Video: RA CEO Says Bob Simon's Vision For Reston Still Viable In 2022

RESTON, VA — At its Thursday night meeting, the Reston Association Board of Directors announced the hiring of Michael A. "Mac" Cummins to oversee the day-to-day operations of the community association as its new chief executive officer. His first day on the job will be Aug. 22.

On Friday, Cummins participated in an exclusive Facebook Live interview with Patch editor Michael O'Connell. They were joined by Reston Association Board President Sarah Selvaraj-D'Souza and Larry Butler, RA's chief of operations. Butler has been serving as acting-CEO since last September.

Cummins spoke about growing up in Northern California and attending the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he studied public administration and played in the USC marching band.

Related: RA Board Hires Michael A. 'Mac' Cummins As New CEO

Having studied city planning in college, Cummins said he was aware of Robert E. Simon's vision for Reston. One of his early jobs was in Irvine, California, which had also been built around a big master plan that could scale up to accommodate 60,000 to 100,000 residents.

"I followed Reston for years, both the residential components and the growth of the commercial area along the toll road," he said. "The things that I followed and then wanted to learn from in my roles as being a planning director related to thinking about how to connect communities. So, thinking about the relationship with the physical facilities, the trails, the park facilities, the ball fields, the pools, the nature center, all those things and how they actually build community and help people interact with each other."

Due to his extensive background in city planning and his longtime interest in Reston, Cummins jumped at the opportunity once the CEO position became available.

"I started to spend a little bit of time with the headhunter and then eventually with the board, and a little bit of of the community, as I was going through that process," he said. "I got even more and more excited."

Last week, Cummins spent six days driving around Reston hunting for a house. Eventually, he found one near the North Point Shopping Center.

"I probably drove up nearly every subdivision, probably every cluster, every parking lot, every cul de sac in Reston, over about a six-day span," he said. "I stopped in and just observed people interacting with each other at the pools or out on the trails. I couldn't be more excited for those reasons, the family lifestyle, as well as the job opportunity."

Although it's been about 60 years since Robert Simon first started to make his vision of a planned community in Reston a reality, Cummins believes that that vision is still viable, even when Fairfax County has a much larger and more diverse population, both culturally and economically.

"People want to be able to not have to get into their car to get goods and services or get some recreation in, and where they want to raise their kids, if they're in that that stage in life," he said. "When I think about the applicability of the original vision to today's society and going forward, I actually think it's every bit and maybe more appropriate."