Turmoil Continues at Gunston Hall

Shortly after the position of Education Coordinator of Gunston Hall was eliminated in January, officials were deluged with questions from of the former home of George Mason. Those citizens believed that eliminating the position of Education Coordinator conflicted directly with one of the primary missions of Gunston Hall, which is to educate the public about the life of the man who drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

In the last three months, lobbying has taken place in private, but also in public, with some openly of Gunston Hall’s director David Reese. It is Reese who has been at the center of much of the criticism for the perceived decline of Gunston Hall. Being that Reese is an employee of the commonwealth, there was a belief that petitioning public officials was the best way to assure his removal. But that hasn’t happened. And aside from a in early March, there has been no public comment from state officials. The commonwealth’s plans for Gunston Hall are unknown.

What is known is that the property on which Gunston Hall rests is owned by the commonwealth, which acquired it from Louis Hertle in 1932. The property is administered by a Board of Regents, who are chosen by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA). The Board of Regents is comprised of over 40 women at locations across the United States. From a funding standpoint, two-thirds of Gunston Hall’s budget comes from the NSCDA with the remainder coming from the commonwealth. It is not clear what input, if any, the commonwealth receives in exchange for the funding it provides.

From an operational standpoint, the First Regent is active in the decision-making process. The current First Regent is Wylie Raab, and she is in the middle of a five-year term in that post. Also involved in operations is a three-person Board of Visitors, appointed by the governor to yearly terms. Until recently there was a Board of Advisors, made up mostly of citizens who had a long history with Gunston Hall. There are also two organizations, the Docents and the , who handle the bulk of interaction with visitors. All of the aforementioned serve in an unpaid capacity.

In an interview with Lorton Patch in late March, Tim Sargeant, who is a member of the Board of Visitors said that how the various parties with an interest in Gunston Hall relate to each other in a practical sense is unclear. But he also indicated that the Board of Visitors was in the process of trying to clarify the various parties’ roles.

In April, the Board of Regents held their twice-annual meeting at Gunston Hall. In the week prior to the meeting Raab acknowledged that there had been “many misunderstandings” regarding operations, presumably on the part of the public. Raab explained that one of the goals of the meeting would be, as usual, to discuss the five-year plan, but also to make sure that, “anyone who wants to know the workings of Gunston Hall will be able to.”

Absent from the meeting were the Board of Advisors, who had been invited in years past. Several members of the Board of Advisors were harshly critical of Raab and called for Reese’s firing. Raab sent the entire Board a letter letting them know that their presence would not be needed at the annual meeting. She told Lorton Patch that “outsiders would not be included. If I wanted to consult with them I would.”

Raab went on to say that she had never met some members of the Board of Advisors. “I would think that if they were genuinely interested in Gunston Hall they would attend their meetings more,” she said.

The exclusion from the bi-annual meetings did not sit well with several members of the Board of Advisors, one of whom is State Senator Toddy Puller. Last month Puller told Lorton Patch, “I don’t think the Board of Regents wants (the Board of Advisors) input and I feel like I’m not sure what’s going on there.”

Puller’s thoughts about the Board of Advisors’ role at Gunston Hall proved accurate.

Lorton Patch has learned that subsequent to the Board of Regents meeting, Raab informed the Board of Advisors via mail that their services will no longer be needed, a move that would eliminate one of the public’s primary forms of input into operations at Gunston Hall.

Above and beyond the dissatisfaction with Raab, has been the criticism of Reese, which dates back several years, to just after the time he took over in 2003. There have been long-standing accusations that Reese has made comments to volunteers that, if true, could not be re-printed in this type of publication. Raab and the Board of Visitors have been made aware of the accusations.

Puller said, “If what I’ve heard is true, it doesn’t seem like he should continue as director.”

Puller also said she had met privately with Reese but declined to divulge the nature of the conversation.

She went on to say, “(Reese) is very good at the curatorial aspect of the job. But there are other things I don’t think he does very well.”

Numerous changes have been made since Reese assumed the directorship. Most notably, farming operations were discontinued, weddings were no longer held and boxwoods behind the house were cleared. Some feel those changes have been the reason for the drop in attendance over the last several years.

Raab said it was the Board of Regents, not Reese, who made those decisions, which she does not believe have been the cause of declining attendance. “The ups and downs in attendance are reflective of the economy,” she said.

Though she said weddings were unrelated to the mission of Gunston Hall, Raab left open the possibility of more social events.

The fact that the Board of Regents have such input at a site they visit twice a year is disturbing to Puller. “They aren’t there day-to-day like the community or the volunteers,” she said.

There was an attempt during the just-completed session of the General Assembly to enact legislation to clarify and possibly alter the commonwealth’s role in operations at Gunston Hall, but the motion never made it to a vote.

The criticism of current management does not end with the discontinuance of weddings and farm animals. Critics also point to an outdated website, a lack of transparency and limited community outreach.

Still, Raab says she is “absolutely happy” with Reese’s performance.

Raab’s satisfaction is countered by the resignations of volunteers and the growing disappointment among neighbors that Gunston Hall is in a downward spiral and a frustration that there is little they can do to reverse it.

While there is a significant difference in the marketing budget and name recognition between Gunston Hall and the nearby historic site of Mount Vernon, the comparative success of the latter was on full display this past Easter. As Mount Vernon was packed with literally hundreds of cars and thousands of visitors, Gunston Hall, as the accompanying photo shows, was nearly empty. Special events like the Kite Festival and Plantation Christmas draw large crowds at Gunston Hall, but on a day-in, day-out basis it struggles to attract visitors.

In a time when Governor Bob McDonnell is vetoing funding for programs such as PBS, one cannot help but wonder when the commonwealth will start to ask what exactly it is getting in return for the hundreds of thousands of dollars it is giving to Gunston Hall.

Note: Reese has not responded to interview requests, but has issued public statements that are viewable and .

Note: Page 6 and 7 of the attached pdf lists Gunston Hall’s officers.