Remembering Mimi and Fred

Editorial

There’s a huge void in the Lexington community following the deaths last month of Mimi Elrod and Fed Kirchner. Each had held positions of leadership in Lexington city government and both contributed greatly to the betterment of our community. Neither was a Lexington native but each spent the better part of their adult lives here.

John and Mimi Elrod, stalwarts in the field of education, moved from Iowa to Lexington in 1984 when he accepted a teaching position at Washington and Lee University. While he was transitioning from the classroom to administration and, eventually, president of the university, she was making her own mark at W&L and in the community. A former teacher in Harlem, she took a job in W&L’s admissions office and later directed the Summer Scholars program.

Her involvement in the community was vast. She served as president of Project Horizon for four terms and played a key role in bringing about Lisa’s House, Project Horizon’s shelter for victims of domestic violence. Among the boards she served on and played an active role in were the Rockbridge Area Community Services Board, the local mental health association and Yellow Brick Road Early Learning Center.

Following the death of her husband and her retirement from W&L, Mimi decided to enter politics. After an unsuccessful run for the House of Delegates, she was appointed to, then elected to, Lexington City Council. In 2008, she was elected Lexington’s first woman mayor. Here she found her niche. Her accomplishments during two fouryear terms were immense.

She shepherded through two major school capital projects – a renovation/expansion of Lylburn Downing Middle School and construction of a brand new Waddell Elementary School. These were enormously expensive projects but Elrod, through sheer force of will and her strong belief in providing quality education facilities, was able to persuade City Council and Lexington citizens of their merits. She guided efforts to improve the appearance of the historic downtown and to make city streets more accommodating for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Kirchner, a big man with a booming voice, arrived in Lexington with his wife Jean in 1986 and together they started an architectural firm that became a mainstay of downtown. Both were Virginia Tech grads with a penchant for community service who had previously lived in Blacksburg and Reston. Kirchner became an influential member of Threshold, Lexington’s housing commission whose objective was to restore the city’s deteriorating housing stock and make quality housing affordable for everyone.

During his time on Threshold, the city was awarded five Community Development Block Grants totaling $2,808,425. This was matched by $680,235 provided by local banks and $1,198,300 in city funding to create a rehabilitation revolving fund that made a total commitment of $4,686,960 to the city’s low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. This allowed for the rehabilitation of 100 homes and construction of 14 new homes. Kirchner was also involved in an ancillary program, “Safe and Sound,” that was responsible for making other improvements in neighborhoods that had been previously neglected.

Kirchner served a four-year term on City Council, from 1994 to 1998, and also served on the Social and Economic Services Committee, the Fire Station Selection Committee, the Architectural Review Board and the Courthouse Peer Review Committee. With his role on these last two boards, he helped oversee the process that led to a new courthouse being built downtown. In chairing the ARB during the contentious debate over the courthouse, recalled retired city planner Bill Blatter, “It took the wisdom of Job to guide these meetings. He was at the center of that and did a good job.”

Kirchner, Blatter continued, “had a real deep commitment to the community and to his family.” In remarks he made on the occasion of Kirchner’s final City Council meeting in 1998, then-Mayor H.E. “Buddy” Derrick Jr. described him as “our gentle giant with a heart as big as the world. If we could all be as gracious, kind and compassionate as [Kirchner], what a wonderful place this would be.

We could offer similar sentiments about how Elrod too made our community a much better place. She too had a commitment to public service and her family. Elrod and Kirchner will both be greatly missed but their legacies will continue.

Editor’s note: We’d like to thank Jani Hostetter, Lexington clerk of council, for researching City Council minutes and providing information on Kirchner’s City Council tenure.