Category: Meetings

Bob Shippee, legislative committee chair of the Virginia Chapter of The Sierra Club, will speak to the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club Wednesday, Aug. 14, on the important environmental issues facing the General Assembly in 2020.

The Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club is over 20,000 members strong. It is part of the national Sierra Club, the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization.

The club will meet at 1:30 p.m. in Classroom 2 of the LOW Community Center at Sweetbriar Park. The program is open to all, regardless of political affiliation.

Shippee has bachelor’s degrees in economics and industrial engineering from Syracuse University and master’s degrees in business administration and labor relations from Cornell University. He worked in financial services for 28 years before retiring in 2015. He ran for county office in 2015, which led him to become active in politics.

He has been a member of the Sierra Club for many years, volunteered in various capacities, and served as chapter treasurer from 2007-2010. He joined the Sierra Club chapter’s Legislative and Political Committees in 2016.

His exposure to the chapter’s work in this arena led him to become Legislative Committee co-chair in 2017 and chair in 2018. He serves as a full-time volunteer advocate in the General Assembly.

Shippee is treasurer of the Henrico County Democratic Committee and vice chair of the Henrico Electoral Board.

He is the father of five children, ages 13 to 30.

The concerns of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club includes work in climate action, offshore wind, solar energy, fracking, coal ash, coal dust, oil and gas pipelines, environmental justice, and legislative and political engagement.

More information is available at the Sierra Club chapter’s Web site.

Stephen J. Farnsworth, professor of political science and international affairs and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, will speak on the topic of his latest book, “Presidential Communication and Character,” at the Lake of the Woods Community Center on Sunday, April 28.

The event is sponsored by the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club, and is open to all without regard to political affiliation. The program will begin at 1 p.m. in Marion Pronk Hall at the LOW Community Center.

Farnsworth’s book traces the evolution of White House news management during America’s changing media environment over the past two decades. Comparing and contrasting the communication strategies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, it demonstrates the difficulty that all presidents have in controlling their messages despite a seemingly endless array of new media outlets and the great advantages of the office. 

Dr. Farnsworth is a recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and is the author of five books and many articles in scholarly and popular publications.

One of the few political scientists who focus on Virginia politics, Dr. Farnsworth’s research has direct policy implications for both politicians and the news media. He handles hundreds of media contacts a year on local, state and international matters, and appears in or on such outlets as C-SPAN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Public Radio and PBS News Hour.

He holds a Ph.D. degree and a master’s degree from Georgetown University and bachelor’s degrees from both the University of Missouri and Dartmouth College.

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Pete Brown, a member of the Lake of the Woods Association’s Board of Directors, visited the club at its March 13 meeting to talk about the association’s $10 million budget.

Brown said that a priority of board members is to keep the annual assessment as low as possible. Toward that end, he said, the board managed to pare next year’s assessment increase down to $52, down from an initial estimate of about $130.

Brown said the board’s priority for the coming year is successful completion of the Clubhouse Area Recreation Project, which is expected to open this summer.

Brown is a retired executive of radio and television stations who was elected to the seven-member governing body of the association in 2018.

Dr. Cecil Snead, superintendent of Orange County Public Schools, will be the speaker at the club’s February 13 meeting.