Past and present McLean Citizens Association presidents were honored at MCA’s centennial celebration on Nov. 20. Photo by Reena Singh.
The oldest civil organization in the county celebrated it’s 100th anniversary, in turn celebrating the milestones McLean has achieved since 1914.
The McLean Citizens Association has served as the voice of the people for 100 years and is the face behind McLean Day, Dolley Madison Library, McLean Community Center and hundreds of resolutions passed on the county level.
“This is a community effort,” said MCA President Sally Horn during the centennial celebration on Nov. 20. “This is a collaborative effort.”
Merrily Pierce, a former MCA president, and McLean Historical Society President Paul Kohlenberger put together a comprehensive booklet outlining the history of the McLean School and Civic League - known today as the McLean Citizens Association. The book details the important topics in the early days - providing adequate streetlights and enough textbooks and school supplies for another McLean institution that also recently celebrated a centennial birthday - Franklin Sherman Elementary.
“This was a labor of love on their part, and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart,” said Horn.
Pierce detailed in the booklet why the history of the organization took 100 years to put into a bound edition.
“One major obstacle had been a lack of an official repository for MCA documents in McLean, and the concomitant paucity of easily-accessible records,” she said. “Recognizing the challenge, one of us attempted to find an appropriate location for MCA source documents during the 1990s.”
After more than a decade, the history, from the beginning days as the voice for children’s education to becoming a voice for nearly 50,000 people today, has been preserved in a booklet.
Three separate resolutions - including from the state General Assembly and the county Board of Supervisors - honoring the MCA were presented. Dranesville Supervisor John Foust noted that he once held Horn’s position as MCA president.
“As a former president of the McLean Citizens Association, I can tell you the respect that the MCA has is the top of the list,” he said.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova also noted the MCA’s reputation on the county-level.
“Organizations come and go,” she said. “We do not have the opportunity often to honor an organization that has not only lasted but is also a force in the community.”
Every living MCA president was also honored at the event. Each one was presented with a small gift and got a photo taken together for prosperity.
“So long as the MCA remains faithful to its primary duty to represent the community, I think the MCA will be an important part of both McLean and Fairfax County,” said MCA board member Rob Jackson.
He is the longest serving president of the organization and joked that he is the Franklin D. Roosevelt of MCA. His tenure as president lasted from June 2007 until May 2012. During that time, the county was in the process of trying to figure out how to make Tysons become an urban center.
“The MCA was actively involved to ensure the interests of our members, including those residing in Tysons who live north of Route 7, were adequately addressed in the County’s decision,” he said. “While we might disagree on details of the County’s decisions, our consensus belief is that the 2010 Comprehensive Plan was reasonable. And we think our involvement was critical to that result.”