Sendoff For Reston Association CEO Matthews

Reston Association CEO Milton Matthews was showered with good wishes and parting gifts from RA staff, board of directors and leaders of other Reston organizations at Thursday night's RA board meeting.

Matthews announced in February he was stepping down after eight years on the job. He is leaving the position because his wife accepted a job as the city manager of Rockville, Md., last summer, and that job, like RA, features a residency requirement.  

Matthews will be on leave after May 31, but his contract will run through Sept. 30 if RA has not hired a new CEO.

RA is conducting a search for a new CEO but has not hired one yet.

"You have been a tremendous advocate for RA," Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Ingrao told Matthews at the meeting.

"I appreciate that. You have provided valuable insight on issues important to the community. You were an educator and mentor on issues important to Reston and were one of first people to demonstrate how different segments of the community could work together."

Under Matthews tenure, RA milestones included the opening of the new Nature House at Walker Nature Education Center; RA moving its headquarters from Isaac Newton Square to 12001 Sunrise Valley Dr.; the renovation of Dogwood Pool and the opening of the kid-sized tennis courts on North Shore Drive. RA has also received numerous honors for various programs.

But there have also been partisan member battles over building an indoor tennis facility at Lake Newport and a recreation center at Brown's Chapel Park, and annual member assessments have risen from $415 in 2004 to $590 in 2013.

RA Parks and Recreation Director Larry Butler presented Matthews with some uniquely Reston gifts, including a Reston towel, hat, pool passes for 2013 and a Nature House vest.

Other well wishers who gave their regards to Matthews included Jill Norcross of Reston Interfaith's board of directors; Leila Gordon from Reston Community Center; Ellen Graves, who serves on several Reston organizations; Ken Fredgren of the Reston Accessibility Committee; and Anne Delaney from the Initiative for Public Art Reston.

The Board members also wished Matthews well and toasted him with cupcakes.

"When I joined the board, I thought I was god's gift to leadership in industry," said RA President Ken Knueven. "I have a quick lesson. There's a lot to learn, and you have been a tremendous mentor. The biggest quality I like about leaders is loyalty. You have demonstrated that to the staff and the board. I will miss working with you."