[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 150 (Thursday, October 24, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1571-E1572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING 2013 FOUNDERS AWARD RECIPIENT KATHERINE HANLEY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 24, 2013

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend, mentor, and 
predecessor, Ms. Katherine Hanley, the former Providence District 
representative and Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, 
for being honored with the 2013 Founders Award from the Lorton Arts 
Foundation. Initiated in 2011, the Founders Award honors those who have 
made a significant impact on the Lorton Arts Foundation and the 
Workhouse Arts Center.
  In 1910, the United States Government purchased 1,155 acres of rural 
property in southern Fairfax County for the yet to be built Lorton 
Correctional Facility. Over the next several years, the total acreage 
increased to more than 3,000 acres. This prison was originally a model 
of progressive incarceration; the Workhouse and Reformatory were 
designed to ``rehabilitate and reform prisoners through fresh air, good 
food, and honest work,'' and programs integrated work, home, education, 
recreation, health, and religion. In pursuit of this mission to reform 
instead of purely punish, inmates raised beef and dairy cattle, hogs, 
poultry, vegetables, and fruit. Industry was a major activity, and the 
inmates made a variety of products and were trained to become 
electricians, mechanics, and plumbers. Initially, neither the Workhouse 
nor the Reformatory had walls, fences, cells, or locks.
  In the 1920s and 1930s the original wooden structures were replaced 
by brick structures. Over the following decades, what had begun as a 
true reformatory had become an overcrowded, poorly managed facility. In 
1995 more than 7,300 inmates were housed at the facility and the 
District of Columbia lacked the financial resources to continue its 
operation. The Federal Government assumed financial and administrative 
control of the prison, and in 1997 and 1998, legislation was passed to 
close Lorton Prison. The last prisoners were transferred from the 
facility in 2001.
  As Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Kate led the 
county's effort to acquire and transform the former prison site. In 
2002, through a unique collaboration between the Federal Government, 
Fairfax County, and private organizations, 2,324 acres of the former 
prison site was sold to Fairfax County. The transfer took place under 
Kate's leadership, and she, along with Mount Vernon District Supervisor 
Gerry Hyland, set in motion a comprehensive planning effort with the 
Laurel Hill Adaptive Reuse Citizens Task Force to create a new vision 
for the community. This multi-year exercise resulted in a rebirth for 
the former prison and surrounding community as South County became one 
of the fastest growing sections of the county with the construction of 
thousands of new homes, retail and commercial space, a golf course, and 
three new schools.
  A critical component of the reinvention of the region was the 
establishment of the Workhouse Arts Center. Established in 2008 by the 
Lorton Arts Foundation, The Workhouse has become the region's most 
distinctive cultural arts center, housing artist studios, galleries, a 
youth arts center, a theatre, and the Metropolitan School of the Arts, 
all in buildings that once had housed inmates. The Workhouse supports 
more than 100 professional and emerging artists, providing them 
affordable studios and galleries in which to exhibit their work. In 
addition to visual arts, the Workhouse Arts Center is home to 
performing arts, including theater, film, musical and dance 
performances. The Education Department offers more than 150 classes and 
workshops each quarter, in a broad spectrum of art disciplines. The 
Workhouse has also partnered with my office by creating a professional 
gallery exhibit of all artwork submitted as entries into the annual 
Congressional Arts Competition for the 11th District of Virginia.
  The transformation of South County and the establishment of the 
Workhouse Arts Center would not have been possible without Kate's 
vision, persistence, creativity, and effectiveness. After serving as 
Chairman from 1995-2003, Kate accepted positions with the Commonwealth 
of Virginia, first on the Transportation Board and later as Secretary 
of the Commonwealth. I was honored to continue her work with the 
Workhouse Arts Center and the Lorton Arts Foundation when I succeeded 
her as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating my 
friend Kate Hanley on receiving the 2013 Founders Award and in thanking 
her for her leadership and vision that led to the creation of the 
Lorton Arts Foundation and Workhouse Arts Center, which has become one 
of the great gems in the National Capital Region.

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