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2024 FISH Fling
An enjoyable evening celebrating 55 years of
Service to the Herndon – Reston Community

On the evening of June 9, 2024, friends, supporters, volunteers, staff, and the FISH Directors celebrated an gala evening that included both a silent and live auction, a wine pull, and a delectable dinner and recognition of people who have made outstanding contributions to the mission of Herndon – Reston FISH. (Click here for photos of the event.)

The group was also favored with a documentary film about FISH produced by documentary film students at George Mason University.

The master of ceremonies for the event was Andy Sigle, and numerous local public officials congratulated FISH for 55 years of service to the community.

Approximately 100 people attended the event, and FISH realized revenues of approximately $30,000 to support our financial assistance programs in the community.

As is our tradition, we recognized a variety of people as "Starfish" for their outstanding contributions to FISH in this last year. Information about these supporters is outlined below.

2024 StarFISH

Elliot Wicks is President of the HRFISH Board and is also the webmaster. He joined the Board of Directors about five years ago at the invitation of then President Bob Reed. When you see his resume, you can see Elliot was a great “catch” for HRFISH.  He grew up in Washington state, got his master’s at Northwestern University, taught in Portland, and earned his PhD in Economics and Social Policy at Syracuse University. 

When he came to Washington D.C., he spent most of the remainder of his career working for several small think tanks that focused on finding ways to cover the uninsured and to contain healthcare costs. He indicated that his areas of research essentially paralleled the issues addressed in the Affordable Care Act.  

Elliot is impressed and inspired by HRFISH Board members, staff and volunteers. He is stirred by the organization’s mission of helping people in need in our community. He indicated that both in his professional life and in other activities, he has been committed to finding ways to improve the lives of people with limited resources, a perspective that he learned from his parents and from his sister who served in the Peace Corps.  

Rosemary Leonard, a Bargain Loft volunteer, was born and raised in the Northeast, but moved to Colorado after having children. When she moved back East in 1974, Rosemary worked as a staffer for a U.S. Senator for three terms. In 1998, always interested in history and vintage antiques, Rosemary began working at an antiques mall.  She got her license, rented space, and operated her own business for 12 years. She moved to Reston in 2011, and shortly discovered The Bargain Loft. Rosemary started shopping at the store and became a volunteer about 11 years ago.  With her wealth of experience in vintage items, not surprisingly, Rosemary is a great researcher and pricer two afternoons a week. She is valued even more for her willingness to come in and help whenever needed.  She likes to tell people about The Bargain Loft and volunteer opportunities.  Rosemary will never forget the plight of a HRFISH client, who had to quit her job to take care of her sick son and then missed a mortgage payment.  HRFISH was able to help.  

Aspen Jewelry Designs and Kurt Rose is our Corporate StarFISH this year. Kurt is General Manager of Aspen Jewelry Designs. He has generously given his time and expertise in helping The Bargain Loft, a volunteer-run thrift store for the support of Herndon-Reston FISH. How did Kurt learn about HRFISH? He went to South Lakes High School with HRFISH Board member Susan Hyman Sather, who, along with her mother Janet Hyman, would ask him for jewelry donations on behalf of the FISH Fling or The Bargain Loft.  Since then, he has graciously evaluated many of the jewelry donations pro bono and has given The Bargain Loft checks for broken jewelry.  Kurt and his wife Dianne are long-time Reston residents. They love their community and have found giving back and helping to change lives fun and rewarding. Kurt has been in the Herndon-Reston Rotary Club for 30 years and sits on the Board of Directors of the Reston Museum and Historic Trust as well as Kids Are First. Along with his wife and Andy and Kim Sigle, Kurt has  at the PTSA South Lakes High School Food Pantry.  In fact, the four of them have grown so close through all their volunteer time together that, in 2022, they founded the RoSigle Community Giving Foundation, an organization that promotes literacy and education within Northern Virginia.

Renee Boyle an Assistance Volunteer and FISH Fling Auction Co-Chair became interested in HRFISH 5 years ago through  Mary Saunders shortly after Mary became Executive Director. They were both members of a group of fundraising professionals working for nonprofit organizations in Fairfax County. 

The Assistance Volunteer process has given Renee a greater appreciation for what her mother did during her career.  As a county social service intake worker and eventual head of the department, her mother helped residents and migrant workers to access financial assistance, food stamps and energy assistance.  She helped all people in need, especially women like herself who had children to feed, but no income after they fled from domestic violence.  Renee hopes to honor her mother’s work through her volunteer efforts with HRFISH. Renee’s call to us at this year’s FISH Fling: “Please don’t let HRFISH resources fall short, because the need is growing.”

Sheila Grooms is an Assistance Volunteer. When her daughter was 2 years old, Sheilabecame a single parent.  Things were tough then, but a church helped her through the immediate needs of those days and ever since she has been paying it forward in her community. 

Sheila joined HRFISH in June 2022 through VolunteerMatch plus she knew Executive Directive Mary Saunders through their volunteer work with the American Cancer Society. She also volunteers with Compassus, a hospice care group. She also serves at Reston’s St Anne’s Episcopal Church Food Pantry, and she packs two-days of food for kids in need.  Sheila loves to take her grandsons with her so they can see the needs and that not everyone has enough food. She tells them, “If you don’t know what to do, help your neighbor and be kind.” 

Paulette Mlakar and her husband were married for 32 years but she has been widowed for 23 years.  Her husband was a fireman, and they both were on the PTA.  Her parents instilled in her a sense of giving back to the community. Because Paulette worked for an environmental company, she looked for places that sold recycled things and that’s how she found The Bargain Loft, a program of Herndon-Reston FISH. She started shopping at the store and it wasn’t long before she started volunteering in June of 2011. Paulette initially unpacked donations, washed or cleaned them, vacuumed the store, took out the trash, and “whatever made it easier for other people.”  As her responsibilities increased, Paulette was asked to take over the cleaning and pricing of donated clothing. She also takes unusable and unsaleable metal items to a local recycling center, which in turn provides a monetary donation to the store. 

Auction & Raffle Contributors

A Thousand Stories

Anonymous

Jane Kinzler Anthony

Arts Herndon

Aspen Jewelry Designs

Bob Averne

Barcelona Wine Bar

Bargain Loft

Barrel Oak Winery & Brewery

BarTaco

Beth Bittenbender

Bobby G. Pets Reptile Entertainment

JoAnn Bordeaux

Renee Boyle

Steven Brown

Cantina d'Italia

Lisa Carroll

Chiboo Bakery

Christy Adams Salon & Spa

Chuy's

Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants

Crème de la Crop

Crust Pizzeria Napoletana 

Dulles Golf Center & Sports Park

Farm Brewery at Broad Run

Flagship Car Wash

Glory Days GrillAminta Gold

David & Diane Mandel

Marco's Pizza Herndon

Merrifield Gardens

Mira Spa and Salon

Hiroko Miyakawa

Monster Mini Golf

Sandy Morris

Chris Najjar

Next Stop Theatre

Not Your Average Joe's

Nothing Bundt Cakes

N'Used Fashions

Renette Oklewicz

Outback Steakhouse

Paradise Indian Cuisine

Great Harvest Bread Company

Gregorio’s Trattoria

Herndon Community Center

Hidden Creek Country Club

Joseph Hyman

International Spy Museum

Jimmy's Old Town Tavern

Susan Kelly

La Ong Thai Bistro

Pat Macintyre

Ruth Percival

Keith Perich

PINOT’S Palette

Red’s Table

Reston Association

Reston Community Center

Reston Garden Club

River and Trail Outfitters

Ruth's Chris Steak House

Mary & Charlie Saunders

Scenthound Dog Grooming

Scissors & Scotch

Scrawl Books

Virginia Delegate Marcus Simon

The Jeff Lubin Portrait Studio

The Pink Reef

Total Wine & More

Trader Joe's

Lynn Warner

Wegmans, Reston

Weird Brothers Coffee

Bonnie Whyte

Wiygul Automotive

Wolf Trap Foundation

Kathleen Woodward

Brenda Wulff

Wine Pull Donors

Anonymous

Coopers Hawk Winery

Jack & Claire Gazlay

David & Diane Mandel

Judith Mandrgoc

Roy & Hermineh Miller

Bob & Annette Reed

Mary & Charlie Saunder

Other Donors

Anonymous

Lisa Carroll 

Barbara Ewalt

James & Nanna Gilley

William & Robyn Kampf

Edward Robichaud

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