Contact

Your first stop for “Anything SMLA” is to call
or visit our Office Manager, Ms. Teresa Picking.

Ms. Picking is in the SMLA office three times per week, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. There are SMLA volunteers in the office some Mondays and Fridays.  You are welcome to stop by or call to make an appointment!

If you are interested in serving as an office volunteer, please call or email the SMLA office.

Board of Directors

Bill Butterfield – President: retired Executive Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer of Andritz, Inc. He and his wife, Carol, purchased their home on SML in late October 2016, sold their home in Frederick County, VA the summer of 2020 and are full time lake residents. They have 3 children, 8 grandchildren, 6 step-grandchildren and 2-step great grandchildren. They purchased here on Smith Mountain Lake after renting a home for a family retreat week during the summer of 2016.  The family fell in love with this beautiful lake.  Career wise Bill spent 43 years in the paper and associated industries as a supplier of consumable products used in paper making, textile, and plastic film.  Most recently he was responsible for Global Technology for Andritz Paper Fabrics and Rolls division. As the CTO, he had global responsibility for R&D, application engineering, quality, procurement/sourcing, marketing and IT. He holds advanced degrees from the University of Maine and the University of Illinois, and is a member of the BOD at the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation. Bill is an active volunteer monitor of 3 sites within the water quality program and has served as chair of the Invasive Species and liaison to AEP on their Fish Habitat and Debris committees.  Bill is focused in making sure the entire Smith Mountain Lake community becomes familiar with the work of the SMLA members and their many volunteers that work hard to insure the beauty, water quality and recreational safety of our beautiful lake.  If you haven’t already, come join us.  

Mike Streff – Vice President: Mike has enjoyed Smith Mountain Lake since 1995, first as a guest of lake residents, then as an occasional renter on the lake, then as a weekend and vacation week homeowner in the Waterways community. Mike is now a full-time resident in the Boardwalk Community. Originally from South Dakota, and then raised near the Snake River in Washington State, Mike served in the Army for 22 year and then in the defense industry in the Washington DC area, where he specialized in allocating resources to achieve strategic objectives. He retired in 2018 and moved to the lake full time in 2019, where he lives with his wife Sara, also a SMLA volunteer. He enjoys water skiing in retirement.

Nancy Davenport – Treasurer

David Gay – Corporate Secretary

Gail Phipps: began her career as a certified data systems analyst and crypto-mathematician with the National Security Agency. Her prior experience includes responsibility for engineering, design, integration, and implementation of network-centric architectures and migrating client enterprises to more powerful and open environments as well as profit and loss, business development and operations management. Her clients have been mainly in the Federal Government. Gail started her own consulting firm, RGP 1 LLC, after retiring from CACI in November 2008. She is consulting with major and specialized corporations involved in homeland security, justice & law enforcement, and the intelligence community. She co-founded a strategic planning and corporate development consulting organization named Phipps, Miller, and Associates (PM&A). She also joined White Peak Capital as a senior consultant to support their clients as they go through the M&A process. Gail joined CACI in 1999 as Executive Vice President of the DOJ sector. Ms. Phipps provides more than 35 years of experience and demonstrated success in support of growth strategies, transitions to new lines of business, and providing new technologies to clients.

Roger Blankenship: Serves as Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Water Quality division of the Western Virginia Water Authority (WVWA), a water and wastewater utility serving customers in the City of Roanoke and the Counties of Roanoke, Franklin and Botetourt.  He is a registered professional engineer with a BS in Civil Engineering Technology from Bluefield State College and a MS in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech.  Roger began his career as an intern with Norfolk Southern then worked for Draper Aden & Associates, a consulting engineer in Blacksburg Virginia.  He spent several years with the Virginia Department of Transportation structure and bridge division before shifting his focus to water and wastewater.  Roger joined the WVWA in 2004 and quickly realized his interest in the environment and the treatment of water and wastewater.  He has been lake resident living at the lake in Franklin County since 2009.  In his spare time, Roger enjoys fishing, hunting, being outdoors, and spending time on the water with his family.

Gale Easter: Gale and her husband Sam built a log home in Franklin County in 2003. They retired there, and became full time lake residents in 2012. They own Roanoke River Valley Log Homes and have been SML Chamber of Commerce members since 2005. They have a son who lives in High Point with his wife and their two grandchildren. Taking advantage of 26 years experience in the printing industry, Gale has served as editor of the SMLA newsletter since 2013. She is also an office volunteer, helping man the office when the secretary is not in. Along with Sam, she has previously volunteered with Take Pride/Lake Clean-up, manning the 4-H site, cooking, and serving hot dogs to the volunteers. Gale is interested in learning more about shoreline management, property owners’ rights, buffer landscaping, and whatever else will most benefit SMLA and the lake community.

Tom Hardy: Tom and his wife moved to Smith Mountain Lake in 2005. After working as an actuary in the insurance industry for 41 years, he retired in 2017. During his career he managed business units responsible for developing and selling investment products utilized by large pension plan fund managers and money market investment fund managers, both in the US and overseas. More recently, as VP and Chief Risk Officer for the insurance division, he managed the enterprise risk management team which was responsible for building complex mathematical models designed to evaluate capital sufficiency for the spectrum of risks faced by a multi-line international insurance business as well as setting risk guidelines for the various business units. Since retiring, Tom has spent much of his time sailing on the lake, hiking, gardening, and playing tennis. Out of a strong desire to protect this beautiful lake that we are fortunate to be able to enjoy every day, Tom joined the Water Quality Monitoring program in 2017, and he currently serves as Director of Water Quality Monitoring (WQM).

Joanne B. Houpt: Joanne’s goal was to make SML her home in retirement, having fallen in love with the area in 1997. She and her husband Bob are full-time residents at SML where they enjoy boating, swimming and photography. Preserving the quality of the lake is important. She was raised on a large farm and chose an education in Business Management. She was fortunate to have had a 29-year career in the interstate pipeline industry where she retired as a Manager in 2012. This work gave Joanne exposure in dealing with the public, with multiple agencies such as FERC and executing work in an environmentally conscious and safe manner. Much of her exposure provides knowledge in areas that the SMLA focuses on. She is currently a SMLA member, SMLA office volunteer, President of the SML Newcomers and previously served as a Virginia Save Our Streams Monitor volunteer. Her background and expertise is valuable in supporting the SMLA’s goal of preserving the environmental health of the lake while supporting the community and economy of the area.

Eli Meador: Eli is a lifelong resident of the Smith Mountain Lake Community. He currently serves as a Plant Support Specialist for Appalachian Power Company’s Shoreline Management team. Eli and his colleagues are responsible for managing shoreline development activities along the shorelines of Smith Mountain and Leesville lakes. Prior to joining Appalachian Power in 2018, Eli worked for six years as a boat mechanic at Parkway Marina on Smith Mountain Lake. During his time working as a boat mechanic, Eli obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Biology from Radford University in 2017.

Brian Key: Brian grew up in the Roanoke Valley and spent most of his weekends at the Lake with a friend in his home in Indian Ridge. He worked for AEP for the summer of 1992, between junior and senior year of college, working on the skimmer boat to remove debris from the Lake. He is a registered professional engineer who graduated from Old Dominion University in 1993 and worked for Anderson & Associates as an engineering consultant from 1993 until 2000. He went to work for the Bedford County Public Service Authority in 2000 and worked there until they consolidated into the Bedford Regional Water Authority (BRWA) in July 2013. He currently serves at the BRWA’s Executive Director. In his spare time, Brian enjoys home improvement projects, landscaping, woodworking, residential farming, and spending time with his wife and 3 children.

Patrick Massa: Pat is a current SMLA Board Member; Chair SML Water Safety Council; Retired College Professor (41 years); Chair, Education Department; College Athletic Coach (26 years); Water Safety Instructor Trainer; Lifeguard Training Instructor; Aquatics Director (41 years); Certified Pool Operator Instructor, Aquatic Facility Operator Instructor, Hunter Education Instructor, NRA Firearms Instructor, Open Water Lifeguard, Certified SCUBA Diver; He has owned a home at the lake for 10 years and has been here full-time since June, 2012 (Montego Bay). Pat is married to Donna, and they have three children and six grandchildren.

Geoff Orth: Geoff was born in Philadelphia but has spent most of his life in Virginia. He and his
wife Kathy built a vacation house on the Lake in 1994, and it now serves as their full-time residence
in retirement. He has lived full-time in Village East (Bedford County) since 2013. His educational background is in the humanities, with a B.A. degree from Washington and Lee University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Virginia. Professionally, he worked as an academic administrator, serving most recently as associate vice-president of academic affairs at Longwood University. He also has an extensive background in the military. On active duty, he was assigned as a tactical intelligence officer in Vietnam, after which he went on to serve over twenty years in the Army Reserve. In our Lake community, he is a vice president of the Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists. As a certified stream monitor, he has been the SML area coordinator for Save our Streams since 2016, directing the work of about forty volunteers assigned to twenty streams in Bedford and Franklin Counties. In that position, he has served on SMLA’s Lake Council and is responsible for gathering and sharing stream quality data with Virginia’s DEQ.

John Rupnik : John retired from two separate careers – first from the U.S. Navy and then from the environmental services industry. John retired as an aviator from the Navy in 1992 and commenced his second career managing environmental research, development and demonstration programs for the Department of Defense. John retired from HGL in 2012 as Corporate Vice President. John and his wife Patsy purchased their residence in Cedar Key Estates in 1992 to vacation with their two children. Now with 3 grandchildren they have lived here full-time since 2013. John is an active volunteer monitor with the water monitoring program. Previously, he was SMLA Treasurer and launched the SMLA website. Most recently John served as SMLA President from 2020-21. 

Robert Sanders: Robert has been a full-time lake resident in the Betty’s Creek area since June 2018 with his wife, Maureen. He is a retired chemistry teacher, coach, and assistant/associate principal from the Fairfax County Public Schools after 31 years of service. Since relocating he has been active with several lake organizations including the Discovery Shop and the SMLA Water Quality Committee. He enjoys being at SML, taking advantage of the lake for activities with family and friends, getting to know the community, and searching out places and businesses to visit. As a board member, he brings enthusiasm for teaching and learning, and looks forward to securing the future of the lake so that others can enjoy all it offers.

Lorie Smith: Lorie and her family have lived at SML for three years and consider it to be a privilege to live here. She has been married for 34 years and have two children. Currently, she is the President of SMLA and the SMLA POC for Lake Cleanup. She had been Vice-President and worked on the Partners’ Program that encourages business participation in the mission of SMLA. Lorie is also President of Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Inc., a non-profit that provides services to individuals ages 60 and older enabling them to stay in their homes as long as is practical. She has served on the 2015 Board of Directors for the SML Charity Home Tour, working on strategic planning and the Advisory Committee and is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Valley Program for Aging Services in the Shenandoah Valley. She is a member of Trinity Ecumenical Parish. Prior to moving to the lake, she was in elected capacities on Waynesboro City Council and Waynesboro School Board. Lorie considers it to be an honor to serve my community. Her work on the SMLA Board of Directors has given her opportunities to learn a great deal about the health and welfare of the lake. It is her desire to continue her service and advocacy for the protection of one of our most valuable resources!

Edgar Tuck: Edgar is a lifelong resident of the Smith Mountain Lake Community and the 4th generation operating family farm in Moneta. He served as a Mortgage Loan Specialist for Suntrust Bank having 30 years of banking experience. He now serves in his 1st term on the Bedford County Board of Supervisors, representing District 2, which covers a majority of the Bedford side of lake. Edgar is married to Alison Tuck, who is a pharmacist with Roanoke Memorial Hospital. They have three children: Aaron, who works at Interstate Batteries in Salem; Davis, who is currently serving in US Army; and Laura Lee, a freshman at Staunton River High School. Their family attends Eastlake Community Church. Edgard received his BBA from James Madison University with a major in business management, concentration in human resources.

John Vidovich: John is the Chair of SMLA’s Marketing and Business Partner Programs.  He also represents the association on the TLAC Board of Directors. He spent over 30 years in the financial services industry with a focus on business development and education finance.  John worked for companies including Citigroup, Discover Financial Services and Sallie Mae, and served on a variety of higher education and consumer banking boards.  He was also the Commodore of Prince William Yacht Club.  John and his wife Laurie have owned a home at SML since 2012 and moved to the lake full time in 2019.  

Committee Chairs and Contact Information:

Adult and Youth Education: vacant

Buffer Landscaping: John Rupnik; 703-201-9088; jprupnik@gmail.com

Septic Systems Education: Joanne Houpt; 540-303-6389‬‬

Invasive Species: Keri Green; 732-690-741; keri.green@performance-dynamics.net

Lake Cleanup: Rob Sanders

Lake Quality Council: Keri Green; 732-690-741; keri.green@performance-dynamics.net

Marketing: John Vidovich

Membership: Gale Easter; 540-420-0338; ilovelogsva@gmail.com

Save Our Streams: Geoff Orth; gcorth01@gmail.com

Vessel Pumpout: Pete Heyroth; 346-977-8839; Pete.Heyroth@gmail.com 

Water Level Monitoring: Chuck Sinex; 540-719-2125; chsinex@gmail.com

Water Quality Monitoring: Tom Hardy

Water Safety Council: Eric Cheney; 413-335-9382; emmkhcheney@gmail.com