Recent Speakers at Club Meetings
In
celebration of Rotary Foundation Month we began the month with an excellent presentation by Past District Governor Chuck Davidson.
Lori is a lifelong resident of Stafford County. She retired from the Stafford County Fire and Rescue Department with 27 years of service and continues to volunteer at a local Rescue Squad.
She graduated from The George Washington University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science Degree.
After retirement, Lori joined Damsel In Defense to support the company’s mission of helping people protect themselves and their families from violent crime and to help rescue young girls from sex trafficking.
Kathy Miller Wilson is the Founder & CEO of Workplace Etiquette Leadership Academy (WELA) where she is a Career Coach and
Leadership & Team building Coach and Consultant.
Kathy has over 20 years of management & leadership experience. As a
Hiring Official, Kathy led and/or participated on multiple recruitment panels, and built strong, award winning, emotionally intelligent, high
performing teams. Kathy has groomed and advanced multiple leaders.
As a John C. Maxwell Certified Trainer, Teacher, Coach and Speaker, Kathy aids individuals and organizations in their personal and professional growth through the use of John’s proven leadership methods and materials.
Kathy has a Master of Science Degree in Administration/Management Information Systems from “The George Washington University” in Washington D.C., and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from “Lincoln University” in Pennsylvania. With this unique combination of education and experience, Kathy’s goal is to give both individuals
and organizations the tools to become successful leaders and winners in today’s competitive workplace, and to discover and become the best version of themselves both personally and professionally.
Kathy’s passion for adding value to the lives of those she touches, led her to start a non-profit organization
to support youth in the foster care system called “TAGGED”. TAGGED stands for Talented, Ambitious and Gifted ~ Groomed, Empowered, and Directed. TAGGED’S mission is to change the trajectory of the academically, artistically, creatively, musically and athletically talented, ambitious and gifted youth in foster care, by giving them the support and tools to reach the highest levels of themselves.
For more information about TAGGED, visit https://taggedyouth.org/ or call 540-446-5066 –
email TAGGED @ info@taggedyouth.or
Prior to joining Washington Heritage Museums, Chuck Fennell developed global procedures and policies for a major oil company, and has served as a US Product Quality Advisor and Eastern US Area Manager for Downstream Assets.
He has been an active volunteer with Washington Heritage Museums since he and his wife moved into Fredericksburg’s Rising Sun Tavern neighborhood in 2016. He has served on the Finance and Development Committees, was instrument in the transfer process for the Mary Washington Monument, and in January, became the Chair of the WHM Board of Directors.
Anne Darron is the Executive Director of Washington Heritage Museums. She joined the organization in 2013 and was selected as its first Executive Director in 2014. She helped the organization navigate through the global pandemic, and more recently was a member of the team that ensured a smooth transfer of the Mary Washington Monument property from City ownership to WHM stewardship. Anne is a graduate of Mary Washington College, with a degree in historic preservation. As a leader in the Boy Scouts of America from 1997-2014, she received the District Award of Merit and was the first woman to receive the Vigil Honor in the Aquia Chapter of the Order of the Arrow. She and her husband have three grown sons and one grandson, and have lived in the Fredericksburg area for over 30 years.
2023 – Stafford Rotary – The Mary Washington Monument (5)
James Larounis is a travel industry analyst specializing in airline operations, loyalty programs, and reward travel, and owns The Forward Cabin and social media channels, with over 35,000 followers. Currently, he writes about and serves as an expert on American Airlines for Upgraded Points, with over 21 million annual readers.
Among several media spotlights, he’s spoken at Frequent Traveler University, Princeton University, and the New York Times Travel Show, been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Fiscal Times, Travel+Leisure Magazine, Skift, Forbes, New York Magazine, the Daily Mail, the Washington Post, and Condé Nast Traveler, been featured on CNN, FOX News, and the BBC, written for InsideFlyer, Road Warrior Voices/USA Today, Forbes, 1000TravelTips.com, and makes regular guest appearances as a featured expert discussing the travel industry on major television news media. He also supports Frequent Traveler Events in organizing the Loyalty Summit, Frequent Traveler University and the Frequent Traveler Awards. Previous consulting projects have included clients such as Executive Travel, SELECT Innovations, Flightbucks, OurBus, ZED Aerospace, PEX+, American Airlines, and DoNotPay Travel, among others. In 2018, he was awarded the highest honor for exceptional customer service for Washington Dulles International Airport.
His expertise includes the operations and loyalty programs of American Airlines, Hyatt, and Amtrak, and he’s regularly cited as an expert on the topics of those companies and others in industry publications, forums, and major media.
James’ previous professional experience includes having served as a manager with the Boy Scouts of America, with consistent growth in fundraising, membership and volunteer manpower. A proven leader, he’s managed a yearly fundraising goal of more than $600,000 with direct responsibility over special events, product sales and annual giving campaigns.
He also holds an Advanced Life Support EMT credential in VA and has served in numerous EMS supervisory positions, commanding large-scale incidents and scenes, and was awarded the Rappahannock EMS Council’s EMS Administrator of the Year Award in 2012. He is an Eagle Scout.
Jamie shared his experiences attending the 2023 Rotary International Convention in Melbourne, Australia, and explained his goals for the club in the coming year.
Sheila was born & raised in Chicago, IL. She is the 3rd oldest of 10 & one of 6 twins in the family – soon to be 8. Sheila started working for the Federal Government the day after she graduated high school & has not stopped since. She and her late husband moved to VA in 1983 for job transfers.
Sheila’s career was Human Resources Management. In 1985 she was asked to put a box on everyone’s desk. Took her 2 days to figure out the box was a computer. 39 ½ years later she retired after automating several HR lines of business around the world for DoD, USDA, Forest Service, and DEA. Her leadership in the Federal Government shaped her life skills. This career taught her loyalty, respect, protocol, the value of friend
ship, the value of volunteering, being humble, the value of life, the power of prayer, it’s ok to make a mistake, own it when you do it, teamwork, and more. During her career she received numerous honors, accolades, and awards.
Her late husband passed in 2004. She met her current husband in 2013 who introduced her to the Rotary Club of Vienna. Since joining the club, Sheila has held several positions including President. She began working at the District level in 2019 for then DG Jonathan Lucus.
Sheila joined Rotary to make a difference. It is what we do, who we are, the impact we have in our communities, around the Globe, and in ourselves. Sheila is “THAT” Rotarian who believes & lives the Four-Way Test 24/7/365. She will be a Rotarian the rest of her life!
Dr. Taylor is a native Washingtonian and graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. He grew up in a single-parent household, where he recalls how many of his teachers served as co-parents in his upbringing. The support that Dr. Taylor received from influential teachers inspired him to pursue public education as a career. Dr. Taylor has always wanted to become a teacher to give other kids the same support and opportunities that he received. Consequently, Dr. Taylor has built his career on the belief that every child deserves access to high quality learning opportunities – not by chance, but by design.
After a distinguished tenure of raising student performance as a social studies teacher in Hampton Roads, Dr. Taylor expanded his impact through school leadership. In 2008, Dr. Taylor became the principal of Charlottesville High School (Charlottesville, Va.) and in 2012 was named the University of Virginia’s Outstanding Alumni Principal for his focus on equity and his work dramatically reducing the school’s dropout rate. He was subsequently appointed Superintendent of Middlesex County Public Schools in the same year, earning recognition as Virginia’s Region III Superintendent of the Year in 2016 for his work in college and career readiness and for leading the first successful 1:1 computing initiative in rural Eastern Virginia. Stafford County is also part of the Virginia Department of Education’s Region III.
In 2016, Dr. Taylor served Chesterfield County Public Schools as the Executive Director of School Administration/Chief of Schools, Chief Academic Officer, Acting Chief Financial Officer, Acting Chief Operating Officer, and now as Deputy Superintendent. Dr. Taylor’s leadership has led to student academic performance improvements, narrowing of gaps in student access and opportunity, and increases in student support services. In addition to leading the development of the division’s strategic plan “Imagine Tomorrow” and numerous other instructional innovations in the areas of literacy, technology, and serving English language learners, Dr. Taylor is the architect of the district’s proposed bond referendum and FY 2021 Operating Budget ($720M), where he created a differentiated staffing and school funding model to target support for schools with the highest needs. Of his tenure in Chesterfield, Dr. Taylor is proudest of his efforts supervising the school division’s equity work and of a culture emphasizing support and innovation that he helped to create.
In 2018, Dr. Taylor was recognized by the Chesterfield Association of Educational Office Professionals as the county-wide Administrator of the Year for the reorganization and cultural shift he led in the central office to improve morale. In 2020, Dr. Taylor was recognized by the University Council for Educational Administration with the National Excellence in Educational Leadership Award for his work in building a principal pipeline and talent management system. Carrying forward the impact of the teachers who inspired him, Dr. Taylor was once again recognized by the University of Virginia in 2021, this time for his work as an adjunct professor of school finance with the Lasting Legacy Outstanding Faculty Award in the School of Education and Human Development.
Dr. Taylor holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and a doctorate in education policy studies from the University of Virginia’s School of Education & Human Development and also holds a master’s degree in business administration from the College of William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business. Dr. Taylor has been an adjunct professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Virginia for the past eleven years and has been a featured speaker at several national and state meetings for various professional organizations. Dr. Taylor is married to Susan Winslow, a civil engineer who specializes in airport design. They have five children, three of which are school-age and attend high school.
Dr. Taylor presented an overview of the school district and its goals and values.staffordcountyschoolspresentation
June 15 Meeting, Stafford Rotary President-Elect Cherice TaylorClub President Elect Cherice Taylor presented her vision for our club in the coming Rotary year.