Except for the periods spent during his formal education and military service Larry has lived all of his life in the central Shenandoah Valley. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1966 and entered the United States Air Force as a brand-new Second Lieutenant. After completing flight school in Texas, he was assigned to the Strategic Air Command as a B-52 Co-pilot. Over the next four years he was assigned two temporary tours in Southeast Asia flying more than 100 bombing missions in South Vietnam, Cambodia, and along the North Vietnamese border in Laos. After leaving the air force in 1971, his wife, Linda, and the GI Bill put him through graduate school at JMU and law school at the University of Richmond. He then practiced law for the next twenty-seven years in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Among his professional activities during those years, he served as the Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for Rockingham Co. and the City of Harrisonburg, and opened his private law practice representing individuals as well as two of the incorporated towns within the county. He later formed a partnership with T.J. Wilson known as Wilson & Bowers. Upon his retirement from private practice in 2001 he was appointed to serve as a Substitute Judge for the General District Courts and so served until his retirement in 2016. Larry has been active in numerous community organizations such as the Bar Association, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, Rotary, and the hospital board. He enjoys gardening, his book club, and most anything regarding aviation and Virginia Tech. Larry and Linda have two daughters, Courtney Bowers and Laura Reynolds.
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Tom was born in Puerto Rico where his father was serving as a Lutheran Missionary. When the US entered WWII the family moved back to the Continental US. After graduating from high school and spending a year at college, Tom enlisted in the Navy in 1958. He would spend two years aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway making two deployments to South East Asia. Followed by two years in Hawaii where, in 1962, he was caught up in the Cuban Missile Crisis and was involuntarily extended. He was transferred the USS Samuel N. Moore, a destroyer. It was his time in the military that taught him the necessity of working together and to take responsibility for his actions. Tom was discharged from the Navy in 1964 and attended Marietta College, in Marietta, Ohio, where he met Daille. Tom ended up transferring to Parsons College, in Fairfield, Iowa, graduating in 1967 with a BA. Daille had graduated earlier and the two were married shortly thereafter. Tom had responded to an advertisement from the Department of State during the summer of 1966. He passed a series of exams and a formal background investigation. Tom joined the State Department in September 1967. Tom’s first assignment was the US Consulate General in Jerusalem, arriving in early December of ‘67. For the next 30 years years, Tom would go on to serve in 7 more countries (Belgium, Brazil, Indonesia, Suriname, Germany, Japan, and the Dominican Republic), struggle with 9 languages on 4 continents, and deal with the birth of two children. In addition, Tom spent a year in Africa filling in for vacant Embassy administrative management positions in 7 countries (Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Cape Verde, Benin). Tom also created regional procurement support offices in Bonn and Tokyo. At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tom was sent to Belarus to establish an Embassy in Minsk. Tom transferred his SAR membership to the Fort Harrison Chapter in February 2005. He was the recording secretary for several years and then served as 1st Vice-President for two years and President for two years. Tom’s paternal 4th great-grandfather, Lewis Ferris, served in the fledging US Navy during the Revolutionary War. After the war he migrated from his birthplace in Connecticut to Manchester, Indiana, where he died in 1819. Family records make reference to the cemetery in Ferrisville or Ferrisville Cemetery, but the records are not specific. Greg Owen is an Investment Advisor with Long Service Agency in Harrisonburg, and is a retired banker of forty years. He is an Honors graduate of James Madison University, with a BA Degree in History, Summa Cum Laude with Distinction in History. He was named a George C. Marshall Scholar, conferred by the George C. Marshall Foundation at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, VA for research and writing an expansive work in military history. Greg is the author of a World War II biography, The Longest Patrol, A U-Boat Gunner’s War, which was published in 2006, revised in 2009, and has enjoyed worldwide sales. He has written an extensive research guide, Wehrmacht Autumns; German Prisoners of War in the Plains District of Rockingham County, Virginia During World War II, which is available through the Library of Virginia as well as through local libraries in Rockingham and Augusta Counties. He has presented public lectures on various history topics in more than 100 venues across Virginia. Greg served a number of years on the Board of Trustees for the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, with two terms as Chairman of the Board. He is a member of the Fort Harrison Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, representing five direct ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War. Greg is a passionate travel photographer and Europhile, with 25 independent excursions to Western and Eastern Europe, Great Britain and Ireland. Wes Dove founded Dove Development & Consulting in 2015 to help organizations improve their profitability by building better leaders! Since then, he and his wife Cindy have provided practical tools for developing leaders and enhancing workplace communication for companies and associations across the United States. Prior to that, Wes did extensive work in behavior-based safety throughout North America. Wes studied Human Resource Management at Columbia Southern University and holds a professional certification in human resources through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-CP) with over 20 years of experience in safety, human resources, and personnel development in manufacturing, mining, and construction. In addition to running their business together, Wes and Cindy have been married since April 2000. They have two adult children, six grandchildren (as of April 2024), and two rescue dogs. They keep an incredibly full schedule but enjoy wooden bat baseball (usually just a few innings at a time) and time on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Wes is involved in several civic organizations and recently completed a two-year term as president of the Fort Harrison Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. He has contributed chapters to two books and released his first complete book, What’s KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!), on Feb 20, 2024, which became a #1 Best Seller on Amazon. He’s currently working on his second book. You can learn more at dove-development.net or contact him directly at [email protected] Chaz W. Haywood was elected in 2007 and began serving as the Clerk of Rockingham Circuit Court which includes the City of Harrisonburg. During his 15 plus years in this capacity, he has worked diligently to streamline court processes as well as focused a lot of attention on preserving court records that date back to as early as 1739. Prior to this his election, Chaz spent 14 years working for members of the United States Congress. He was also employed for a time at James Madison University handling industry and government relations opportunities and spent 9 years in the Virginia Army National Guard. Chaz is married to Virginia Haywood, nee Burtner, of Keezletown (a beef cattle farmer and artist). He has three adult daughters and is very proud of his 6-year-old grandson Henry, 3 year old granddaughter Josie and 6 year old dog Fridley, who you will often find at the courthouse. A 3rd grandchild will be joining the family tree in August 2024. Chaz is adamant about service to others which includes his support of many organizations including Rotary, American Legion, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, On The Road Collaborative, Sons of the American Revolution, the Explore More Children’s Museum, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Boys and Girls Club and others. He is a member of Grace Covenant Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Chaz graduated from James Madison University with his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and received his Certified Clerk of Court status from the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center in 2012. Dr. John Fields Sloop was born to missionary parents in Brazil, S.A. where he still holds dual citizenship. He came to the States at the age of 16 to finish high school at Ben Lippen School in Asheville, NC. After graduating from Belhaven University in Jackson MS in 1970, he enrolled at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston, MA. Dr. Sloop completed his Masters in Theology in 1973 at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA. In 1983, John earned his Doctorate in Theology, also from Columbia. He has also studied at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Dr. Sloop served the Lithonia Presbyterian Church in the suburbs of Atlanta for 14 years before accepting the call to become Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church on Court Square in Harrisonburg, VA. He served FPC for 27 years, retiring in 2013. He has served the wider community through United Way, Rotary, Young LIfe and the Harrisonburg City GOP. For many years Dr. Sloop was part of the leadership of the Valley Family Forum, hosting the radio program, Crossroads: Where Faith and Culture Meet. In retirement, Dr. Sloop has been on mission trips to Ethiopia and China and filled the pulpits of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Brethren and Mennonite congregations. John's paternal 6th great-grandfather, Conrad Schlupp served in the Revolutionary War in the German Fusiliers, and his maternal 6th great-grandfather, Col. William Candler, served under George Washington at the Battle of King's Mountain. Dr. Sloop is the father of 3 married children, 11 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson! |
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July 2024
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