BOARD OF OFFICERS, 2012

PRESIDENT: Christa Watters

Christa Watters has been a resident of North Old Town since 1983. She was elected to the NOTICE Board at the 2010 Annual Meeting, and became president in January 2012. She is a contributor and editor for Take Notice, the NOTICe 5-a-year newsletter. She serves as a member of the Alexandria Waterfront Commission and as a board member of the Canal Way Homeowners’ Association, where she chairs the Landscaping Committee. From 2007 to 2011, she participated in the Royal Breakfast Group, organized largely by NOTICe members to monitor and advocate on behalf of local air quality and residents’ interests in the negotiations between the City of Alexandria, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and the Mirant (now GenOn) Potomac River Generating Station, now slated to close in October 2012.

She is a retired community newspaper reporter and editor, loves hiking and bicycling, and is proud to be a Master Gardener.

VICE PRESIDENT:  Roger Waud

Roger Waud has been a resident of North Old Town for the past fourteen years. He is past President of the Board of Directors of his Homeowners Association, Marina Towers. He is a past-President, a past Vice President, and past Treasurer of NOTICe. He is also a member of the City's Mirant Community Monitoring Group, co-chair of the Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations, a committee member of UDAC (The North Old Town Urban Design Advisory Committee), and a Board member of Agenda Alexandria.  

He is concerned about the size and mix of ongoing commercial and residential development in North Old Town in so far as it contributes, rather than detracts, from the historical character of the city.

TREASURER:  Tom Soapes

Tom Soapes has lived in Alexandria since 1978 and at the Watergate of Alexandria in North Old Town since 1985.  At Watergate, he served 15 years on that condominium's board of directors.  He is retired from the federal civil service.  He worked for sixteen years with the National Archives and Records Administration, mainly with the presidential library system, and for seventeen years with the Smithsonian Institution.  At the Smithsonian, he was Chairman of the Archives Division of the National Air and Space Museum and, later, director of the Smithsonian Institution Archives and Archivist of the Smithsonian. 

He is a graduate of the University of Missouri with undergraduate and graduate degrees in history.  He is a U.S. Army veteran with service in Vietnam.  He has served on the NOTICe board for 3 years as treasurer and membership chair.

MEMBERSHIP CHAIR:  Tom Soapes (see above "Treasurer")

SECRETARY:  Ernie Lehmann

Ernie Lehmann has been a resident of Alexandria, VA for nine years and lives less than ½ mile from the GenOn-Mirant Potomac River Generating Station.  Ever since he moved to Alexandria he has been active in retiring this plant.

Ernie brings with him a background in education and union activism.  He founded and for more than 30 years headed the union that represented 1000 Department of Defense Dependent School teachers who teach on overseas US military bases. He also established a university for these teachers to take graduate courses and graduate degrees while working overseas.

He has over 50 years of experience in organizing and representing employees and citizens which includes negotiating national contracts, representing employees and the union in well over 100 arbitration cases,  public relations campaigns, conducting rallies, picketing and was the labor liaison in a US Senatorial campaign in 2008.  Most recently he co-founded a new ‘village’ for seniors in Alexandria, the At Home in Alexandria, AHA!

His life has been dedicated to public service. In so doing he has enabled and empowered employees and citizens to know, assert, protect and defend their rights. Outside of being on the NOTICe (North Old Town Independent Citizens Civic Association) Board for nine years he was president of the Portner’s landing Unit owners Association, is a member of the Alexandria Democratic Committee and was a Board member, 6 years, of the local Sierra Club,  the Mount Vernon Group and is Vice-Chair of AHA!.

ASS'T WEBMASTER:  Michael MENDOZA

photo coming

Michael Mendoza has been a resident of North Old Town for the past two years and a resident of Northern Virginia for the past 6 years. He is a resident of Marina Towers where he serves as the Chairman of the Finance Committee. Originally from New Mexico, he made his first home purchase in North Old Town due to the natural beauty of the area, its excellent recreational facilities and its proximity to Washington, DC.

Michael is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Virginia and is employed by MorganFranklin Corporation where he provides technical accounting solutions to various local Companies.  He would like to become involved in his community by promoting smart and efficient developments from a financial cost and an environment cost aspect.

Michael will serve as assistant  webmaster.

WEBMASTER:  Greg Ogden

Greg Ogden has resided at 414 Princess St. for about 25 years and has been constantly involved in the associated homeowner matters. He is a retired Army LTC, having served 24+ years, including Vietnam service. He then was a Senior Scientist & Program Manager for 9 years in a Fortune 500 company, followed by a position as COO of a start-up company in Old Town offering corporate personnel services. This was followed by 6+ years part time as advertising manager for a professional society, based also in Old Town. He remains active in his church, sings in its accomplished volunteer choir where recently served as its president. He holds a BA from Bucknell, an MS in Nuclear Physics from the University of Alabama, and an MS Education from Boston University.

Greg remains active in civic matters. He has belonged to NOTICe for several years. He regularly delivers Meals on Wheels. He continues his 18+ years serving support groups for persons with certain addictions. He currently is the NOTICe representative to the Alexandria Motorcoach Task Force. His main civic concerns for North Old Town deal with traffic (motor and bicycle), quality of life matters, and particularly the details of plans for waterfront development. He also has a keen interest in Emergency Planning and Preparedness issues.

MEMBER AT LARGE:   Frances Zorn

photo coming

Frances Zorn has been a resident of Old Town North since 2005, living at Alexandria House. She retired 4 years ago after 30 years with USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. She helped found one of the government’s first policy analysis and research offices, and later worked as Regional Administrator for the Northeast Region. She finished her career as national manager of the regional offices.

For 15 years she was a Girl Scout leader, volunteer manager for other scout leaders, and was also Association Chair of Arlington Girl Scouts. She spent most of 2011 as the volunteer treasurer of Libby Garvey’s political campaign for Virginia State Senate.  

Her community interests for Alexandria center around development and density, and this past summer followed the issues connected to the Harris Teeter development and its effects on traffic and parking issues when they came before the Planning Commission and City Council this year. She is a member of Citizens for an Alternative Alexandria Waterfront Plan and supports the work they are doing. She believes development of the GenOn property presents a new issue to consider as waterfront policy is decided.