CIAO
MEET THE BOARD
President
Kathryn R. Willis
Kathryn Willis has worked in public relations for the University of Mary Washington and as communications officer for the Foundation of the National Education Association. She holds a B.A. in French and Art History, an M.A. English, and advanced certification in Public Relations from George Washington University.
She has served on several boards, including Virginians for the Arts, the advocacy and education arm associated with the Virginia Commission for the Arts. She serves as fundraising and program chair of the Fredericksburg Sister City Association. Most recently, she taught English composition at Germanna Community College.
Vice President & Long Range Planning
Scott Walker
Scott Walker has been a resident of Fredericksburg for over 50 years. He is retired from over 30 years of work in a variety of instructional and administrative capacities for the Stafford County Public Schools. He now has a small business of his own, Hallowed Ground Tours, the region’s premier, historic tour company with a world-wide list of clients. He frequently lectures both locally and throughout the Eastern U.S. on topics relating to Fredericksburg and its history. In addition, for ten years, he was a partner in and on-camera personality for Heritage Media, a historic video production company. Known as “Il Voce”, he frequently is asked to do voice-over work.
Walker is active in a number of local organizations. He has served as President and is currently Vice-President of the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation (a non-profit preservation group).
As a gubernatorial appointee, he is President of the Board of Regents of the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library. He was a founding member and past treasurer the Friends of Chatham Manor, a non-profit group formed to support that manor and its grounds. In addition, he is active in the two local Civil War Round Tables, the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, and the Washington Heritage Museums.
He and his wife were founding and are sustaining members of the Fredericksburg-Este Sister City group. In spite the appearance of his surname, his family is Italian, emigrating to the Colony of Virginia in the 18th Century – another of his lecture topics! He has been to Este, in the Veneto region of Italy, on a private visit and, with his wife, coordinated the 2018 visit of Este citizens to Fredericksburg.
Secretary
Ann Tebbutt earned a BA in Biology, Goucher College; an MALS, SUNY-Stony Brook; and completed the Graduate Program, Women in Science and Engineering—SUNY-Stony Brook. At the Brookhaven National Labs, Upton, NY, she worked in chromosome preparation, and supervised post-doctorals in human tissue cell research.
In 1988, Ann became a middle school science teacher, working in curriculum development and earning numerous awards, including the 2007 New York State Teacher of the Year. She moved to Fredericksburg in 2010, and until retiring in 2016, served as the head of student teacher evaluation at UMW.
Membership
Bill Hatch retired after a career teaching school in both Virginia and Alaska. He completed his career in education by serving on the Kenai Peninsula School Board.
His volunteer activities in Alaska included Habitat for Humanity, president of the Public Radio Station, and use of ham radio to provide communications for community activities including the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.
His current interests include travel, playing the recorder, golf, pottery and amateur radio. He has been married to his wife, Susan, for 39 years.
Treasurer
Russell “Chip” Willis
Chip Willis is a retired home designer and project manager, who worked at Design Craft Homes for nearly two decades. Chip holds a bachelor of architecture degree from Virginia Tech, and is active in many local civic associations.
He is a past president of Rappahannock Rotary Club, the president of Fredericksburg Heritage Festival (4th of July), a former vestry member of St. George’s Church, and has served as treasurer for many years of the Falmouth Flats Fly Fishers.
He was an early board member of Hope House, and served on that board for nearly a decade. He enjoys fishing, hunting, cycling, and the outdoors.
Education
Billy Chestnut
Dr. Chestnut is a government civilian working in the cybersecurity and critical infrastructure sectors. He served over 22 years in the U.S. Navy and through these years he served in multiple information security, information operation positions, and deployed throughout the Mediterranean and North Atlantic Ocean. He has served on three warships and several naval staffs in Italy in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and forward deployed in the Balkans during the nineties. He also served in Holy Loch, Scotland, for several years aboard a submarine tender. He obtained his Doctorate Degree in cybersecurity from Capitol Technology University and a Masters of Arts degree in Homeland Security. During his military career, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree with Charter Oak State College in Liberal Arts/Italian studies.
Programs
Odile Pryor
I was born in Normandy, with many brothers and sisters; we received a very literary upbringing, my father and 5 generations of ancestors before him were directors of a well known printing company, therefore our exposure to books, any kind of books, TV being non existent in the 1960s in Europe, we had no choice but to read.
My mother came from a literary family as well, her maternal grandfather and uncle were well known University professor and jurist in Paris. After a standard education in Normandy and Paris [literature/physics/chemistry/foreign languages and Latin], I decided to leave my family and travel a bit.
Early 1970s, a stint in NYC as an au pair for a 2 year old little boy whose parents were professors at NYU. As they wanted to further my education, they enrolled me at Hunter College where I audited English literature and Art classes, that was fantastic. Mid 1970s, having married an Englishman, living in a bilingual household, we moved to South Africa from France, where we experienced apartheid and moving-beyond-apartheid eras, that was a fascinating time and such a great history lesson, right in front of our eyes. I remember not knowing that Nelson Mandela was in jail, he was forgotten.
Then our 1979 arrival in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where my husband was the managing director of a french company. Supposedly on a 5 year contract, we stayed on, started our own company, and, as we say, the rest is history. I enjoyed being a tour guide for groups of French Canadians visiting Fredericksburg, and got fitted with a colonial dress, walking the hallways of the colonial houses, telling stories of George Washington, her mother, James Monroe, and General Lafayette of course.
Then life goes on, kids are born, one in France, one in South Africa, one in Fredericksburg, and they leave the nest. My life took a 360 degree turn in 1994, I got out of motherly duty and knocked on the door of CRRL, where Sue Willis hired me as a reference assistant. Languages and travel were a big factor in my getting a job, CRRL was starting to welcome people of other countries as staff and clientele, so a broader knowledge was needed. Retired now after 21 years at CRRL, I resumed my travels, alone with a backpack, or with husband and friends, and spend much time with our 2 grandchildren up in northern Virginia.
My hobby is genealogy, which I started when my mother gave me all her papers. I loved it right away, carrying files and portraits of my ancestors in my suitcases, spending incredible number of days in the Archives of different countries, translating German, Latin, French, Italian, having a feel of what the many generations who came before me and my relatives went through, studying my connection [and my husband's] to the royal families of France and England, and linked to so much European nobility, living the wars and conflicts through other hard working land people.
As the program director of our Fredericksburg-Este Association, I take great pleasure in exploring and presenting the Italian culture through lectures and art visits, and discovering the many palative pleasures with wine and food tasting. What a life it has been!
Arts & Cultural Exchange
Midge Vittoria
Midge Vittoria has an undergraduate degree in physics from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and master’s degree in business from the University of Mary Washington.
She began work as a computer programmer in 1961 at (then) NWL, Dahlgren. She continued working there mostly as an independent contractor for almost fifty years. For the past thirty-two years she has also worked part-time at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library as a research librarian.
She met her husband, Sebastian, at Dahlgren and thus began her lifelong love of all things Italian. Sam had immigrated to the United States at age 18. They made many trips to Italy to visit relatives and tour the country.
At Large
Robert Antozzi (2017 – 2019)
Bob Antozzi is the retired Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Fredericksburg. He holds a doctorate in Education from VPI & SU, and also holds professional accreditation from the National Recreation and Parks Association. He served as liaison for Sister City with the City of Fredericksburg, and has served on Sister City board for many years.
Bob has orchestrated the exchange of several sports teams, including several visits from basketball groups from Frejus, and chaired the committee for sports exchanges for Sister City.
At Large
Robert Bevilacqua
I started traveling at the age of 4 months. My father was a Foreign Service Officer, and his assignments took us to live in Portugal, the Congo, Kenya, Venezuela, and Paraguay, as well as the DC metro area. I am retired now but served for 36 years with the US Government, 4 years as an Air Force communications officer. I spent 32 years as a civil servant with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Immigration and Naturalization Service where I worked as a computer systems analyst and as a financial manager. My wife and I met in high school in Caracas Venezuela and have been married for 50 years. We are the parents of three lovely daughters, and have five grandchildren. We love to travel in the US, especially to visit national parks, and internationally. On A recent trip to Italy we visited the home village of my Italian great grandparents in San Salvo, Italy, along with several other better cities. We are active in our church and periodically participate in mission trips overseas.
Historian
Pat Baughman
Pat Baughman is retired from the American Cancer Society, Mid-Atlantic Division. During her 30- year career with the ACS, Pat worked in Patient Services, Public Education, Fundraising and Volunteer Organization within Virginia. She was VP for Field Services in Virginia, West Virginia and DC. Through the years, she has served on numerous committees and focus groups relating to cancer initiatives. Pat was a staff trainer for the American Cancer Society, National Home Office, Atlanta.
Pat is a former St. George’s Vestry member and Junior Warden. She is the treasurer of the Episcopal Church Women, Diocese of Virginia. Pat has a degree in education from Rowan University. She enjoys history, visiting museums and travel.
PR/Communications
Deborah Newman
Deborah is the owner of Petite Taway Inc, a web design and social marketing company specializing in working with creative small businesses and nonprofits. Deborah is a world traveler and Italy is one of her favorite destinations.
Currently she lives in Spotsylvania raising a teenage daughter and working remotely with clients across the globe.
Ashley Bevilacqua Anglin (2017 – 2019)
Ashley Bevilacqua Anglin is Professor of Italian and Spanish at Germanna Community College. She holds a B.A. in Linguistics (minor in Italian Studies) from the College of William and Mary, M.A. in Romance Languages and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from The Catholic University of America. Ashley is married to local IT entrepreneur, GCC and UMW graduate George Anglin. They have two amazing young daughters with Italian names, who are well-known to the organization.
Other than her family and languages, Ashley’s great love is the performing arts. She has sung, danced, acted, choreographed, written and directed pieces performed with many local theater groups, including Stage Door Productions, CYT/CCT, and Grace Church of Fredericksburg.