"Traveling Exhibition - Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and Living Legends Collaboration"

The 2012  Living Legends of Alexandria portraits will be unveiled for the first time on February 11 at the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra's concert. 

ASO is  presenting A Prescient Revelation, Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 8 pm and Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 3 pm at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center, 3001 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria.  The concert features Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Requiem. 

For tickets to the concert, see http://www.alexsym.org/buyTix.shtml.

March 22, Save the Date to Meet the Legends

The Board of Directors of

Living Legends of Alexandria

Invites you to attend the

Meet the Legends Reception,

Thursday, March 22, 2012, 6:00-8:30 p.m.,

Patent & Trademark Office

600 Dulaney Street, Alexandria

Madison Building Lower Atrium

Honoring the 2012 Nominees:  Duncan Wardman Blair, Suzanne S. Brock, Bob Calhoun, Diane L. Charles, Elizabeth C. Chimento and Poul Hertel, Bernard S. Cohen, Brooke Curran, Allison Cryor Dinardo, Al Grande, Michael M. Hadeed, Harry "Bud" Hart, James E. Henson, Sr., Wendy McGann John, William "Bill" Kehoe, Allen Lomax, Jimmie McClellan, Pat Miller, Patrick M. O'Brien, Mike Oliver, Lillian Stanton Patterson, William "Bill" Rivers, Joseph S. Shumard, Jim Singerling, Fay D.  Slotnick and Joyce Woodson, The Steuerle Family, Dorothy Turner and Gwen Menefee-Smith.  The Legends of 2012 are in bold.

Special guest:  Senator Mark Warner

Reservations:  Received by March 15 - $40/$75 for two; after March 15 - $50/$95 for two.

Reserve on line at www.AlexandriaLegends.com; info:  703-625-2330

Complimentary Tastings and Beverages.  Complimentary Valet Parking

2nd Family Legends Workshop at Ramsay Rec Center

   Photos by Nina Tisara/Living Legends of Alexandria

 
An enthusiastic group of girls has signed up for the second Family Legends Workshop at the Ramsay Recreation Center.  Under the direction of writer, book artist and educator Sushmita Mazumdar, the girls will interview family members, and write and illustrate their stories.  The free workshop is a project of Living Legends of Alexandria and made possible by a generous donation by John McEnearney.

For information about future classes, contact Sushmita at sushmaz@comcast.net or Nina at AlexandriaLegends@ninatisara.com.

Artist's Talk at Prudential PenFed

Becky Arnold organizes the art exhibitions

L-R:  Frida Fangjeli, Amy Thomas, Anila Angjeli, Craig Moran, and Delia Sullivan

L-R:  Becky Arnold, Pat Booth and Joe Bleach

Artist-Photographer Nina Tisara led an Artist's Talk at the N. Washington Street offices of  Prudential PenFed Realty.  Beginning with a tour of the Living Legends exhibition,  Tisara explained the history of the project, how the Legends are nominated and selected, how the portrait locations were chosen and shared some of the Legend stories.  Contact Becky Arnold for information about exhibiting at Prudential PenFed, 571-345-6175, becky.arnold@penfedrealty.com .

2012 Legend Bob Calhoun

Bob Calhoun: Residents Need To Get Involved. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                         Photo by Nina Tisara/Living Legends of Alexandria

By Sarah Becker

Robert "Bob" Calhoun encourages all Alexandrians to become involved in their neighborhoods. A Democrat turned Republican, he was drawn to community at a young age. Born in Oak Park, Ill. in 1937, he said his grandmother was active in Illinois politics. "She was what was called a Southern Democrat, seriously concerned with Social Security and the Wagner Act," Calhoun said. "In the 1970s it was Virginia Republican Governor Linwood Holton who held my interest. I liked him as an affirmative person."

Holton was a "Mountain and Valley" Republican opposed to the Byrd machine and massive resistance. The first Republican Governor elected since Reconstruction, Holton, in his 1970 inaugural address, declared "the era of defiance is behind us. Let our goal be an aristocracy of ability, regardless of race, color or creed." Ability is a trait often attributed to Calhoun.

"With all due respect to anyone who has ever served in public office — Republican, Democrat or otherwise — Bob is the smartest, most-well read, curious (in a good way), broadly knowledgeable politician I have ever known," former State Delegate and City Councilman David Speck said. Speck first worked with Calhoun as a member of the Alexandria Republican Party and then joined the Democratic Party in 1995.

"Unfortunately in the 1970s Virginia Republicans were scarce, split into two camps: Goldwater or Rockefeller," Calhoun said. "The divisions didn’t disappear until Reagan’s election in 1980. Since then the Republican Party has become increasingly more conservative."

"I first ran for political office in 1973, for the Virginia House of Delegates," Calhoun laughed. "I lost, a sacrificial lamb running against House Majority Leader Jim Thomson. Thomson was a Byrd Democrat, a Byrd relative."

Calhoun was elected to the Alexandria City Council in 1976. He won a single Republican seat. However he and the Alexandria GOP wanted more.

"Incumbent Republican Robert L. Calhoun, an attorney, apparently captured the spot of vice mayor," The Washington Post reported in 1979. "This was an historic election as Alexandria Republicans finished one, two and three among the six winners. ‘People were looking for a consensus form of government [and] we, the Republicans, are all middle-of-the-road people,’ Calhoun said." By 1982, the city of Alexandria had the most elected Republicans of any city in Virginia.

"People most likely associate me with transportation matters, but then we were mostly involved with landlord-tenant, metro and busing issues," Calhoun said. It was not fun running as a Republican. I had a pie thrown at me and a dog sicced on me."

Attorney Calhoun graduated from Yale Law School in 1963. "I met Bob at Yale Law School in 1961-62 and we frequently had lunch together," former Old Town Civic Association President Robert Dempsey recalled. "He was a great luncheon companion; loquacious, humorous and unhesitant to make declaratory judgment about any topic of our table-talk. Of course a conversation with Bob consisted, in the main, of punctuating his rapid-fire monologues with admiring interjection."

Calhoun came to Washington as a rules and practices lawyer with the now-defunct Interstate Commerce Commission. He entered private practice in 1971 and today is Of Counsel with the Alexandria law firm of Redmon, Peyton & Braswell.

"John Volpe is one of my great heroes in government," Calhoun smiled. Volpe, a Bay-stater, served as Secretary of Transportation from 1969 until 1973. Amtrak was created on his watch and the railroad industry fascinated Calhoun.

In 1982 Calhoun ran "The Race of the Century." The Washington Post reported: "Neither incumbent Alexandria Mayor Charles Beatley nor his opponent, Vice Mayor Robert Calhoun —t he first Republican to run for mayor in more than 100 years — expects voters to have any trouble separating the princes from the peas … the biggest issue in this year’s campaign has been whether to impose a trash collection fee [yet] the race has been described by both sides as unusually partisan and hard fought." Calhoun conceded the race but not before "Democrats conceded Calhoun is popular, fast-talking and often witty."

Calhoun is also described as irascible. "Irascible?" responded former Alexandria Mayor and state Sen. Patsy Ticer. "Bob is not at all difficult to get along with. He is very polite, very thoughtful, never nasty and very respectful." Ticer, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Virginia Senator Calhoun in 1996. Calhoun served in the State Senate from 1988 until 1996.

Supporters claim Calhoun’s co-sponsorship of Virginia’s 1995 Public-Private Partnership Act is his hallmark. Metro’s Dulles silver line was the first to use the Act for funding purposes. Others list his service on the WMATA Board, his preliminary study of the city-owned DASH bus system, and the overhaul of child custody statutes as his greatest achievements. Calhoun thinks the King and Braddock Street stations are "architectural atrocities."

"As OTCA President I appeared rather frequently before City Council," Dempsey noted. "Sometimes Bob voted in favor of Old Town’s position, sometimes not, but always he articulated his position with clarity and persuasiveness."

"Bob advocates persuasively," former Republican City Councilman Carlyle Ring agreed. "He focuses on what is doable and drafts legislation with clarity and precision."

What is Calhoun’s life lesson? "Always take a hard look. You need a sense of where you are in life. Get involved, set a goal and stay active. Don’t lose interest, especially in your community or state. I’m Irish and the Irish have an upbeat attitude. We also have a darker side. Politics has changed in the last several years. You can get away with a lot if consistent."

"I voted for the first time in 1961," Calhoun concluded. "Then everything seemed so bright and so new. Now I worry what the world will hold for our grandchildren. The country survived a Civil War and a Great Depression but the future concerns me. I’m an issues person, not an ideologue."



Writer Sarah Becker was nominated as a Living Legend in 2007.

Meet the Artist at Prudential PenFed Realty

Prudential PenFed Realty, 300 N. Washington Street, Suite 100, is hosting a "Meet The Artist" hour on Tuesday, January 24, 6:30-7:30 p.m.  Visitors are invited to see the exhibition of Living Legends of Alexandra portraits and hear artist-photographer Nina Tisara speak about the evolution of the Living Legends of Alexandria project.

Three years of Legend portraits, 2008, 2009 and 2010 may be seen through January 27.  The 2011 Legend portraits are on view in the Market Square Lobby of Alexandria City Hall.  The 2012 portraits will be unveiled at the Meet The Legend reception on March 22.

Located at 300 N. Washington Street, Suite 100, Prudential PenFed Realty, is a full service real estate company, recognized as among the top real estate companies in its service area. The office is open Monday through Friday, 9-5. 

For reservations and/or information, contact Becky Arnold, 571-345-6175, becky.arnold@penfedrealty.com by 5 p.m., January 23.

Guests gathered at the Prudential PenFed office for the opening of the exhibition in December.  Photo by Steven Halperson/www.tisaraphoto.com

Living Legends of Alexandria is an ongoing, not-for-profit project to identify, honor and chronicle the extraordinary individuals making current history in Alexandria. For information about the project, contact AlexandriaLegends@ninatisara.com.

 

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