[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 101 (Tuesday, July 16, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1064-E1065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ON THE RETIREMENT OF BELLE GROVE PLANTATION DIRECTOR, ELIZABETH McCLUNG

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 16, 2013

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Elizabeth 
McClung, the executive director of Belle Grove Plantation in 
Middletown, Virginia, who will retire at the end of this month.
  Elizabeth has led Belle Grove for 17 years and I have had the 
privilege of working with her many times over the years. We both worked 
to establish Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Park, which would not 
have been successful without her hard work and dedication. She has also 
made extraordinary improvements to the manor through her passion for 
restoration and historic preservation.
  I want to commend Elizabeth on an outstanding job. I wish her all the 
best in her retirement in Highland County.
  I submit a recent news article from the Winchester Star on 
Elizabeth's remarkable career.

                [From the Winchester Star, July 9, 2013]

              Exiting Belle Grove Director Receives Praise

                          (By Laura McFarland)

       Middletown.--Belle Grove Plantation Executive Director 
     Elizabeth McClung is going out on a high note. With the house 
     in good shape, visitation up, and a ``great board in place,'' 
     she said she is leaving Belle Grove in good hands.
       She will retire July 31 after almost 17 years with the 
     historic house in Middletown.
       Although there are plenty of new milestones ahead for the 
     historic manor, McClung said she doesn't have any regrets in 
     leaving them to her successor. She is proud of what she 
     accomplished at Belle Grove during her time and will remain 
     an ``enthusiastic supporter and continue cheering from the 
     grandstands.''
       ``I wanted to leave on an upswing, and I also didn't want 
     to stay long enough to become an antique,'' she said with a 
     laugh. McClung gave her notice to Belle Grove's board of 
     directors in March and a search committee was formed to fill 
     the position, said John Adamson, chairman of the board.

[[Page E1065]]

     An announcement about her replacement could be made as early 
     as this week.
       During McClung's time at Belle Grove, she demonstrated that 
     running the house was as much about helping it become part of 
     the community as ``preserving limestone walls and beautiful 
     grounds,'' Adamson said. He praised her for doing the latter 
     as well.


                            Tripled holdings

       Under McClung, Belle Grove has tripled its property 
     holdings with the acquisition of 183 adjacent acres and of 
     Bowman's Fort near Strasburg, Adamson said.
       Both of these historic sites are within the boundaries of 
     the Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, he 
     said.
       McClung championed the need for the park, was part of the 
     team that wrote the original legislation to establish it, and 
     helped create a general management plan to act as a road map 
     for its future.
       Adamson says the ``active partnerships'' McClung built with 
     a number of organizations in the community are a big part of 
     what made the park possible.
       ``I think Elizabeth has been the glue that pulled all of 
     these together and made Belle Grove something personal to 
     each of these organizations,'' said Adamson, of Strasburg.


                        Manor house improvements

       That energy was also focused on Belle Grove, whether it was 
     creating or putting together an event or working to improve 
     the house itself, said Nancy Lee Corner, lead volunteer. 
     McClung approached the projects with a passion and 
     organization that simply makes people ``feel at ease as soon 
     as they meet her.''
       The 1797 Manor House's interior was restored to its 
     historically accurate appearance and the structure and its 
     outbuildings were repaired using historic preservation 
     practices, she said.
       ``All the things she has done to bring that about on the 
     decorative part of the house--the carpet, the painting, the 
     furniture--all of that has contributed greatly to the house 
     and interpreting it,'' said Comer, of Stephens City.
       Those kind of changes take money, so McClung constantly was 
     looking for new fundraising ideas, ways to improve upon 
     existing ones, or grant writing opportunities, said Sandy 
     Dunkle, chair-elect of the board. She is a ``forward thinking 
     person'' who is cheerful and knows how to handle herself 
     regardless of the situation, she said.
       Dunkle praised the Hite of Excellence Dinner Series--now in 
     its 16th year--that McClung created as a fundraiser.
       ``It has been one of our biggest sources of income and that 
     is all because Elizabeth McClung brought that to us. Still 
     today, it is a strong part of our financial picture,'' said 
     Dunkle, of Frederick County.


                             Making changes

       McClung had a tough road ahead of her when she took over 
     Belle Grove in 1997, said Fred Andreae, who has been chairman 
     of the board twice and served on the search committee when 
     she was hired as well as the current one that will seek her 
     successor.
       Before she came, Belle Grove was run in a ``more casual 
     way, a little less businesslike way,'' Andreae said. When 
     McClung was hired, she put a more professional atmosphere in 
     place and didn't balk when it became apparent that the manor 
     house's finances were not as good as originally believed, he 
     said.
       The first three years were the most challenging for her 
     because they were all about bringing the house into the 21st 
     century ``while still keeping the important historic 
     structures true to their period,'' McClung said.
       ``There were no computers. There were no financial systems 
     in place. We were the mule train on the information 
     highway,'' she said. ``We had no Internet or hadn't dreamed 
     of getting email because we didn't have any computers.''
       In more recent years, she faced the same problem as other 
     nonprofit groups in struggling to fund operating costs, she 
     said.
       There were cuts in funding from the state and federal 
     levels and private foundations, who were no longer providing 
     unrestricted funds, she said. They began focusing instead on 
     fundraising for special projects.
       ``When you have a house that was built in 1797 and a lot of 
     property with cattle, fences and other structures, there is 
     always something falling apart that you have to manage,'' she 
     said.
       Over the years, McClung has maintained a small, capable 
     staff and an active and energetic group of volunteers that 
     run the house's day-to-day operations and special events, 
     Andreae said.
       ``When we go through tough economic times, it is a 
     difficult operation to run,'' he said. ``You have to be on 
     your toes and be out raising money and keeping your staff and 
     volunteers happy. They are the people the public sees.''
       Other highlights from her time at Belle Grove that McClung 
     looks back on proudly are restoring the historic landscape 
     around the house and gardens, beginning a junior docent 
     program to engage young people to ``maintain and preserve 
     important touchstones,'' and creating the Belle Grove 1797 
     Whiskey and Belle Grove 1797 Whiskey Chocolates.


                              Future plans

       After working at Belle Grove for almost 17 years and in the 
     nonprofit sector overall for more than 40 years, McClung, who 
     declined to share her age, said she is eager for unstructured 
     time.
       She earned a bachelor's degree in 1969 at the Tyler School 
     of Art of Temple University in Philadelphia.
       Before coming to Belle Grove, she was the director of 
     development for four years at the Museum of American Frontier 
     Culture in Staunton.
       McClung and her husband, Kent, will move to their home in 
     Highland County, which they have owned for more than 30 
     years. The move will allow her to spend time on her artwork, 
     which she hasn't had time to pursue in recent years.
       ``When you are the director of a nonprofit of any kind, it 
     is fairly strenuous. It involves a lot of weekends, evenings 
     and holidays,'' McClung said. ``It will be wonderful to have 
     time off.''

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