscal

Chair: Shawn Endsley Members: Frank Boucher, Brian Daum, Robert Swartz, Mark Stepple, Michael Werner and Bart Astor Treasurer: John Higgins Vice President: Andy Sigle

Legal

Seniors Advisory

Chair: Ken Knueven Members: Donna Miller Rostant, Michael Sanio, Richard Chew and Milton W. Matthews Legal Counsel: Ken Chadwick

Co-chairs: Elizabeth Bolton and Virginia Vennett Members: Cyndee Hochstrasser, David Ralston, Mia McNaughton, Pat Williams, Connie Rudacille, Bonnie Elliott, Luci Koizumi, Karen Brutsche, May Al-Barzinji, Lynette Jacob, Barbara La Rock, Valerie Jackson and Catherine Kunz Board Liaison: Joe Leighton

Neighborhood Advisory Co-chairs: Mai Huynh and Rengin Morro.

Members: Lloyd Bartoszek, Ben Perchik, Bobbi Beck and Virginia Vennett Board Liaison: Amanda Andere

Pedestrian & Bicycling Advisory Chair: Burton Griffith Members: Joe Stowers, Doug Pew, Aric Line, Nicole Wynands, B.J. Silvey and Dan Kole Board Liaison: Mike Collins

Tennis Advisory Chair: Sridhar Ganesan Members: Heather MacLellan, Dick Bishop, JoAnn Baynes, Jean Roberts, Donna Harris, Tyrone Gillum, Elaine Killoran, Robin Morris and Dan Krugler Board Liaison: Joe Leighton

Transportation Advisory Chair: Kathryn Martin Vice chair: John Bowman Members: Timothy Donohue, Patty Nicoson, Dan McGuire, Michael Martin, Robert Stein and Loren Bruce Board Liaison: Joe Leighton

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Highlights and Accomplishments Administration, Member Services & Information Technology

Used the Strategic Plan for 2012-2016 as a roadmap to assist the Board of Directors in identifying three Strategic Plan Objectives as its priorities for the 12-month period of April 2012 to April 2013.

RA’s 200-plus current lifeguards were all updated to the new American Red Cross Lifeguard Training Program.

Researched, acquired and setup iPads for the Board of Directors and Senior Leadership Team to access and review Board meeting documents, as well as other materials. This investment has produced cost savings and organizational efficiencies.

27,236 pool and tennis passes were distributed to members and guests.

Worked with staff throughout the organization to identify Reston Association’s “Value Proposition” for use in proactively preparing for the changing demographics and diverse needs of existing and future residents.

Hosted, in partnership with The YMCA-Fairfax County Reston, the 2nd Annual Kids’ Triathlon. Over 200 children participated, including 50 scholarship recipients. The proceeds from the event provided approximately $9,000 each to RA and the The Y for their respective scholarship programs.

Centralized mobile device services and reduced the number of providers, with the goal of improving efficiencies and facilitating cost-effective solutions across the organization.

Aquatics

July 11, 2012 shoot with NBC’s Today Show host, Tom Costello on lifeguard training and safety in the pool. The association’s lifeguards performed some of their in-the-water training for the NBC camera.

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Worked with over 1,000 swim lesson participants, including free lessons provided to 57 students from the Laurel Learning Center and 19 other RA members.

Hosted the 29th Annual Reston Triathlon and the 6th Annual Reston Sprint Triathlon.

Offered for the first time, a swim Birthday Party Package.

Offered new membership options for non-residents.

Communications

Communications hosted international delegations from China, Japan and South Korea. The groups included urban planners, university professors, engineers and international developers who came to Reston to learn how the community is successfully sustained.

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Highlights and Accomplishments

MoneyCNN.com ranked Reston as the 7th Best Small Community in America. Reston was lauded for its diversity of housing types, numerous recreational and cultural activities and employment opportunities.

As of Dec. 31, 2012, there were 2,400 subscribers to RA News, which is an increase of more than 300 from the prior year. The increase is attributed to several factors, including fresher and newsier content and publicizing the newsletter at various RA functions and on social media.

The percentage of subscribers who opened RA News e-mails each week averaged about 35% in 2012, which is 10 points higher than other associations with similar e-mail campaigns.

The home page of the RA website received the most page views, averaging about 15,000 per week.

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The average time users spent on the website’s home page was 1 minute and 31 seconds, which indicates users are reading and interacting with content that had been added and redesigned in 2012.

A 14-page Welcome to Reston guide was produced for distribution at Newcomers’ Night functions and other RA events.

Covenants

Developed a visual and print media campaign to provide RA members with more information about the Reston Design Review Board (DRB) and its review process, with the goal of facilitating more thoroughly completed DRB applications.

The services and expertise of DRB members, as well as major projects reviewed for development in Reston, were highlighted in magazine and newsletter articles and featured in Home Tips video segments shown on YouTube,

public access channels and the RA website. The goals were more to have more efficient DRB meetings and improved covenant compliance, community appearance and member awareness.

receive the documents from Reston Association. These front-line professionals were provided valuable information to be used to showcase Reston and to assist their clients with RA’s compliance process.

Facilitated the biennial EXPO to bring together cluster and condo association board officers and other RA members with home improvement and association management product and service providers. The EXPO was held in a new location and in partnership with the Reston Community Center – Hunters Woods.

Published a quarterly e-newsletter, The Advisor, to keep RA homeowners and cluster and condo association boards current on covenant-related issues and association management news.

Hosted a “Brokers’ Open: Selling Reston” luncheon for 80 local real estate professionals to advance an understanding of the regulations for obtaining resale disclosure documents in accordance with the VA Property Owners’ Association Act and to provide information on the steps involved to

Created a new format for the “Essentials of Community Association Volunteer Leadership” workshop and presented the session as an educational opportunity for RA’s neighborhood association board officers while interacting with professionals from the Community Associations Institute.

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Highlights and Accomplishments

Environmental Resources

(Natural Areas & Watersheds) Reston Association’s environmental resources staff has enjoyed working with numerous scouts during 2012 on environmental improvement projects throughout Reston. Kethan Rao organized and led a Habitat Restoration Eagle Scout Project near the Old Trail Natural Area, which included the removal of invasive Doublefile Viburnum from the natural area, planting of native Viburnum shrubs, and the installation of plant label signs for educational outreach. Theo Burton organized and led an Eagle Scout Project at the natural area by the Wiehle Avenue overpass, which included installing water bars, removal of invasive English Ivy and planting of native Viburnums and Spicebush shrubs.

Several local organizations and an apartment property-management firm helped create the Cedar Ridge Community Garden.

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The idea for a garden was discussed at a February 2012 meeting between Reston Interfaith and Sustainable Reston. Other organizations, such as RA, Friends of Reston and Quantum Property Management later joined the effort to build the community garden. Friends of Reston and RA raised approximately $5,500 for fencing. Reston Interfaith and Sustainable Reston worked with gardeners to set rules and procedures for planting.

When the grand-opening party was held on July 11, 2012, the garden was overflowing with vegetables and other plants.

Eurasian Water Milfoil had taken over most of the Lake Thoreau shoreline during the summer. This was the first time that Lake Thoreau had a massive non-native plant problem. Consultants were called in to treat the lake as part of RA’s ongoing management efforts.

RA’s Watershed Supervisor, Nicki Bellezza, was named Dogwood Elementary School’s Scientist of the Year for 2012.

and Replacement Reserve Fund, with the goal of keeping the fund solvent.

Finance

Youth groups from three local churches worked with RA’s environmental resource staff on several projects. Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church students conducted a litter and beautification project at Southgate Community Center.

Students from St. Anne’s Episcopal Church and Floris United Methodist Church removed invasive plants from RA’s natural areas.

Collected 97% of the billed 2012 annual assessment and reduced outstanding unpaid account to collections by 30%.

Worked with the Fiscal Committee and Board of Directors to create a new investment policy, which will allow for greater investment returns while minimizing risks.

Received an Unqualified Audit Opinion for the 47th consecutive year, including four consecutive years with no audit adjustments.

Collected and processed 16% of 2013 annual assessment in 2012, totaling $2 million.

Worked with the Fiscal Committee and Board of Directors to develop a methodology to annually fund the Repair

Get Involved

Reston Association was proud to host Deloitte’s 2012 IMPACT Day. Sixty-five Deloitte “Hokies” consultants took a day off from their daily duties to work on a restoration project at Cabots Point Recreation Area. The day was an excellent showcase of Deloitte’s teamwork and commitment to serving the Reston community.

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Highlights and Accomplishments

A team of volunteers from Haynes Whaley Associates, Inc., a structural engineering firm, worked with RA’s environmental resource team to repair the connecting pathways between the garden plots at Golf Course Island. The volunteers made the pathways safer for community gardeners to access their site.

Volunteers from FM Global participated in a Lake Aububon cleanup. The volunteers walked the shoreline, boarded canoes and kayaks to pick up trash and debris from the lake.

Thanks to FM Global, Lake Audubon was much cleaner for the Reston Master Swim Event.

GCE, a Reston based IT company, adopted Barton Hills Recreation Area and sponsored RA’s first recycling bin at Barton Hill’s Tennis Courts.

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Human Resources

Implemented a Workplace Mentoring Program.

RA’s workplace wellness program, “Passport to Wellness,” was recognized by Families USA, a health policy research organization, as one of six top-wellness programs in the country; citing RA as a strong example for other small employers.

RA was recognized by the Washington Business Journal for the second consecutive year as one of the Washington Metropolitan Area’s healthiest employers.

Walker Nature Center (“Nature Center”)

Annual on-site visitation reached an all-time high, including more than 20,500 program participants, drop-in visitors, meeting attendees and private rental groups.

The Nature Center conducted 347 environmental education programs and special events for more than 8,800 participants of all ages.

Welcome Desk volunteers surpassed a combined 2,000 hours of service at Nature House. Thirty adults and teens have been trained to perform this function since the building’s opening in November of 2009.

Fairfax County honored the Nature House project at its Land Conservation and Tree Preservation Awards Ceremony.

The awards recognize project teams that excelled in their stewardship of the environment.

The Nature Center won the Virginia Recreation and Park Society’s “Best New Program Award” for its Green Living Series presented in partnership with the Reston Community Center and Sustainable Reston.

The series is for adults who are seeking ways to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.

Programs included new discussion courses, as well as workshops on organic gardening, composting, solar cooking, food preservation and rain barrels.

Enhancements to the Nature House included the addition of acoustic panels in the multi-purpose room, a custom exterior sign donated by Friends of Reston and the in-house renovation of the pavilion, used for programs and community rentals.

Nature Center events drew record-breaking participation and ticket sales. The Spring Festival in 2012 was the best-attended festival in the history of the Nature Center, with 700 individuals and two dozen groups participating. In the fall, along with 600 patrons and volunteers, the Nature Center celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Halloween House and Trick-or-Treat Trail.

Tickets sold out in one week.

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Highlights and Accomplishments

Residents dropped off a record amount of acorns and other tree seeds for the Growing Native Program. More than 900 pounds of nuts were collected from Reston trees to be grown by the Virginia Department of Forestry. The seedlings will be used in conservation projects in the Potomac Watershed.

The Nature Center conducted its first Native Plant Sale in partnership with the Reston Garden Club. Fifty-nine customers purchased 672 wildflowers and ferns.

During the annual Reston Butterfly Count, a record number of individual butterflies were counted: 435 butterflies of 27 species in seven hours. The species count was just one short of the 1999 record. The data was submitted to the North American Butterfly Association for inclusion in their annual report. Volunteers also participated in the annual bird and dragonfly counts as well as a new cricket count.

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Parks & Recreation

RA’s Director of Parks & Recreation, Larry Butler, received the Y-Fairfax County Reston’s Jim and Karen Cleveland Award for his efforts to develop lasting partnerships in support of the The Y’s mission to improve the Reston community.

Reston Association was the lead organization for the 2012 Bike To Work Day in May. This regional effort encourages commuters to forego automobiles and bike to work.

More than 400 bikers rode to or through Reston Town Center, saving fuel and getting great exercise as benefits.

Reston Association received the 2012 Friends of Reston Runners Award, which is given in recognition of valuable activities by a partner that furthers the mission of Reston Runners and their work to keep Reston an active and healthy community.

Two baseball fields were renovated at Brown’s Chapel Park. The existing Babe Ruth field was converted from a 90-foot diamond to a 60, 65 and 70-foot field. The Little League field was converted from a single 60-foot diamond to another 60, 65 and 70-foot field. The renovations included extending the outfield and installing a higher fence.

The fields were the sites of games for 24 teams during the Washington Nationals Memorial Day Baseball Tournament in May. Derecho. Frankenstorm. Hurricane Irene.

Tropical Storm Lee. The list goes on as our extreme weather events increase. We have had two “100-year storms” in two years.

The drought we had been experiencing placed our trees under a lot of stress and the condition was compounded when heavy rains saturated the soil causing the trees toppling over that had appeared to be healthy.

Our tree work definitely has been increasing as trees in Reston age and our weather patterns increasingly become more erratic. Staff was busy cutting fallen trees and removing tree hazards throughout all of these storms.

Reston Association participated in its first bicycle and pedestrian count in September. Volunteers and staff were assigned to four locations in Reston to gather information on pedestrians and bicyclists over a 2-hour period. More counts are planned for the future.

RA Camps

RA Camps served over 1,400 kids in 12 programs for children ages 3-16.

More than 32 scholarships were given to families who could not afford to send their children to camp.

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Highlights and Accomplishments

Campers enjoyed swimming in RA’s pools, played tennis and laser tag, and visited the United States Naval Academy, and much more. Other activities included teen campers performing community service work with RA’s environmental resources staff.

Special Events

Created an internship program for the Parks & Recreation Department.

Established two new activities: Jigsaw Puzzle and Pirate-themed events.

Co-sponsored “Schools Out for Summer Party” with the Reston Community Center.

Offered an intergenerational event at Nature House.

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Provided travel training for seniors, which included a session on learning the local transit system.

Reston Tennis

Friends of Reston

2012 Projects Include Funding for: • •

Virginia Living Magazine readers selected Reston Tennis as the “Best Tennis Clubs in Northern Virginia.”

•

•

USTA Mid-Atlantic Section recognized Reston Tennis Association as Section Organization of the Year.

•

Racquet Sports Industry selected Reston Tennis Association (RTA) as the “Park & Recreation Agency of the Year” and RTA was featured in the Industry’s magazine in Jan. 2013.

Recognized by “Let’sMove.Gov”, a White House-based program, for providing outdoor tennis programs for children.

Cedar Ridge Community Garden Golf Course Island Garden Plot Renovation Nature House Facility Sign & Green Building Brochure Walker Nature Center School Outreach Programs RA Camps Scholarship Program

Major Donors

Special thanks to those individuals and organizations in the Reston community that donated $1,000 or more in cash, goods and services to the Friends of Reston.

• Fairfax Water • Margaret J. Hollar • Long & Foster Realtors • The Peterson Development Companies • Reston Community Center • Reston Garden Club • The Sallie Mae Fund

• • • • •

Adopt-A-Bench Program for Recreation Areas and Pathways Adopt-A-Recycling Bin Program for Tennis Courts RA Tennis Scholarship Program Memorial Tree Program Arbor Day Tree Planting

Friends of Reston Board of Directors Ellen Douglas, president Bonnie Haukness, vice president Jessica Piscitelli Robinson, secretary David Hopkins, treasurer Aurelia Dinoso Bonnie Haukness Nancy Herwig Ray Leonhard Pam Tobey Kathleen Driscoll-McKee (Ex-officio) Milton Matthews (Ex-officio) Ken Knueven (Ex-officio)

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Volunteer Reston Resource for the Reston Community

Volunteer RESTON www.reston.org Get Involved with Reston Association

Volunteer Reston seeks to build a strong, healthy and engaged community by connecting volunteers of all ages with opportunities to serve in Reston. Our volunteers make an immeasurable impact, not only on RA, but to our community as a whole.

The mission of Volunteer Reston is to enhance Reston Association’s services and programs by matching the varied talents of individuals and groups of all ages, interests and skills, with a variety of engaging and challenging projects and endeavors.

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Volunteers range in ages, come from diverse ethnic backgrounds and have a multitude of skill levels. Our volunteers all have one thing in common – they care about the Reston community.

Without them, the association could not provide all the high-quality programs and services it currently delivers to our members.

This past year projects included cleaning our streams, lakes and natural areas; assisting at our trout fishing event; workdays at the Walker Nature Center; removing invasive plants and planting native species; monitoring streams; and more. RA volunteers come from all walks of life and include high school, middle school and college students, retirees, scouts, individuals, families and businesses.

Some of these volunteers have been involved with RA for many years.

They participate in one-time events, serve on the Board of Directors or advisory committees, while others return to the same events each year.

Adopt-a-Spot, lake, stream, natural area cleanups and Habitat Heroes (formerly Weed Warriors) are key projects that have earned tremendous support from the Reston community. In 2012, 180 volunteers collected 171 bags of trash from Snakeden Branch, Colvin Run and the stream behind Stevenage Road.

Volunteers and staff collected 128 bags of trash from Reston’s lakes. Volunteers assisted with the second Kids’ Trout Fishing Day, which brought in 271 young anglers. These programs have empowered volunteers to complete projects on their own, with Parks & Recreation Department help, tools and support.

Just a Few of the Projects in 2012

5K Fund Run/Walk to Benefit Nature House Administrative and Office Support Adopt-a-Spot Program Arbor Day Bike Safety Rodeo Board & Committees Corporate Day of Service Eagle Scout Projects Stream & Natural Area Cleanup FIDO Dispenser Halloween House & Trick or Treat Trail MLK Day of Service Multicultural Festival Reston Kids’ Triathlon Senior Movie Day Spring Festival Summer Pool Events Weed Warriors

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Volunteer of the Year – Heather MacLellan Heather has designed and maintained the Reston Tennis Facebook site, as well as Reston’s tennis website.

Tennis is one of the most popular sports in Reston and RA members rely on our Facebook page for current news that includes class cancellations, the closing of courts for repair or bad weather, advertising pro shop merchandise and marketing of events such as the U.S. Open bus trip and the Washington Kastles Night event.

Thanks to Heather’s commitment, she has attracted 466 “Likes” to the Reston Tennis Facebook page. Heather has an interest in web page design, and has brought a real flair to our Facebook page. Heather has donated countless hours to this endeavor because of her passion for tennis and the Reston community. Social media is the new way to market programs and there is a significant time commitment required to keep readers and residents engaged.

Without Heather’s stewardship, this would have been difficult to achieve.

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Timely knowledge and communication about our programs are keys to a successful tennis program and Heather’s help with our social media activities has helped us reach that goal.

Heather works independently and seamlessly, and is a true asset to Reston Tennis as well as the Reston Association. She has become the voice of Reston tennis and her efforts are much appreciated.

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Community Partner of the Year

Youth Volunteer Group of the Year

Vocelli Pizza on North Shore Drive, and franchise owner, Randy Fox, have been an asset to the Reston Association Aquatics program for the past three years.

The business has donated over $3,000 and provided discounted rates for pizzas at many pool events. Vocelli’s provides food at RA training events and other functions.

When approached about helping with the Reston Kids’ Triathlon, the company and owner offered pizza and beverages to participants on race day and included “free pizza” vouchers for each racer to use at another time.

South Lakes High School’s Interact Club is a volunteer youth group. The club demonstrates the meaning of volunteerism and giving back to the community. Its members are affiliated with the Rotary Club of Reston. The club works with sponsors Joyce Johnson and Jim Gates on Rotary events, such as the Senior-Senior Prom, an annual event for seniors 50 and over.

While Rotary supports efforts at school the club participates in activities that is related to the interests of club members. Within the Interact program, all members work to enhance leadership skills and serve their community.

Vocelli Pizza

The “Pool Points” incentive program was suggested by Fox and implemented in 2012. RA staffers were excited about earning free products by sharing information with pool patrons about pool-delivery deals offered by Vocelli’s. This type of interaction between staff and patrons is something we strive for each year.

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The Vocelli discount provided to RA for “pool party” packages allows the association to offer competitive rates for birthday parties that include food and drinks for party guests.

Because Fox is consistently seeking ways for his business to be more involved with the pool programs, RA is happy to announce Vocelli Pizza is the Community Partner of the Year.

South Lakes High School Interact Club

The club faculty advisor is Dr. Emily Wischow and they have 20 active members including the elected officers. In 2012, they participated in Arbor Day where they planted native plants and trees at the Walker Nature Center. They also helped at the Halloween House & Trick or Treat Trail event to benefit the Walker Nature Center and Habitat Heroes projects (formerly Weed Warriors)

through Reston Association. In addition to helping other non-profit organizations, club members have given over 200 hours to RA. Members conducted a canned-food drive at South Lakes for Thanksgiving and were able to provide 70 families in our community with Thanksgiving food baskets.

The group partnered with Culinary Arts at South Lakes to provide the food. Last year, the club raised over $1,000 to support AmericaShare. This year, members are in the process of fundraising for ShelterBox, an international disaster relief charity that delivers emergency shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by disasters worldwide.

The best part about Interact is that it is totally driven by the students and we, as a community, are proud of their effort and happy to announce they are RA’s Youth Volunteer Group of the Year.

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Looking Ahead Covenants

The implementation of a new technological system with upgraded software and mobile hardware to integrate field-collected information into the existing office database.

The upgrade will help facilitate the production of inspection-related records and correspondence and reduce the time required for administrative tasks associated with inspections to achieve improved service delivery to RA members.

Having Reston’s Weed Warriors become Habitat Heroes.

Reston’s Weed Warrior volunteers have worked for years removing invasive plants that have taken over the native vegetation in our natural areas. Some of the plants we have focused on removing include Oriental Bittersweet, Japanese honeysuckle, Bush honeysuckle, Bamboo and Garlic Mustard.

Design an educational campaign to inform RA members of the importance of the Covenant Committee and its process, as well as the services of its volunteers in furthering adherence to RA’s Use and Maintenance Covenants, which regulate the physical condition of properties within the community. The goals of this effort are to assist in the operational efficiency of the Covenants Committee, promote better understanding of covenant compliance and to maintain the appearance of the Reston community.

Invasive plants reproduce rapidly, spread over large areas of the landscape and have few, if any, natural controls to keep them in check. These plants often produce large numbers of seeds, spread aggressively by runners or rhizomes and often disperse seeds away from the parent plant through various means such as wind, water, wildlife and people.

Sometimes they spread from nearby yards and seriously threaten local ecosystems, taking away vital food and habitat from our native wildlife populations.

Revise the RA Cluster Handbook to update this helpful tool in guiding cluster association leadership in managing their neighborhoods and effectively utilizing assets to benefit their residents.

Our dedicated and hard-working volunteer Weed Warriors often do more than remove plants. They also replant many natural areas with attractive and important native ferns, wildflowers, shrubs or trees – adding beauty and food for our songbirds and other wildlife.

The name change to Habitat Heroes better reflects the true nature of the work that is being done to restore our natural areas.

Launch a recently created “DRB Helpful Hints” brochure to improve RA members’ application review experience through proper preparation and information on what to expect at Design Review Board meetings.

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Environmental Resource

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Community Partners

Looking Ahead

Walker Nature Center

Interpretive trail guides will be updated for the Walker Nature Center and Twin Branches Nature Trail.

A permanent, museum-quality exhibit will be developed for Nature House, which tells the story of natural resource conservation and environmental education in Reston.

A new partnership with the Reston Historic Trust will be created to produce a series of natural history, walking programs.

RA Camps

In 2013, at our newly named Camp on Wheels (formerly Skate Camp), we are adding an option for bike riding. We are planning more exciting activites for the campers.

Get Involved

Reston Association Volunteer Appreciation Pool Party is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 2 from 6-8 p.m. at Lake Newport Pool.

RSVP to habrock@reston.org.

Volunteer Reston is supported in its work each and every day by our community partners. Our programs are strengthened by our solid partnerships with a great number of organizations.

Thank you to those organizations that donated $1,000 or more in cash, goods and services to the association’s programs, events, volunteer projects and special meetings.

Boofie O’Gorman Team Bow-Tie Cinemas Dr. Tisseront, DDS. MS Northern Virginia Trout Unlimited Noodle and Company Reston Community Center The Bike Lane

USTA Mid-Atlantic Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Vocelli Pizza Deloitte LLP Haynes Whaley Associates, Inc. FM Global

Thank you to all our volunteers and community partners for the time you give and have given to our community, and for putting Reston seventh on CNNMoney.com’s list of “Best Places to Live.”

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For more information on Volunteer Reston “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VolunteerReston.

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2012 Financial Statements Reston Association & Friends of Reston for Community Projects, Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheet As of Dec. 31, 2012 Assets Cash and Cash Equivalents Investments Net Accounts Receivable Prepaid Expenses Net Property and Equipment Total Operating Fund Assets

$

$

8,796,454 357,211 964,434 138,761 19,739,394 29,996,254

Liabilities and Fund Balances Accounts Payable Accrued Wages and Benefits Capital Leases Deferred Obligations Revenue Collected in Advance Deferred Rent Liability Total Operating Fund Liabilities

$

193,068 581,397 36,002 357,211 1,989,350 2,430,309 5,587,337

$

Fund Balances Total Liabilities and Fund Balances

$ 24,408,917 $ 29,996,254

Reston Association & Friends of Reston for Community Projects, Inc. Consolidated Statement of Revenue and Expenses For the Year Ended Dec. 31, 2012 Revenue Assessments and Other Fees Recreation Programs

Late fees, Penalties and Service Charges Open Space

Covenants Administration and POAA Investment Income Contributions – Friends of Reston Total Operating Fund Revenue

$

$

11,536,445 1,157,028 801,188 683,352 214,784 123,107 36,423 14,552,327

Expenses

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Management and Staff Services Operating Programs Recreation Programs Depreciation Expense Friends of Reston

Total Operating Fund Expenses

$

$

5,341,282 4,981,061 2,218,989 1,509,572 29,280 14,080,184

Excess of Revenue over Expenses

$

472,143

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www.reston.org • 703-435-6530 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA , 20191 Annual Report photography by: Jim Kirby, David Madison, Katie Shaw, Sean Bahrami and Ha Brock Special thanks to Comstock Partners and Preston Partnership, LLC