The Museum Advisory Committee (MAC) is responsible for operating and maintaining the Museum building and its inventory of materials. MAC members strive to build upon a timeline of important events in the village and assist with genealogy requests by connecting inquirers with established local resources. Their popular exhibits have earned the Museum awards and followers from near and far.
Here are the committee members and their biographies:
Harry Shannon. Harry is a native of Roanoke, Virginia. After practicing as a lawyer in the United States and Germany for over 30 years, he retired to Rockbridge County in 2016. He has an undergraduate degree and a law degree from the University of Virginia and a doctor in law degree from the University of Munich in Munich Germany. He is a member of the board of the Lexington Historical Society and former chairman of the Alumni Association of the University of Virginia Law School.
Julie Fox. Julie’s husband grew up in Fairfield, and they moved back to the area a few years ago after several years overseas. While living abroad, Julie always enjoyed taking her children to local museums. Upon returning to the states, Julie funneled her passion for museums into her work in the Brownsburg community.
David Wade. David was a career Army officer serving overseas and in the U.S. His last civilian position was with IBM. Several factors brought him fulltime to Lexington and the county four years ago to include several years living in Waynesboro as a child. His grandfather was from Brownsburg and both grandparents are buried at New Providence Church. David is involved in his church and other activities in Lexington. He continues his hobby of traveling up to half his time domestically and internationally.
Nancy Hahn. Nancy and her husband, Paul, moved to the Brownsburg community in 1997 and immediately became actively involved with the startup of the Brownsburg Community Association. Later, when the all-volunteer Museum developed we served on the Museum Advisory Committee in various roles from fundraising to managing the museum greeters. Twenty-two years as expatriates in the Middle East has created an interest in the people, history and culture of the communities in which we reside. I enjoy cooking (lots of ethnic menus), tending my herb and greens garden and fussing over our menagerie of rescued cats.
Nancy Armstrong. Nancy grew up in Staunton, attended school in South Carolina and Georgia, traveled some, and landed again in Staunton. She started her educational career at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind teaching deaf children with multi-disabilities. After six years she attended James Madison University for a masters in Learning Disabilities, then went to the University of Virginia for a masters and doctorate in Administration, Supervision and Policy Study from the Curry School. Nancy continued her career as an administrator in Montessori Education, elementary, middle and high school at various schools in Staunton and Augusta County. She ended her career at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind as Superintendent after 14 years. Nancy now enjoys breathing new life into old historic homes in Staunton. She currently lives in a house built in 1880 and is completing renovation on another dating back to 1884. In her spare time, she travels to Myrtle Beach and Charlotte to visit her children and grandchildren. She enjoys traveling, studying Spanish, teaching yoga, reading, golfing, and walking with her labradoodle, Mia. Nancy serves on various non-profit boards, and one of her favorites is the Brownsburg Museum.