Mollie Loeffler of Mason District named Fairfax County Citizen of the Year

The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations has named Mollie Morison-Loeffler, a community leader in the Mason District, the Federation’s 2010 Citizen of the Year. The federation will honor Loeffler at its annual Citizen of the Year banquet, co-sponsored by Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), at the Tysons Crowne Plaza on Sunday, May 15.

“Mollie’s positive and energetic civic leadership is exemplary,” says Federation President Tania Hossain. Her leadership shows “what we can accomplish when we empower ourselves to act on behalf of our communities.”

In 2007, Loeffler connected with other neighbors in Parklawn concerned about trash, multiple-occupancy houses, and other problems and built the Parklawn Civic Association from the ground up. Under her leadership, the organization has addressed an array of issues and has received two $5,000 grants from the Fairfax County Neighborhood Enhancement Partnership Program, one to revitalize Glasgow Park and the other to improve the grounds of the community’s recreation association. She organized a music festival in the park in June 2010 to shine a spotlight on the improvements and bring neighbors together.

Loeffler believes “strong community connections can make the difference between neighborhoods that are vital and protect residents’ property values and those that enter into decline.”

In 2010, Loeffler re-established the Mason District Council, a forum to connect community associations and share information and programs aimed at addressing such issues as property maintainence, litter, revitaliztion, zoning, and volunteerism. The council sponsored a public Roundtable Discussion on Property Maintenance in March and plans additional activities, along with efforts to spotlight outstanding local volunteers and help community leaders re-energize their neighborhood organizations.

Loeffler’s community activism has also led her to support public dialogue on neighborhood issues through her connection as advertising management for the Annandale blog.

The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations will also present a 2010 Citation of Merit to Charlie Dane of Annandale. Dane has a long history of public service to Fairfax County, with many years of leadership with the federation and the Stone Haven Civic Association. He is a member of several Fairfax County Public Schools advisory bodies and is president of the Annandale chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.

In addition, the federation will honor two long-time community leaders with Special Gratitude Awards: Bill Lecos, past president and CEO of the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, who played a central role in the citizen-based effort to plan the revitalization of Tysons Corner, and Fairfax County Executive Anthony H. Griffin.