Loudoun Museum is straightening out finances

One year after the Loudoun Museum faced the possibility of having to close because of the potential loss of county funding, museum officials say they have taken the necessary first steps to straighten out the organization’s finances.

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors directed the museum’s trustees to make fundraising a top priority, officials said. So in May, the trustees hired Leslie Mazeska, who has a professional background in fundraising and grant-writing for nonprofit organizations, as the museum’s executive director.

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The Washington Post, July 30, 2017

Museum gets one more chance

The Loudoun Museum has been given one last chance to get its financial house in order.

The Board of Supervisors on July 21 approved an agreement with the museum that will provide $156,000 in funding to keep it operating through June, by a 7-1-1 vote. Ron A. Meyer (R-Broad Run) opposed the plan, and Tony R. Buffington Jr. (R-Blue Ridge) was absent.

The agreement spells out quarterly milestones the museum must meet to receive the funds, and requires each member of the museum’s board of trustees to contribute or raise at least $3,000 annually.

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Washington Post, July 31, 2016

Civil War artifacts donated

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Capt. Edward Todd’s haversack

In 1861, Union Army Capt. Edward Todd of the 2nd Vermont Infantry was wounded at the Battle of First Manassas. He went home to Vermont for two years to recover before returning to fight in several more Civil War battles in Virginia.

More than 150 years later, Todd’s wartime haversack — a large, purselike bag he used to carry personal belongings — has returned to Manassas. The haversack is part of a collection of Civil War artifacts donated to the Manassas Museum in the summer by Northern Virginia Community College and retired history professor Charles Poland Jr.

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Washington Post, November 29, 2015

A glimpse into an astronaut’s life

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Forget packing for a jaunt to the beach. Kids visiting the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly are setting their sights on a much more ambitious destination: Mars.

At the Astronaut Academy, the latest offering in the TechQuest program at the Northern Virginia offshoot of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, children are using an alternate-reality game to get an idea of what it’s like to be an astronaut.

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Washington Post, October 4, 2015

Nature photography on display

The diversity and beauty of nature are on display in an exhibition that will run through Oct. 4 at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton.

“Nature’s Best Photography at the Workhouse” features 28 images that were taken around the world by professional and amateur photographers. The photos, ranging from panoramic landscapes to extreme close-ups, were judged to be some of the best entries in the annual Windland Smith Rice International Awards competition, held by Nature’s Best Photography magazine.

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Washington Post, August 20, 2015

“War and Peace” tintype exhibit

The tintype photo shows a young soldier in uniform, his pale eyes barely visible under the brim of his hat. They are eyes that have seen hell on earth. To the right is another tintype, showing a young man with closely cropped hair wearing an unzipped jacket, collar up, over a white crewneck shirt.

The eyes and the steely expression are the same. It is the same man.

The images are part of a collection of tintypes displayed in “War and Peace,” a temporary exhibit at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle.

Washington Post, July 28, 2014