At its January 26th annual meeting, members of the Reston Historic Trust welcomed a new generation of board members, announced a $180,000 endowment fund, and saluted Beth Didiano, the Trust’s first full-time director since its founding in 1997.
The Trust is a community-based non-profit organization formed to sustain the unique history of the award-winning, planned community of Reston, Virginia. The Trust sponsors Founder’s Day every April and operates the Reston Museum & Shop on Washington Plaza in the historic Lake Anne Village Center.
With its new full-time director, small staff, and team of resident docents, the Trust offers year-round community exhibits and archives, walking tours, children’s art workshops, lecture series, an annual Home Tour, and public events. The museum also offers original art, crafts, and Reston signature items for sale.
“This is an historic day [pun intended] for us,” said Founding Member Lynn Lilienthal. “Twenty years ago, a group of Reston pioneers gathered to form a trust to showcase the remarkable story of Robert E. Simon’s ingenious, world-renowned, planned community. It was fitting to locate the museum in Simon’s first village center, so we pooled our resources and bought the space which had been the original library.”
Lilienthal went on to express her delight with the Trust’s new director and seven new board members, all young Restonians. “We love this infusion of fresh, new perspective and appreciation for Reston’s role on the world stage of urban planning and community development. Beth and our new directors will surely take the Museum and Trust to the next level,” she said.
“As the Reston Historic Trust celebrates its 20th anniversary, I am excited to join them as the first full-time director,” Didiano said. “I look forward to working with the Trust’s Board of Directors, members, volunteers, and community partners on programs and initiatives that draw people to the Reston Museum at Lake Anne, as well as take our mission out into the community.”
“Reston has an amazingly rich and unique history,” she continued. “We want to share that history with everyone—from the long-time resident with stories of their own, to the new-comer who is just learning what makes Reston special. And of course, we want to continue to offer educational programs for students and families that make history both fun and relevant.”
THE FOLLOWING ARE THE NAMES OF THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE BOARD:
Kristina Alcorn
Katie Eichler Jones
Marnie Schaar
(new Home Tour Chair – replacing Bonnie Haukness)
Andy Sigle
Anne-Marie Twohie
Chris Turley
Rebekah Wingert-Jabi
Executive Director Elizabeth (Beth) Didiano comes to the Trust from Pittsburgh where she was development manager at The Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. At the History Center, Beth was responsible for grant writing, commemorative items, individual giving and donor research. Prior to that, Beth was executive director of the Greenbrier Historical Society and North House Museum in Lewisburg, West Virginia. She has a BA in Public History from Mercyhurst University in Erie, PA, and an MA in Public History from the University of West Virginia, Morgantown.
