Tree planting honors Penny Gross

Fairfax County leaders honored former Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross by planting a tree in her honor at Mason District Park on Oct. 11.

The Roots of Leadership event focused on Gross’s key role in establishing the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ regional tree canopy goal.  

Her advocacy was instrumental in the formation of the Regional Tree Canopy Subcommittee, which developed strategies to protect, manage, and expand urban forests.

Under her leadership, the COG board in April adopted a goal of maintaining a minimum tree canopy coverage of 15 percent across the region, which aligned with broader climate and environmental objectives.

Penny’s tree, a magnolia, is located at the end of the parking lot, near the ballfields. A magnolia was chosen because it’s an evergreen; Gross had often talked about missing the evergreens in her native Oregon.

“Having the tree in Mason District Park has great significance to me,” Gross said, noting that, as supervisor, she spearheaded many improvements in the park, including the construction of the amphitheater.

Gross was first elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 1995 and went on to serve nine terms. She retired in 2023.

The current Mason Supervisor, Andres Jimenez, lauded Gross for her leadership on environmental issues, including a key role in starting the board’s conversations on climate change, creating the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance, and supporting the county’s sustainability practices.

Board of Supervisors Chair Jeffrey McKay said, “the planet is a better place” because of Penny’s leadership on environmental issues.

Without Penny’s support for environmental preservation, much of the parkland in Mason District would have been developed with townhouses and McMansions, said Ron Kendall, the Mason District representative on the Park Authority Board.

In thanking the regional and county officials for the tree planted in her honor, Gross said, “I really miss the work, my colleagues, and the community, but I am so proud that we finally presented the tree canopy report to the MWCOG board.”

“Our success in getting the tree canopy report accepted by the board was due to the relationships we established years before,” she said. “If we can dialogue about things, if we can talk to folks, we can find common ground.”