Water testing, shoreline planting, fireworks, emergency services… there’s a lot to do around here as Lake Anna continues its growth movement. And there is one organization whose mission is to preserve and protect it all: The Lake Anna Civic Association.

LACA, founded in 1992 by the late Jack Bertron, is active across a wide range of issues, all aimed at preserving and improving the lake’s status as the top-rated recreational resource in Central Virginia. To this end, LACA engages with local landowners, businesses and their associations, prospective developers, legislators, and government agencies to preserve and protect the beauty, access, and cleanliness of the lake and to ensure that new development on and near the lake is consistent with those goals.

Much of the organization’s work is managed by a board of directors led by President Greg Baker, with a board member presiding over each of six geographical regions of the lakeshore and surrounding area. The organization also maintains a series of standing committees and sub-committees, each with a chairperson and some with a vice chair. Greg Baker, LACA’s President since 2019, told The Breeze, “We are an all-volunteer organization made up of board members who freely volunteer their time to keep Lake Anna beautiful.”

While the association takes a strategic view of the lake’s future, its members aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. The shoreline planting featured on page one is a great example of this.

“LACA fields up to 100 of its members four times each year collecting water testing samples by boat to monitor potentially harmful chemicals, most important among them phosphorus that increases harmful algae growth.” LACA also operates the annual fireworks, which this year will take place on July 1st.

“At its core, LACA is not an environmental advocacy organization,” Baker recently told The Breeze. “As a rule, we don’t take positions for or against real estate projects, but we often develop and propose changes to enhance a project’s benefits and ameliorate potential negatives.”

A major example of this approach is the proposed Lake Anna Resort, a hotel, commercial, and condo residence project on Route 208 at the western lakeshore. First proposed to Louisa County as a zoning change by developers in 2022, the project would include a 130-room hotel, commercial area, restaurants, 96 residential condos, and boat launching and storage facilities on the lakeshore.

While LACA did not take a position on the plan, it put forth several specific changes to the design of the proposed project, such as limiting the buildings to six stories. The developers’ zoning request was approved by the Louisa County board without LACA’s proposed changes, and a subsequent request by the developer to increase the condo unit number from 96 to 124 is currently pending.

Another example of LACA’s support for positive development is the planned Cutalong development, a master-planned golfing, residential, and recreational community on Route 208 east of Ware’s Crossroads at Route 522. Developer REEF Capital Partners of Utah is working to bring the 1,100-acre parcel to fruition with up to 891 lots, a completed golf course, and other amenities. LACA has worked with REEF, Virginia, and Louisa County to positively influence the water and waste treatment facilities and to encourage best practices that will protect the watershed and lessen the development’s impact on Contrary Creek.

For the past several years, growth has become a major consideration around the lake. From a strategic perspective, LACA is neither pro- nor anti-growth at Lake Anna but, as President Baker recently told The Breeze, “Our position on all specific issues is founded on our commitment to preserve and protect the lake and its surrounding region.”

Lake Anna is sure to remain a key driver in the growth and attractiveness of Central Virginia and beyond, and there is little doubt that LACA will continue to play a major role in ensuring the lake’s beauty and access for visitors, residents, and a growing business community.

Barry Schaeffer

Barry grew up and completed his schooling in southern California, moving to Virginia in 1980.

As a communicator, Barry was a regular columnist for CMSWire, as well as Intranet Development and Newspapers and Technology Magazines, and was a reporter for his local newspaper, The Central Virginian.  He was also one of four consultant/authors for the landmark congressional study “Informing the Nation” (1987.) 

As a customer service provider: while finishing college, he spent four years in the retail beverage industry, dealing directly with customers.

As a corporate manager, he was a successful manager with several firms, including:

• At Pacific Telephone, he managed groups of up to 150 people and was rated Outstanding among managers in Southern California.
• For Arcata Data Management, he took over a 100-person division known for significant monthly losses and late delivery penalties, taking it to profitability in less than six months.
• For Planning Research Corporation, he managed a staff of 100 contractor personnel in the computer center for the White House (EOPCC), taking the Award Fee contract from zero award to maximum in six months.

As a project manager, Barry successfully led and completed major projects.

• For the private sector: Pratt & Whitney Canada, Boeing Helicopter, Sikorsky Aviation, Ford Motor Company (through Tweddle Group,) World Book Encyclopedia, The Bureau of National Affairs.

• For the Federal government: Congressional Research Service (CRS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U. S. Office Management and Budget (OMB), Executive Office of the President (White House), Department of Defense (Army National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC), Air Force Material Command, Naval Sea Systems Command.)

• For State Governments: Administrative Code systems for Texas and Oklahoma.

As an entrepreneur, he co-founded and led two successful firms including X.Systems, (founded in 1993 and acquired by XyEnterprise in 2009.) 

He is a graduate of California State University/Los Angeles with a BA in psychology, and of the rigorous Bell System Management Achievement Program.