Twenty Fairfax County citizens received recognition for their volunteer service to the community and were named Lord and Lady Fairfax of their district. For Dranesville, the honorees were McLean resident Janie Strauss, a former long-time School Board member, and Bill Canis, president of the Great Falls Citizens Association.
As president of GFCA since 2016, and previously its vice president, environment and parks committee chair, and communications director, Bill Canis is a team builder, working tirelessly with the association’s executive board and residents to retain semi-rural aspects of the community. Because Great Falls is not a legally organized town with a mayor and council, federal, state, and local officials often look to GFCA to provide local perspectives, comments, and recommendations on a range of public issues. During his tenure, the GFCA executive board has increased the voice of residents in county land use and school decisions, expanded the tree canopy, identified ways for better storm water regulation, improved deer management to preserve woodlands, sought safer local roads while protecting their historic two-lane characteristics, added mobility options for pedestrians with new trails, and worked to preserve historic assets such as Turner Farm, the Grange, and Forestville Schoolhouse.
Canis has also served for a decade as a scout leader, teaching Great Falls youth in Cub Scout Pack 55 and Boy Scout Troop 55 leadership skills, teamwork, and environmental awareness. A 22-year resident of Great Falls with his wife Susan and three children, he has participated in other local civic organizations such as Great Falls Trailblazers. He led community efforts to relocate signage about Georgetown Pike during the Civil War from Route 7 onto that historic roadway, the first such signs in Great Falls. When he lived in New Jersey, he was an active member of his town’s Economic Development Commission, and while a resident of Washington, DC, he served as a board member of the organization now called the DC Preservation League to preserve historic characteristics of the capital city. He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. and M.A. in international relations.
The tradition of honoring Lord and Lady Fairfax began in 1984 as a way to recognize the outstanding citizens of Fairfax County. Each year, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors selects two individuals from each district who have demonstrated exceptional volunteer service, heroism, or other special accomplishments to receive the award.
Source: Celebrate Fairfax Press Release